Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Alaska Airlines:
All that Starbucks has them buzzing about the nifty fifty, and that’s why Alaska Airlines is looking to expand towards the East Coast. The carrier is launching a nonstop option to Philadelphia all the way from Seattle beginning on June 11.

The flights will run each and every day of the week, and the planes leave from Seattle and in the morning and depart from Philadelphia in the evening—no red-eyes needed. Alaska Airlines is also connecting to one other new spot, as they’ll also be sending jets back and forth between Seattle and Ft. Lauderdale each and every day of the week. These Florida flights start up on July 16, and if you book before February 13 there’s even some introductory fares where you might just score a deal.

· Air New Zealand:
If you’re looking to head to Bali you might as well stop over and check out New Zealand first, as the airline is launching some new nonstop service between Bali and Auckland a couple times per week. It will just be seasonal service for them between June and October, and the new options will all get done thanks to some of the airline’s Boeing 767-300s. The flight will take about eight hours or so, and that should save you a decent amount of time by not needing a layover. Tickets for the new flights go on sale later this month, so if you’re thinking about adding on a little bit of paradise to your Kiwi adventure now’s the time to do it. ]]> kjb 2012-02-10T09:21:46-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/9/141659/1544

What'd you pack? It's not a question you ask your friends and family when it comes time to zip up the bags and head on out on a trip; it's a question asked by a curious traveling public, of every traveler ever. Yeah, we want to see inside your suitcase or duffel, and though it's true that most of the time it's to compare packing prowess, it's also because the world enjoys stuff.

Without further ado, let us introduce the Air New Zealand-backed photoblog I Am Packed, which has one purpose: to feature the well laid-out contents of a traveler's bag, plus minimal information about the person (name, age, hometown, destination). It's beautifully simple, oddly inspirational and—best of all—'they take submissions.

Their archives only go back as far as August 2011, so you won't while away the entire day scrolling down the site. We had a similar series that started in September 2011, but ended with the year (here's a post from it). This way, the magic of peeking into other people's bags continues.

[Photo: screenshot]]]> JetSetCD 2012-02-09T15:30:26-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/1/10/12407/2686

YES—another all-black plane has taken to the skies. For the third time, Air New Zealand is honoring the country's rugby team—the All Blacks—with an aircraft painted in the team colors, which would be all black (plus a little white and gray to form the fern of the team logo).

The first AirNZ plane to get the treatment was a Airbus A320, then they upgraded to repainting a Boeing 777. This time, however, AirNZ has chosen the smallest of their fleet—a Beech 1900D, newly completed.

Keep a look out for the tiny black plane (and two more upcoming) buzzing its propellers on AirNZ's shorter domestic routes, such as between Blenheim and Christchurch.

[Photo: Air New Zealand]]]> JetSetCD 2012-01-10T13:16:49-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/18/234011/74

If a black airplane lands at night, do you even see it land at all? Okay that was kinda stupid, but all words pale in comparison to the awesomeness of the newest Boeing 777-300ER to be delivered to fun-loving Air New Zealand. It's the All Blacks-edition jet, the second plane in AirNZ's fleet to be outfitted in the black livery that's an ode to the rugby team All Blacks. One could even say the color is jet black.

The 777 is fresh off the Boeing assembly line in Everett, WA and lucky to start its life as the pimpest-looking plane in the sky. It's actually the largest plane painted noir, as the old Playboy DC-9 is long gone and AirNZ's other black metal is the smaller Airbus A320, confined to domestic itineraries. But this baby—this one with its three classes (four if you count the Skycouch)—this one is also flying further, like to LAX and London from Auckland.]]> JetSetCD 2011-12-19T08:40:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/12/5/12921/4223

Air New Zealand's new viral media campaign asks fans and followers to solve the murder of Rico, their obnoxious creepster of a puppet, by playing an online game.

The rat-like character, you'll remember, had been slowly making the transition merely sleazy to borderline rapey over a series of videos. Apparently the airline's creatives ran out of ideas, so they killed him.

The game is a Clue knockoff in which players are asked to determine which celebrity killed Rico where with what etc etc. The story is that Rico was killed at a Hollywood house-warming party, and so many of his former interviewees apparently make appearances. There's also some kind of prize which includes economy airfare to LA, a hotel stay, Universal Studios and Disney vouchers, and some other stuff. We're unsure whether "not playing the game at all" because "you really don't care" makes you eligible, but the rules and conditions spell everything out.]]> Omri 2011-12-05T14:04:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/29/02050/917

Take a pinch of premium airline and a dash of low-cost carrier and the end product will be low airfares with a whole lot of confusion. This week, Air New Zealand launched a new fare on domestic services by using a little of this recipe. They're calling it grabaseat™ and, by the looks of it, ANZ is attempting innovation by offering cheap prices so long as you're willing to abide by tighter rules.

grabaseat™ is ANZ's solution to budget carriers, but isn't offered on all flights. The fare is so basic it only allows for 7kg (15 lbs.) of carry-on baggage; anything over that will be a further charge. Since most of these fares are offered on flights that don't even have overhead compartments—in the case of their Beechcraft—the 7 kilo limit might make boarding a bit easier. If flying with nothing but a camera isn't your idea of fun, then you will have to cough up about $10 US to check a bag.]]> jetflyboy 2011-11-29T08:45:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/11/15/02621/571

Harvest may be over in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere, but south of the equator they’re headed into spring, and in New Zealand, that means it’s time for the Air New Zealand Wine Awards, the biggest, most prestigious wine competition on the country. And yes, it’s sponsored by an airline.

6.5 MILLION GLASSES OF WINE

We’ve already explained just what makes Air New Zealand’s wine program so unique—including the fact that the airline takes its role as an ambassador of all things New Zealand very seriously, leading its top brass back in 2004-2005 to make the decision to serve only New Zealand wines (except Champagne and Port) on its planes, and that it serves over 6.5 million glasses of NZ wine a year, making it the largest single server of New Zealand wines in the world.]]> EricRosen 2011-11-16T10:46:33-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/