Finnair has begun a trial with Airportr, a service that lets customers check in luggage from a central London address before travelling through Heathrow.
Prices start at £30 for collection and check-in of one bag within a one-hour timeslot, rising to £40 for up to four items with a three-hour window.
Airportr launched its partnership with British Airways in 2016 and is available to British Airways customers departing from Gatwick (LGW) and Heathrow (LHR). The service was expanded to include American Airlines flights from Heathrow to the United States last year.
The process uses a driver who collects and weighs luggage, scans passports and boarding passes, and secures the bags in a coded, tamper-proof container. After airport screening, customers receive IATA baggage receipts, typically around 90 minutes before departure.
For the Finnair collaboration, customers travelling from Helsinki (HEL) to Heathrow can also opt to have their bags picked up at the airport and delivered to a London address, providing a return-leg convenience.
“As an airline committed to innovation, we believe this trial with AirPortr will offer customers a smoother and easier journey, without having to personally take their baggage to the airport and spend time queuing at both check-in and security,” said Sari Nevanlinna, head of ancillary business at Finnair. “Based on the feedback we receive from this initiative, we’ll consider expanding the service to additional markets in the future.”