Roadie is a croudsourced delivery service launched in the U.S. in 2015. They match people taking road trips (or just driving across town) with folks who need something delivered. Roadie has done a lot of work on partnerships over the past few years. And one of those partnerships is with airlines that need to deliver lost baggage to customers. Roadie is now delivering bags for Delta Airlines from 51 airports, and also partners with United and Southwest airlines.
When Delta loses or misroutes a bag, they have to find a way to get it to the owner. This generally involves delivering to a home or hotel, which is not an efficient service that can be paired with other bags. According to Delta’s Director of Airport Customer Service, Jon Litzenberger, Roadie has reduced delivery times by an average of 65%. Roadie drivers are not professional delivery people. They’re generally just picking up a delivery on their driving route. For instance, you might have an airline employee grab a bag for delivery on their way home from the airport. This means they pick up bags quicker than other delivery services.
Also an advantage for customer service is the in-app tracking of the delivery. Anyone who has had an airline lose a bag probably remembers the experience of waiting around uncertainly for hours (or sometimes days) never knowing when your bag is going to show up. With the Roadie app people can see exactly where their bag is en route and can make sure they’re around to meet the delivery.