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Shipping bags separately

In the meantime, there are simpler changes that can be made to ensure better service. The International Air Transport Association has a "baggage improvement program" that offers recommendations to airlines such as creating special teams whose task is to handle bags that have a short time to make their connections.

Travel experts, such as Hobica, say passengers can take steps, too, including simply checking the routing tags on their bags for the proper destination before a check-in clerk sends the bags on their way.

Traveler Susan Jacobsen says she has a better idea still. She began sending her luggage ahead of time to her travel destinations two years ago.

"When I land at my destination, I want to get going," says Jacobsen, who works in public relations and lives in Alexandria, Va. "I don't want to cushion in half an hour waiting for a bag."

UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg says more travelers are doing the same since airlines began imposing the extra fees for checking bags in 2008. Jeff Boyd, co-owner of Luggage Free, a New York-based luggage-shipping business, says he's seen a similar increase. His company ships bags for about 2,000 customers a month.

It can cost more to ship bags separately than the airlines charge in extra fees.

Jacobsen paid $200 to ship her bags to and from a destination last month. But the price was worth it, she says.

"I'm a big believer in paying a little extra for comfort and peace of mind," she says. "And I have a tracking number, so I can see exactly where my box is on the way back home to me."