Fly from New York to Rome, Italy for $613 round-trip, including all taxes, on Finnair.

This is a hidden fare, meaning that you'll have to do a little clicking around on the higher fares listed on the Orbitz fare calendar before the lower fare is revealed on the following page. Seats are scarce, and you'll find more availability in late winter than fall.

For booking info, see our Fare Details.

Fly from San Francisco to Copenhagen, Denmark for $771 round-trip, including all taxes, on SAS.

This fare is valid for travel on select dates, Mondays through Thursdays, from October through March. Avoid the usual November/December holiday blackouts.

For booking info, see our Fare Details.

Fly from New York to Johannesburg, South Africa for $613 round-trip, including all taxes, on Arik Air.

Seats are scarce, but we found seats available throughout fall, starting in late October (I searched Oct. 22 - Nov. 2, as seen below). Booking is a tad tricky, since the Arik site doesn't allow you to search New York to Johannesburg unless you use their multiple destination search, entering Lagos, Nigeria as the connecting city. You can avoid all that by just using Kayak, OneTravel, or CheapoAir. I went from Kayak's "Explore" feature and was directed to Arik where I was able to bypass that whole multiple destination step.

Fly from New York to Lagos, Nigeria for $774 round-trip, including all taxes, on Delta Air Lines.

This fare is valid for travel between October 21 and December 9. Depart from New York's LGA, JFK, or EWR airports.

For booking info, see our fare page for Lagos, Nigeria.

American Airlines is offering discounted fares to Hawaii for travel through December 14. Fares are valid for travel Mondays through Thursdays. All tickets must be booked by 11:59pm CT, October 7.

Tickets require a 3 night minimum stay. Avoid blackout dates on travel to Hawaii on November 15-19, and from Hawaii on November 23-27.

Fares include:

New York to Kahului-Maui $662 round-trip, including all taxes

New York to Kona $662 round-trip, including all taxes

New York to Lihue $662 round-trip, including all taxes

Charlotte to Honolulu $646 round-trip, including all taxes

Austin to Honolulu $696 round-trip, including all taxes

Tampa to Honolulu $690 round-trip, including all taxes

Omaha to Honolulu $692 round-trip, including all taxes

San Antonio to Honolulu $696 round-trip, including all taxes

Las Vegas to Honolulu $450 round-trip, including all taxes

For a complete list of current deals, visit our fare pages for Honolulu, Maui, Kona, and Lihue.

Fly from Las Vegas to Rio for $496 round-trip, including all taxes, on Copa Airlines. This fare is valid for travel on select dates in late November and early December. We found seats departing November 26, returning December 3, as seen by the screen grab below.

For booking info, see our Fare Details.

Why are you still paying the airlines to ship your bags when FedEx Ground and other shippers will usually do it for less and with fewer hassles? Airline baggage fees (see chart) keep on going up, and while fewer bags are being lost (mainly because more people carry on these days), bags still get damaged, lost, stolen and delayed. Not only will it often cost less, but there are other advantages:

Better tracking: FedEx and UPS will allow you to track your shipment online.
Better reliability: FedEx and UPS have a better delivery record than the airlines
No waiting in line: no waiting to check your bags at the airport or to retrieve them at the carousel
Less theft: No light-fingered TSA agents or baggage handlers
Better insurance: airlines won't reimburse you for "valuables" (electronics, business effects, etc.) in your checked luggage in the case of damage or theft.  You can insure these with FedEx and UPS.
An apology if something goes wrong. And a refund: You'll get a refund of your shipping charges if the shipment is severely delayed or goes astray. Airlines only reimburse your bag fee if they lose your bag for good.
Even better than carryon: Sure, you can avoid some of these pitfalls by carrying on your bag, but then you have to fight for overhead bin space, if there's room in the overheads at all, in which case you have to check anyway.

Below, a couple of comparisons showing what you can save by shipping vs. schlepping. Note that since airlines charge the same fee for shorter flights as they do long ones, the savings are even greater for short-haul routes. And as soon as you go over the 50-pound weight limit, or over the typical 61 linear inch limit, where airlines really tack on the fees, the savings multiply.

I only show FedEx 5-day (or less) Ground rates here, assuming that you drop off the package at a local Kinko's or FedEx office. Home pick up will incur additional charges. UPS charges similar rates. All prices are one-way.

And yes, if you fly on Southwest you can usually avoid checked bag fees (under you're over 50 pounds), but all the other hassles of checked bags apply. Note, too, that if you're staying in one place when you arrive at your destination, you can save weight by just shipping the contents of your suitcase rather than the suitcase plus its contents. And while it's true that this method forces you to plan ahead, it's worth it: you'll save time and hassle--and probably money as well.


Route One: Boston to San Francisco

One 25-pound suitcase, under 61 linear inches

Delta (and other legacy carriers): $25
Fed Ex Ground 5-day service:  $34.44
Southwest: $0

Same route,  25-pound second bag under 61 linear inches

Delta etc.: $35 each way
Fed Ex Ground 5-day service: $34.44
Southwest: $0

Same route, but a 54-pound first bag, under 61 linear inches

Delta etc: $90-$100 overweight charge, plus $25 ($115-$125 total)
FedEx Ground: $61.53


Route Two: Los Angeles to Seattle

One 25-pound bag, under 61 linear inches

Delta (and other legacy carriers): $25 each way
Fed Ex Ground 5-day service:  $19.88
Southwest: $0

Same route, second 25-pound bag

Delta etc.: $35
Fed Ex Ground: $19.88
Southwest: $0

Same route, but a 54-pound first bag

Delta etc: $90-$100 overweight charge plus $25 ($115-$125 total)
FedEx Ground: $36.14
Southwest: $50

Looks like yesterday's deals to Asia have managed to stick around! Here's one from Atlanta to Tokyo for $781 round-trip, including all taxes, on Delta.

We found seats departing as soon as September 25, returning October 3, as seen in the screen grab below. Other dates for fall are also available.

For booking info, see our Fare Details.

Fly from New York to Beijing, China for $656 round-trip, including all taxes, on Delta Air Lines.

This fare is valid for travel on select dates October, November, and December.

For booking info, see our Fare Details.

Fly from Albany to Phoenix for $144 round-trip, including all taxes, on United Airlines.

This fare is valid for travel on Mondays through Thursdays, as well as Saturdays, with a 330-day travel period. Plenty of dates to choose from!

Fares require a 21-day advance purchase. No minimum stay! For booking info, see our Fare Details.