Oh, I don't know. A couple of years ago I needed to send a letter to Europe and it had to be there in a couple of days. Hearing all the bad stuff about USPS, I decided to use UPS (don't ask me why - I won't do it again). Three weeks later the letter arrived. Oh sure, I got my money back for the freight, but the whole point with next day delivery was kinda lost.

My point is that if you look at just a few instances, you can always find good or bad experiences. But in this case, UPS will never get the chance to show that they can deliver, just as USPS won't get the opportunity with the original poster.

i dont think it is valid to compare the postal service to the new airline security monster. theyre two totally different batches of government dipwads.

Yes, FlyerTalk.com has been more like BashtheFederalGovernment.com lately.

Yes, well, there is a reason. Never in my life have I ever been forced to deal with so many ridiculous government people, rules, and arbitrary actions.

You have two choices. You can work to change the rules, by calling the folks who can do something about it, like your Congressional rep, the head of the TSA, Bush, Cheney, et al. Have you done that?

Or, you can just complain about them here, which will do what? Nothing?

As the original poster, I want to say that the only reason I used USPS was because it was too late in the day friday to have it overnighted. USPS was the only company that delivers on Sunday, so I went with them.

On a positive note, I called my post office at 7:00 am Monday as soon as it opened. They told me that my letter would arrive Monday. I made a comment about having paid to get it there Sunday and that I needed it within an hours, as I had a 9:55 am flight. I was told that I could come pick it up. As the post office was pretty much on the way to the airport, I did that. So, I paid $12.35 for gauranteed Sunday delivery. I then ended up making about 2 hours of phone calls to the USPS and to AA (to upgrade, then downgrade, then upgrade again). As the kicker, I had to pick the letter up a day late at the post office. But, I did get to fly first. The only way I can get a refund for the USPS fee is to head to SFO.

Well, it seemed like everything worked out in the end, which is all that matters, right? Of course, there was the hassle factor, which sucks, but it seems like that's a part of flying these days without involving other factors.

Glad that everything worked out for you okay.