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Air New Zealand / Airline Gimmicks / The Bachelor / New Zealand Travel / Air Fare Sales / Deals / → All Tags

Air New Zealand Seeks Help From 'The Bachelor' For Its Matchmaking Flight

What is going on with Air New Zealand these days? They are releasing one gimmicky promo after the next. First, there was the group of people who wore body advertisements for the Kiwi airline, then came airline employees covered in body paint, followed by the announcement of a matchmaking flight and then some more body paint.

This time, the matchmaking flight from Los Angeles to Auckland has decided to bring onboard a successful love match to inspire hope in the other singletons on the flight—Jason Mesnick and his girlfriend, Molly of the ABC show, "The Bachelor."

The October 13 trip is all about finding love (and filling up Air New Zealand planes), with a plane load of singles heading down to Auckland for a major party. And we're expecting at least a few Kiwi-American marriages to come out of this.

Since everyone else will be single, we're not sure that inviting Jason and Molly along is quite the right thing to do, but there's definitely one good side to it – to celebrate this announcement, Air New Zealand is offering tickets at $200 off. If you book by Wednesday with the LOVE200 code=, you'll get your return Los Angeles to Auckland flight plus all the attached partying for $580, which is a pretty low price to pay for the prospect of some Kiwi love.

Related Stories:
· The Matchmaking Flight [Official Site]
· From Body Paint to Matchmaking: Air New Zealand is Feeling Frisky [Jaunted]
· Air New Zealand Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: thetruthabout]

Air New Zealand / Parties / Airline Gimmicks / New Zealand Travel / → All Tags

From Body Paint to Matchmaking: Air New Zealand Is Feeling Frisky

Just in case the sexy painted bodies of Air New Zealand staff aren't enough to get you hot and heavy with booking a ticket, there's yet another little marketing strategy coming out from the Kiwis this week: the world's first Matchmaking Flight.

Sadly the flight of fancy is still months away; you'll need to be free on October 13 to get involved in this Kiwi love-in. On that date, an Air New Zealand flight will leave Los Angeles full of singles making the trip to Auckland for the Great Matchmaking Ball.

Air New Zealand will even help you to get through the butterflies by opening up chats on their website by posting your profile and linking up with either Americans or Kiwis who plan to turn up at the ball too.

Round-trip tickets for this romantic route start at $780, which includes a party at LAX before you leave, special in-flight food and entertainment (games, even), and the singles-only ball in Auckland. This is all well and good, but they're leaving out the most important information: will any of those body-painted flight attendants be on board?

Related Stories:
· The Matchmaking Flight [Official Site]
· Air New Zealand Offers Singles Only Matchmaking Flight [The Australian]
· A New Paint Job for Air New Zealand … Body Paint [Jaunted]

St. Patrick's Day / Southwest Airlines / Airline Gimmicks / Spot the Leprechaun / → All Tags

Get Lucky on Southwest Flights This Thursday

Are you by chance flying on Southwest this Thursday, March 12? It may not be St. Patrick's Day just yet, but you're in for a jolly green surprise onboard and in the gate area as Southwest deploys three leprechauns to host a "Spot the Leprechaun" event and get you drunk on smiles.

With the luck of the Irish, the three will spend the day zipping between Dallas, San Antonio, Harlingen, Chicago, Kansas City, Tulsa, Denver, Kansas City and St. Louis in order to play inflight trivia, pass out prizes, and give away their pot of gold: round-trip tickets on Southwest. Take a picture with them (you know, for good luck), and on March 17, the official St. Patrick's Day, all pictures will be posted to Southwest's blog to welcome the holiday in a hearty way. Sadly, there will be no green beer onboard; may we recommend a Sprite?

Related Stories
· It's Southwest Versus Northwest on Twin Cities Route [Jaunted]
· Southwest Airlines Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo via Southwest Airlines]

Iceland Express / Low Cost Carriers / Airline Gimmicks / → All Tags

It's Official: Iceland Socks

We've been in love with the crazy gang at low cost carrier Iceland Express ever since they taught us how to get a date with an Icelander. But with their newest gimmick, we positively want to marry Iceland Express. Because Iceland socks.

No, that's not a typo. Hit the Iceland Socks website (produced by Iceland Express) and you'll be confronted with several pairs of socks to choose from, and the ability to make your own mini-movie set in Iceland, featuring your chosen pair of socks. Just pick a few landscapes, add subtitles and you can send your movie to your friends. Trust us, it'll be hilarious!

We're always impressed with what Iceland Express comes up with to try to lure people to the country. Sock movies... really cool, but we still haven't booked our trip to Iceland.

Related Stories:
· Iceland Socks [Official Site]
· Iceland Express Impresses [Jaunted]
· Iceland Express coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Iceland Socks]

Austrian Airlines / Coffee / Airline Gimmicks / → All Tags

Gimme a Big Brown, Danke

Austrian Airlines already thinks it's pretty special for serving up strudel in its special snack box, and now the press wires are going mad over their new coffee house in the sky concept.

In the tradition of a typical Viennese coffee house, business class passengers now get a choice of 11 Austrian coffees with their strudel (or other dessert of their choosing, but who'd take anything other than strudel?). The Wiener Melange and the Wiener Fiaker sound intriguing enough, but please tell us who wants to drink the Grosser Brauner: "the Big Brown?"

[Photo: Al-Fassam]

Related Stories:
· Austrian Airlines Brings Hot Food to Economy [Opodo]
· Austrian Airlines Introduces Viennese Coffee House in the Air [World Travel Guide]
· A Yodel and a Strudel and You're There [Jaunted]

Airline Gimmicks / → All Tags

United's Upgrades, Northwest's Downgrades, JetBlue's Downturn

Have a seat: Disagreement on how best to coddle your backside while separating you from your money is rampant these days.

A minor kerfluffle has erupted over United's recent move to upgrade their first class seats into lie-flat models at the cost of $165 million dollars. Why not spend that money on making coach more bearable? Or improve first's amenities, instead of focusing on the seats?

Meanwhile, Northwest unveiled their plans to charge $15 for the better seats in coach (read: the exit row) to try and generate a little more revenue from the back of the plane. We understand their reasoning, and this move is more democratic than giving it the elite frequent fliers, but it still comes off as sleazy.

JetBlue, the only domestic carrier that offers extra legroom (in their single class airplanes) lost money last quarter and predicts a loss for 2006, though they claim it's from higher fuel costs and increased competition. Maybe making the passengers comfortable and happy is not the best way to turn a profit.  

Where does this leave domestic carriers? If they think the money is to be made with better seats up front and by nickel-and-diming consumers in back, fine; it's just the continuation of the sky-bus business model they've been hawking the last fifteen years.

Jaunted's not greedy about legroom, but we're tall here, so we do treasure the space. Is it so much to ask? We don't care about the peanuts or pillows, but deep-vein thrombosis is awfully bothersome.

[Image via ohad*/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   United Puts the Squeeze on Steerage [Gridskipper]
 ·   Spending More Money on Seats [View From the Wing]
·   Northwest Charges Extra for Seats [USA Today]
·   Grim View at JetBlue [TheStreet]