American Airlines has partnered with London-based city luggage check-in and delivery service Airportr.
Customers on any of the carrier’s 20 daily flights from Heathrow to the US can now opt to have their luggage checked in from any London address. In addition passengers flying with AA into Heathrow can have their luggage delivered to an address within London.
The service costs from £30 for the first item, and £10 thereafter. Customers can book a one-hour collection slot (either at aa.com, airportr.com, or through the Airportr UK call centre), up to seven hours in advance of their flight from Heathrow to the US.
Airportr launched with British Airways just over a year ago, and is available to all BA customers flying from Gatwick and Heathrow. A driver then collects and weighs the luggage, scans passengers’ passports and boarding passes, and seals the luggage in coded, tamper-proof cases. Customers are sent IATA bag receipts after airport screening, around 90 minutes before take-off.
Note that the service is currently only available on flights from Heathrow to the US, not in the opposite direction.
The group said that the service was developed “in consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority and the Transport Security Administration in the US to ensure all processes meet aviation security regulations”.
Airportr has recently added a new benefit, allowing customers to pay for excess luggage on the doorstep, through the driver’s app.