When Delta Air Lines raised its fee for a second piece of luggage to $25, it may have occurred to business travelers to drop their luggage at a UPS Store on their way to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

But think again: UPS doesn't accept luggage.

"You can't give us a piece of luggage, because we will not accept it," said UPS spokesman Norman Black. "It's got to go in a box and be packed properly."

Black said that UPS, which focuses more on business customers rather than consumers, has no plans to build a luggage-shipping business.

The company will do it if a traveler boxes his suitcase, but it is not a cheap enterprise. Sending a 50-pound piece of luggage from Peachtree Street to Wall Street would cost as much as $280 —- almost another plane ticket —- to arrive on a Monday.

And that would mean shipping everything on Friday.

But for those who really can't stand the security lines or waiting at the baggage carousel, there is an alternative. Companies such as Boston-based Luggage Forward will pick up the luggage —- not packed in a box —- from the traveler's house and have it waiting at the hotel. In some cases, the hotel will unpack the bag in the guest's room. It's true door-to-door service.

"Bookings during Memorial Day week were up 399 percent this year over last year," said Zeke Adkins, one of Luggage Forward's founders. "We think it's not only related to baggage fees but the inconvenience of an additional transaction. Our price point doesn't overlap with 15 or 25 bucks, but we're giving you a lot more."

And clients get a wireless alert when the bag arrives at its destination. "The airlines don't do that," Adkins said.

LUGGAGE FORWARD'S RATES

Delivery cost*

Express, arriving Saturday at 5 p.m......$309

Express, arriving Monday at 5 p.m........$284

Priority, arriving Tuesday at 5 p.m......$172

Basic, arriving Friday a week later......$131

Economy, arriving Tuesday a week later...$73

* Leaving Peachtree Street on Friday to get to Wall Street

Source: Luggage Forward