Passengers Can Avoid Screenings by Mailing Bags

The tighter security rules at the nation's airports apparently have travelers on the lookout for ways to get around without security hassles.

Portland Luggage's downtown and Beaverton stores were seeing brisk business Thursday, co-owner Gregg Simon said. Many travelers who lock their checked luggage have had zippers and locks destroyed by Transportation Security Administration inspectors, he said.

"There's people who think they can beat the system," he said. "They come in angry and say, 'Look what they did to my bag.' "

Damaged luggage is such a concern that Portland Luggage recently hired a third full-time employee exclusively for luggage repair, he said.

To prevent damage, many travelers are buying special locks that are accessible to Transportation Security Administration. In recent years, the gadgets have become the single biggest selling item at Portland Luggage stores, Simon said. They sell about 1,000 of the locks a month --and sold more than 3,000 in one month last holiday season.

Some travelers are looking for ways to circumvent airport security altogether. They're turning to luggage delivery services that ship bags from city to city --often through overnight mail services such as FedEx or UPS.

"The more difficult that the TSA and the airlines make travel, the more business we see," said Jon Trevelise, chief executive of Houston-based Sports Express LLC.

Sports Express offers door-to-door service, shipping luggage or large items such as golf bags, bicycles and skis from a customer's home or office to the final destination. That is, to wherever the customer is staying --not the airport or a UPS retail outlet.

Sports Express's No. 1 shipment is golf bags, but luggage has become the second-most common freight for the company, Trevelise said.

It's an expensive service. According to the company's Web site Thursday, shipping a 30-inch, medium-size bag that weighs 40 pounds from Portland to Miami would cost $127.92. And that's just one-way, shipping three days in advance of departure. Overnight shipment would cost $235.68, one way.

The company charges about 10 percent more than the carriers themselves would charge, he said. But Sports Express assigns one of its concierges to each order, and those staffers check in with the customer's destination to make sure the bag arrives at the right place and time.

"If you're a late arrival," he said, "your luggage will be in your room."

Dylan Rivera: 503-221-8532;

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