We like this a lot. At select locations, UPS Stores are selling two sizes of luggage boxes, according to a press release, "large and small; [each] has a sturdy handle for easy carrying, and is made of recyclable corrugate.  Because it weighs less than an empty suitcase, packing directly into the box can help lower shipping costs.  Travelers also can include packaging tape and a return UPS shipping label for use when returning home." Of course, you can always just put your stuff in a regular box and ship it. We couldn't find how much each box costs, but we did see that the maximum liability the UPS Stores will cover is $1000 per shipment, and only if a higher insurance premium is paid. Keep in mind that the airlines offer a higher level of protection if they lose or damage your luggage. So don't pack anything too valuable.

Clarification from UPS: "For the outbound trip, when the shipping is purchased at a The UPS Store location, the maximum liability is $50,000 (an automatic $100 in coverage with the option to purchase additional coverage). If a traveler chooses to purchase the return shipment at that time, then the maximum coverage on the return trip would be the $1,000 you mentioned in your post (considered a drop off package). If the traveler returns to a The UPS Store at their destination and purchases the shipping separate for the return trip, then it would be treated the same as the outbound shipment."

New York to Tokyo, Japan $682 round-trip, nonstop, incl. all taxes

We came across a heap of great fares to Asia from United earlier today. Hong Kong, Tokyo, Ho Chi Mihn City, Beijing, Seoul...all ranging from $677 to $737 round-trip, incl. taxes, for travel in fall. Pretty good, right? We sure thought so! Ah, but then they were gone, just as quickly as they came. Sigh. That's how it goes in the game of airfares, but we do hope someone out there was able to snatch one of these fares!

Airfarewatchdog.com

A recent Airfarewatchdog poll revealed that after checked bag fees, the most hated airline fee is the one extracted for advanced seat selection. This used to be entirely free, but no more.

Say you log on to JetBlue’s Web site to book a flight. You choose one, you select a seat you like – paying $10 or more per leg for more room up front or in an exit row. Bang. You’re done.

Now try doing the same on Delta.com – what, you want an exit row? You want to sit up front? Better have your SkyMiles number handy.

Got none? Back of the bus, sir.

Let’s say you’re on the Web once more, surfing the site of Denver-based low-fare flyer Frontier. Here, you book the lowest fare available – clever you! –  there will be no getting anywhere near a seating plan, let alone any selecting of favorite aisle seats up front. Not until 24 hours before takeoff, you won’t – and then, let’s hope that all that's left isn't the dreaded middle seat.

Still, things could be worse – there’s Allegiant Air, which charges between $4.99 and $24.99 to anyone – anyone – who wants to get near a seat map before the day of flight. Leaving you, of course, to wonder if that Orlando flight you paid $39.99 for is going to be the worst of your life, sandwiched between two terrifyingly loud, sugar-charged children who’ve never been to Disney World (and are also recovering from nasty colds, cough cough.) Unless, of course, you cough up.

These days, flyers who don’t like surprises ought to take heed when booking a flight. Rare is the airline with an advance seat selection process that mirrors any other; what seems so sensible for one (open up the whole thing, charge an arm and a leg for the really good stuff and bring in a nice chunk of change per flight) seems so difficult for others to grasp (Southwest, which clings to its no-seat-assignments-ever rule, which its loyal customers continue to pretend to not mind.)

Policies all over the place

While it can seem as if there’s no rhyme or reason to the way each airline handles the divvying up of seats on its planes, there actually is. If you take a look at this chart, which goes over the current seat selection rules for 16 airlines, a pattern emerges – legacy carriers such as Delta and American continue to try and please their frequent flyers first, holding back the best seats (among them, exit rows) for their most loyal customers. Those that are new, new-ish or focused on low fares (and less on loyalty) tend to be a bit of a free-for-all.

Some of the legacy carriers like United, want to have it all. They want to please their long-time customers, but they also find the lure of making a buck off of premium seating too much to ignore. 

Thus, on United, you have Economy Plus, featuring five more inches of legroom in the upfront rows on all domestic and international flights. Elite frequent fliers are generally given these seats automatically. However, anyone can buy in, based on availability – rates start at $9 and go up to $109 for long-haul flights. United even sells a $425 annual Economy Plus pass, ensuring you’ll always have more legroom.    

Other airlines that have resisted making such bold changes are now giving in; Continental, for example, recently announced a similar program, where premium seats (including exit rows) will be made available for a fee for those who want to log on within 24 hours of departure and select them; the airline has said these seats will not be available for purchase at the airport. When last we tried, attempting to select an exit row seat within 24 hours of departure on a Continental flight yields nothing more than a rollover message instructing you to “request at check-in.” But unless they've changed their minds, this is probably fixed by now.

After checked baggage fees, probably the most disdained airline fee is the one for selecting your seat. Long a perk that came without charge--and one that costs the airline nothing extra to provide--it's now just another profit center. Here's what several airlines charge, if anything, for advanced seat selection.

By George Hobica

Airfarewatchdog.com

Business travelers are flying less. Teleconferencing is on the rise, as is the use of Web conferencing services such as GoToMeeting and WebEx as companies attempt to save money.

Newell Rubbermaid, according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, cut its travel budget by 28% last year, and encourages employees to use videoconferencing instead of flying somewhere, and other US companies have cut travel 30-40%, estimates American Express Business Travel.

But as Ryan Bingham's boss discovers in the 2009 hit movie Up in the Air, some business missions are better accomplished in person (if you haven't seen the film, Bingham's job is to fire people for companies too chicken to do it themselves, and his boss decides that this can best be done via teleconferencing but later discovers that this isn't such a hot idea).

I, too, have found that if you really want to get something done, you have to do it in person. For example, I've been trying for years to gain the attention of an influential journalist who hadn't written about Airfarewatchdog.com. I had emailed this person, and sent media kits, and left messages, all to no avail. So I tried visiting in person and having a lunch. Yes, it cost money and time, but it was well worth the effort. A week later, the visit had accomplished its purpose.

How many careers have been launched at trade shows? What's the value of taking the measure of a potential business partner face-to-face rather than over the phone?

At Airfarewatchdog, we used to deal with our software programmers by email, instant message, and phone, in order to save costs. But I'm convinced that we wasted a lot of money, because our requests were often misunderstood, and it took more time doing it this way than sitting down with the programmers and literally drawing them a picture to get the enhancements done quickly and coherently. (Our programmers were based in Boise, and we are in New York, so travel would have been costly and time consuming, but given the chance to do it all over again, I would make the effort.)

When I was a freelance travel writer living in Boston, I tried in vain, by phone and email, to get assignments from magazines such as Travel and Leisure, based in New York. But once I started making desk appointments and meeting editors face to face, I never left without an article to write. Face to face works better than the alternatives.

My sincere belief is that although some business trips are unnecessary and some are fruitless, more revenue is being left on the table by ill-advised cuts in corporate travel budgets than is being saved by bean counters who encourage workers to stay home. This is a point made by British Airways, in their Face-to-Face campaign, which awarded 10 business class tickets to 100 companies in a recent contest, so that they could see first hand the benefits of a handshake.

If you make the effort to meet someone face to face, it speaks volumes, especially if, as is more and more the case, your competition is staying home.

If you fly a lot, you've probably been offered a business or first class upgrade for surprisingly little extra when you check in at the airport. But some airlines sell upgraded seats for fixed prices when you book your ticket, even on the lowest fares available. The chart below shows what's available on five US domestic airlines.

Continental joins United, JetBlue, Virgin America and some other US domestic airlines in selling economy class seats with extra leg room. These seats will become available for purchase 24 hours before the flight's scheduled departure. The seats will have a minimum of seven additional inches of legroom, according to Continental's web site announcement, and the cost will vary depending on length of flight and route. Passengers who are members of the airline's frequent flyer program and who fly more than 25,000 miles per year can select these seats at no additional charge, on a first check in, first served basis. No word when the airline's entire fleet will be reconfigured with the new seats.

Cincinnati to Las Vegas $179 round-trip, incl. all taxes

This fare is a scarce one, but it is available on certain dates within the 330 day travel period.

New York to Rome, Italy $588 round-trip, incl. all taxes

This fare is available for travel through late May, a great time to visit Italy!

Phoenix to Montego Bay, Jamaica $297 round-trip, nonstop, incl. all taxes

This is part of the current Jamaica sale from US Airways, in honor of their new nonstop service between Phoenix and Montego Bay. Travel through April 30.