Compared with last year, slightly more travelers are checking bags this year. This was the finding of a recent survey conducted by The GO Group, LLC, an international ground transportation service provider and GO Airport Express, a GO member and Chicago-based ground transportation company serving O’Hare International and Midway airports.
More than 917 travelers were polled in this year’s survey on their luggage preferences. In 2014, some 58 percent of respondents said they prefer to check their luggage all or some of the time, with 32 percent saying they always do so, and 26 percent noting they both carry on and check. Twenty one percent they always carried their bags on the plane with them.
In a 2013 poll, of the 570 traveler polled, some 55 percent of all travelers preferred to check their luggage either all or some of the time. Twenty-seven percent said they always check their luggage, while 28 percent said they both check and carry on. Only 19 percent said they always carry on.
For others, the situation dictated which option they chose with 27 percent selection this answer in 2014, and 30 percent checking this response in 2013. Respondents commented that the length determined which option they chose.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, passenger airlines collected $797 million in baggage fees, or 1.6 percent of total operating revenue in 2103.
“With airlines frequently changing fees and restrictions for carry-ons and checked bags, travelers can pick and choose which carriers and options work best for them for each particular trip, ” says John McCarthy, president, GO Airport Express
GO Airport Express provides airport shuttles to and from O’Hare International Airport and Midway Airports, polled travelers nationwide.
One of the oldest companies in Chicago, GO Airport Express traces its founding to 1853 and the Parmelee Transportation Company, which provided a carriage service between Chicago’s railroad stations and the downtown hotels. The GO Group, LLC is a one-stop source for door-to-door airport shuttle services. Its members transport some 13 million passengers to and from airports in the United States, Mexico, Canada and Europe annually.