United Airlines is preparing to introduce a new service at Chicago O’Hare that allows passengers to have their checked bags picked up from home the day before their flight, potentially eliminating the need to drop bags at the airport entirely. It has also added a new “Twilight Bag Drop” for passengers wishing to drop their checked luggage off the night before their flight. I’ve updated this story with additional information revealed by United.
United Airlines Teases New “Home Bag Pick-Up” Service
A reader sent me the screenshot below while checking in for a flight departing from Chicago O’Hare (ORD). The pop-up advertises a “New FREE service” called Home bag pick-up with the promise:
“Skip bag drop. We’ll pick up your bags the day before your flight for FREE!”
The prompt asks passengers to enter their ZIP code and the number of bags in order to “check eligibility,” suggesting the service will initially be limited to certain geographic areas (perhaps only in Chicagoland?).
At first glance, the concept appears simple but potentially transformative yet logistically complex: United would collect your checked luggage directly from your home before departure and transport it to the airport for you.
If implemented widely, that could eliminate one of the most frustrating parts of the airport experience.
United Trials New “Twilight Bag Drop” At ORD
Starting today, United is also introducing a “Twilight Bag Drop” option at O’Hare, which offers passengers the option of dropping checking bags curbside the night before travel.
From 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm nightly, you can drop your bags off outside Terminal 1 on the departures levels, specifically outside door 1Da. Curbside agents will meet you at your vehicle, assist you in removing your bags, and tag them for you.
At least initially, this program will run though March 30, 2026:
This Is Not United’s Existing Bag Delivery Service
United already offers a baggage delivery service that allows travelers to have their checked bags delivered to their home or hotel after arrival. That service is operated through a third-party logistics provider and is available at many airports across the United States.
But that program works in the opposite direction.
With United’s current baggage delivery option, you still check your luggage at the airport. After landing, the bag is retrieved by the delivery partner and transported to your final destination.
The new service teased in the screenshot appears to invert that model.
That would allow passengers to arrive at the airport with nothing more than a carry-on item or personal item and proceed directly to security if using the app to check in.
How Could United Home Bag Pick-Up Work?
United still has not formally announced the service yet nor confirmed to Live And Let’s Fly any details, but a few possibilities come to mind based on similar programs that have appeared in limited markets in recent years.
- A logistics partner could collect bags at home, seal them, and transport them to the airport.
- Bags could be tagged and checked in remotely through the United app or by the pickup agent.
- Bags might be delivered to the airport well ahead of departure to allow time for screening and sorting.
- The ZIP code check strongly suggests the service will initially be available only within a certain radius of select airports (and perhaps only at ORD).
Programs like this have been tested before.
Airlines and airports in Europe have experimented with remote bag drop services, and companies like AirPortr have partnered with airlines to collect luggage from homes and hotels before departure.
But those services come with a fee.
The screenshot above specifically advertises the service as free, at least for now. That seems like a big undertaking!
Why United Might Be Testing This
United’s growth plans in Chicago O’Hare may now be under scrutiny by the Federal Aviation Administration, but if United is indeed preparing to launch home bag pickup, the timing would make sense.
As United hopes hope to fly its largest schedule in company history from Chicago, all the extra flights will mean a lot of extra people in a Terminal 1 check-in facility that cannot be expanded and is already prone to long lines during peak travel periods.
Encouraging passengers to send their luggage to the airport in advance could help smooth the departure experience while also creating a premium-style service that differentiates the airline.
Of course, there are still plenty of unanswered questions.
How early would bags need to be collected? What happens if a flight is delayed or canceled? And what happens if your luggage gets stuck in traffic on the way to the airport?
For now, United has not publicly detailed the program.
But if the screenshot above is any indication, a new “home bag pick-up” option may soon be coming to at least some United passengers.
CONCLUSION
United Airlines is preparing to launch a service that picks up checked bags directly from passengers’ homes before their flight in Chicago and will also offer a “Twilight Bag Drop” option, at least on a trial basis.
That would be very different from United’s existing baggage delivery program, a paid service which delivers bags after arrival rather than collecting them before departure.
While I am sure this program would appeal to many travelers, I’d love to see United accelerate its Wi-Fi upgrades instead and offer free internet onboard, like American Airlines and Delta Air Lines now do on most flights (or do both!). In terms of making United premium, fast internet will provide the greatest good for the greatest numbers and is where United should be directing its limited resources for passenger enhancements.
image: United
Sounds like an extra opportunity to have your bag lost in the system. Hard pass.
For real. Remember a little while back all the lost checked bags rotting away in airports? Never again.
Increased chances for bag loss; and heightened opportunities for bag thieves to pilfer from bags. Also, who wants to be stuck having to hang around home/hotel/office waiting for “package” pick-up to take place?
I like having the option to do bag drop off the day/night before flight, but I also have to factor in how things can and eventually will go wrong to some extent.
Or, hear me our, just do carry-on.
Carry-on baggage is the king/queen!
Bah! I’d even take a prince at this point!
Imagine the fun of navigating a lost bag when UA is blaming the pickup service and contacting the pickup service is basically impossible. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
Many years ago, Swissair used to offer this service from pretty well any hotel in Switzerland. It was fantastic, on a skiing holiday, to have skis, boots and bags collected the evening before, rather than struggling with them on a train. I loved it!
Greetings to the dear memory of the wonderful Swissair!
Yes I remember this. While working for a Swiss company I was often in Bern. It was such a great service, and worked well. Leave it to the Swiss!
I’ll reserve judgement until more details come out, such as required advanced pick-up time. I have a feeling this feature wouldn’t work well for a chronic last minute packer. And it’s of limited utility if only available at ORD. If widely available, and smoothly executed, it would however be a game changer for folks with mobility challenges. Perhaps enough of a game changer to persuade me to leave AA, in which I’m heavily invested.
Matthew – I did not know UA has a bag drop program. Thanks for that very useful piece of information.
Long as it is reliable like those in Japan, I might think about using it..
The courier services have to be clean. I’ve had mishandled baggage delivered in the US (not UA, but how different can these services be) and the car smelled awful and so did my bag after. I’d never voluntarily subject my luggage to that so hopefully UA uses service with minimal quality standards.
Nice theory.
I was surprised to read here that United still has baggage delivery service. I used it a few times pre-COVID and loved it! I take extended trips (4-8 weeks) from LAX-BOS to visit my elderly parents. I pack heavy, including my sports gear. I found the bag drop service very handy, leaving BOS with just my carry-on and heading. United would prompt me each flight if I wanted to use this service. I haven’t been prompted since COVID.
If I wasn’t a last-second packer, I’d definitely make use of this bag pickup service. I wonder if United would allow some bags to be picked up, and still check one at check-in.
I like it. One less thing to worry about and deal with on the day of travel.
Now that jet fuel prices are spiking and the airline industry (along with the rest of the economy) is about to be decimated, this will never get off the ground
Thank you Agent Orange!
Wi-Fi upgrades first!
The DOT is finally out w/ its DOT Air Travel consumer report that covers all of 2025 and, what do you know but UA ended up dead last – 10 out of 10 – among US carriers in baggage handling.
Of course, UA will try to get a little more revenue by adding even more complexity but you would think that a carrier that wants to aspire to being in the top tier of US airlines would focus first on fixing its existing baggage operations before it tries to do something that will likely make its existing problems worse.
How about that DL completion rate especially YOY? That trend is not DL’s friend. At the JPM conference DL admitted challenges snapping back from operational events due to pilot contract changes over the last year not JFK microclimates. 😉 DL is last among the Big 4 YTD. Yikes!
DOT data for 2025 is complete.
For on-time in 2025, DL was #2 behind only HA which is being merged w/ AS which was #5 in on-time behind #3 WN and #4 NK followed by UA. AA, B6 and F9 rounded up the bottom 3 in on-time.
As for cancellation rates, Allegiant was on top followed by HA, WN and AS; DL and UA had the same cancellation rate. AA was at the bottom of the industry.
Allegiant had the best baggage handling followed by B6 and WN. DL was better at baggage handling than AS/HA, with AA only ahead of dead-last UA in baggage handling.
DL as usual has a 0.00 rate of invol DBs. UA did good but not as good as WN. AA and F9 are who you fly if you want to be bumped off your flight.
Sure looks like DL compiled the strongest operational performance based on statistics with WN nipping at DL’s heels and UA quite a ways back and AA is well back in the rearview mirror.
UA had far fewer passenger cancellations than DL because they did a great job of prioritizing larger mainline flights over UAX than DL & DLC did. UA is closing the gap elsewhere even with far more operationally challenging hubs. The trend is UA’s friend and this is not your father’s DL.
UA had the worst baggage handling among US airlines.
Try to divert attention as much as you want but you can’t hide that UA runs a really shi88ty operation and DOT data confirms it.
It doesn’t seem to be a big perk to me. Checking a bag isn’t that time consuming most of the time. Then you also have to have your bag ready early and then have to wait around at home so someone is home when the bags are picked up.
Im not sure how many people are going to take advantage of the twilight bag drop. Ohare is not a fun airport to get to from really anything direction. A second trip sounds like no fun
So many people end up gate checking bags and not paying a bag fee I wouldn’t be surprised if United ran the numbers and saw that this ‘free’ service made sense in that context (I assume that regular bag fees still apply and this is not aimed at elites/FFs but more at the leisure market?)
Dear United, you are implementing a new policy that will be costly to you with no revenue offset. May I suggest you instead lower prices, or, better yet, invest in your product. I doubt this service will be available at my location. I doubt I’d ever even want to use it if available.
Is the “Logistics Partner” is some sketchy doordash/uber type “independent contractor” in an ’08 Hyundai Accent making pennies on the dollar? No way in I’d trust that sort of scheme with my bag for even a second.
Can a non-driver use Twilight Bag Drop?
Yes.