Leave Home Without It

In the wake of the Transportation Security Administration's Aug. 10 crackdown on liquids and gels in carry-on luggage, the lines to avoid at airports are the ones for checking bags, whether with curbside skycaps or at terminal check-in counters. The airlines report that as many as 90% of all passengers now present a bag to check. As a result, baggage delivery services, once pretty much limited to shipping such sports equipment as skis, golf clubs, and bicycles, are booming. A half-dozen or so luggage forwarders, such as Luggage Free, will pick up your bags at your home or office and deliver them to your destination hotel or vacation home, and vice versa. They arrange for pickup and delivery, operate internationally, and often use such carriers as FedEx or United Parcel Service.