USA post office do not send things via surface anymore..... is their a private postal service that does this?

I'm a Brit living in the USA, I'm frequently sending things to my family i.e. clothing, chocolate, books, photos etc. I used to send them via surface mail but now the US Postal Service has dropped surface mail and sends only via airmail. This is way too expensive for me to use. I was wondering if there was a cheaper alternative? I cannot be the generous son/brother/uncle anymore as the airmail postage rates kills me.
Thank you very much for any help received.

I work for the united states postal service. I have been a window clerk for about two years. In May of 2007 the postal service underwent one of the biggest changes in their rate pricing ever. There is NO surface mail to other countries. The only thing I can suggest is to get it to fit in a flat rate box. It is 37.00 no matter what you put in it. *******-= SORRY, THERE IS A TWENTY LB WEIGHT LIMIT, BUT I DOUBT ANYEONE CAN GET TWENTY POUNDS INTO THE 11" X 8.5" X 5.5" FLAT RATE BOX=- ***Or you can try to fit everything into a flat rate envelope which is 11.00 as long as the seams are not comprimised. *which kinda sucks either way because the flat rate boxes are NOT very big. maybe the size of a shoe box is all. well, they have two sizes but they end up being the same volume, just a different shape* It is unfortunate that slow boat is not offered anymore, but I find when i send stuff to my sister in Australia, I send a little at a time. I get it to be as light as possible so it qualifies as First class international instead of Priority international. It takes the same amount of time and First class is a hell of a lot cheaper. All your packages that are under 4 pounds qualify as First Class International. Once you go an ounce over it goes straight to Priority, which makes a big difference. The post office is actually coming out with a larger flat rate box but the pricing will still be around $40.00. A lot of people that used to send packages overseas by boat are ending up just sending international money orders. but for people like my sister, who would rather have items you can't find in america, i send them little at a time to qualify as First Class instead of waiting until i have tons of weight that will only go priority or express. ouch. ------------------------If you know the dimensions and weight of your package you can get an estimate online at USPS.COM or for the other shipping companies *which i'm sorry, i don't know much about* try comparison pricing at this link http://www.epinions.com/bsrv-Office_Serv...

Not everything travels by air. Many shipments travel by a variety of means.

Go to the Post office or visit UPS to see what are your options for mailing for less cost.

The US mail uses UPS planes now to ship packages everywhere. Unless you send it on a cargo ship everything goes by plane. there must be a cheaper alternative to the US mail, I would try UPS.