Couriers take a swing at airline charges

New Which? research has revealed that travellers carrying sports equipment could save hundreds of pounds on a return flight to Spain if they use a luggage courier rather than paying an airline to transport their gear. We found it would cost just under £140 to send a 30kg golf bag from London to Malaga and back with one courier, FetchMy, compared with £500 to put the bag in the hold on Ryanair flights – a saving of £360.

Four of the five luggage couriers we looked at beat the price charged for a 30kg golf bag if you were to fly with Jet2, Monarch, Ryanair and Thomson Airways, when we got quotes for a despatch from south-west London to the Malaga Holiday Inn Express. The difference was due to excess baggage charges imposed by the airlines.

But we found the airlines we looked at were cheaper than the couriers if you take a standard 20kg suitcase. However, SendmyBag charged £6 less than Ryanair’s £35 fee for a one-way London to Malaga flight.

A Which? spokesperson said:

“It’s surprising that it can work out hundreds of pounds cheaper to get sports gear chauffeured to your destination rather than putting it in the hold. It’s worth checking out the prices of couriers before booking your plane tickets but it will require a bit more forward planning as most couriers need to pick up bags a few days before departure.”

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Press Release