Seat-back ads have finally arrived in the US, with low cost carrier AirTran being the first to embrace what is already beloved onboard European LCCs like Ryanair and EasyJet.

Soon, passengers on all AirTran flights will be confronted for the entire trip by a 2.5" by 9" poster, sitting a few feet from their eyes, trying to worm its way into their eyeballs. It will be present on all 138 jets, and the first advertiser is an odd one: Mother Nature Network, a "one-stop resource and an everyman's eco-guide" for environmental news, travel, lifestyle, etc. MNN will use the ads to publicize a 7-night cruise giveaway as well—how eco-friendly of them. Hmm... ]]> Omri 2009-11-20T11:43:12-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/6/75646/0750

Fans of the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons now have an easy pick when it comes to choosing their favorite airline—it has to be AirTran. The airline that loves in-flight WiFi has just released a Boeing 717 dubbed Ravens One from the hangar, and the plane is ready to shuttle fans to away games around the country.

Just a couple weeks ago, the airline pulled the masking tape off another plane dedicated to the Atlanta Falcons. It’s fitting that AirTran has a thing for football teams named after birds. However, the airline is also planning to release a plane with an Indianapolis Colts livery in just a few weeks. From what we’ve seen of Peyton Manning’s acting skills in commercials, we have little doubt that he’ll be the featured pitchman for the Colts’ new plane. ]]> kjb 2009-11-06T08:48:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/15/143752/37

The outlook for the 2010 airline industry is unremittingly bleak, but you wouldn't know it from the way that Southwest is acting. The low cost carrier is adding 104 flights to its spring schedule. In the process they're turning the Boston turf war they started with JetBlue and AirTran into a full-blown bloodbath:]]> Omri 2009-10-15T17:33:37-05:00 42.3644450 -71.005280 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/21/144857/420

Southwest began flying out of Boston-Logan last Sunday, a move that their CEO once declared would never ever happen. Nonetheless, we weren't particularly surprised: we flagged the expansion back in April when they announced their routes, and again a few weeks ago when AirTran gave them a "welcome to Boston" by announcing free WiFi for Boston flights.

What is much more interesting is what the move means for the LCC niche and the airline industry as a whole, two different markets that are increasingly difficult to untangle.

The Wall Street Journal just published a must-read article on the industry, taking Southwest's expansion as the centerpiece and moving on from there: ]]> Omri 2009-08-24T08:59:39-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/27/83013/0110

We make a huge deal out of in-flight WiFi, but it's kind of a crazy thing to be able to surf freely and chat with friends wirelessly while 35,000-feet above nowheresville. But just in case you still haven't been convinced that a few hours of internet access is worth spending yet more cash on your flight, the largest provider of in-flight WiFi, Gogo by Aircell, is offering a discount code good through the rest of the summer.

Jot it down now: 158FLF7365.

Type that in when you open your laptop in the clouds, and it'll get you 50% off the cost of the WiFi, which regularly starts at $5.95 and goes all the way up to $49.95 for 30 days. The code is valid until August 31, 2009, so anyone flying the following airlines soon has a little something extra to look forward to: Virgin America, Delta, United, American and AirTran.

Related Stories:
· Discount code tweet [Twitter]
· US Airways Announces They'll Have In-Flight WiFi In 2010 [Jaunted]
· Gogo In-Flight WiFi Coverage [Jaunted]

[Image: Gogo]]]> JetSetCD 2009-07-27T09:19:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/20/71822/1711

For those who haven’t been taking notes, Southwest Airlines is set to take off from Logan Airport in Boston starting halfway through August. Hopefully their low cost model will help lower flight prices out of Beantown; it has already brought some freebies to flyers thanks to a little friendly competition.

AirTran knows the stakes are high, so they are offering free WiFi aboard all their flights that travel between BOS and BWI—one of Southwest’s main routes. The free in-flight WiFi will be available for the whole month of August, in hopes that travelers will choose their WiFi planes over the other guys.]]> kjb 2009-07-20T09:14:21-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/14/135330/727

Hurrah! AirTran has just completed WiFi installation in all of its planes, meaning whenever you fly on AirTran you will be able to connect to the internet via Gogo Inflight.

Pricing will be similar to other WiFi flights that use Gogo which means $9.95 for flights shorter than three hours, $12.95 for longer flights and $7.95 to connect with your mobile phone.

But don't sign on so fast. AirTran also wants passengers to behave themselves when using in-flight WiFi which is why they've introduced their Internetiquette tips. (Ugh.) AirTran will place a copy of Internetiquette: A Guide to Keeping Everyone In Line, While They're Online that AirTran in every seat pocket. You can also access these tips online (narrated by Peter Graves) on the AirTran website.

Some of the tips are funny, like don't surf and squat in the lavatory. Some are stupid like don't take picture of celebrities or "take their stuff and sell it at online auctions." And some are just whatever, like don't open up sensitive company emails on a plane. Uh...ok. Thanks?

Related Stories:
· Summer Is Only Days Away, Is AirTran's WiFi Ready? [Jaunted]
· How To Figure Out If Your Southwest Flight has WiFi [Jaunted]
· WiFi Now OnBoard [AirTran]

[AirTran Photo: PhillipC] ]]> juliana 2009-07-14T14:47:30-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/