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JetBlue Ticket Sale Stunt Coming to Seattle

October 10, 2008 at 11:30 AM | 0 Comments

JetBlue apparently had so much fun selling cut-rate tickets in Washington, DC that the carrier is taking its Happy Jetting Happy Hour to the West Coast.

Here's the scoop, direct from Twitter:

On Tuesday Oct 14 we'll be doing another Happy Jetting Happy Hour. This time at Pacific Place in Seattle from 3:30-6:30. Stop on by!

If he's there, say hi to Kenneth from "30 Rock" for us!

Related Stories:
· Marketing Stunt Travel: JetBlue's New Dulles Sale [Jaunted]
· JetBlue's EBay Auction Winners and Losers [Jaunted]

Adventures of Link: Airline Stunts

October 8, 2008 at 5:30 PM | 2 Comments

JetBlue's happy hour fare sale thingy was yesterday, and according to the carrier it went well. (Surprise!)

But that isn't the only airline stunt we've heard about lately. Besides Southwest's obsession with not having any fees, here are the rest of the gimmicks trying to separate you from the four bucks you have left after today's continued stock slide.

Related Stories:
· Virgin America and Barclays Now Have a Credit Card [MW]
· OpenSkies Slingin' Cheap Seats [MW]
· Southwest's No Fee Marketing Seems to Be Working [MW]
· Virgin Atlantic Stepping Attacks on BA [Official Site]
· And the Ultimate: $20 Transatlantic Tix on Ryanair? [Jaunted]

[Photo of snack time at the ticket sale: JetBlue]

Marketing Stunt Travel: JetBlue's New Dulles Sale

October 6, 2008 at 10:00 AM | 0 Comments

JetBlue continues to lead the pack in original ways to convince recession-era passengers to spend their last couple dollars on a flight. First it was eBay ticket auctions; now it's a ticket sale-slash-happy hour for DC-area travelers.

The catch--and it's a big one--is that you have to trek out to Northern Virginia for an afternoon to see what fares are being offered. And of course you have to fly from Dulles. But if you're in desperate need of a last-minute fall Florida trip, it might be worth the time.

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JetBlue's EBay Auction Winners and Losers

September 18, 2008 at 2:01 PM | 0 Comments

JetBlue's marketing stunt-slash-fare sale wrapped this Sunday, and The Economist breaks down who got a deal and who got hosed. Short answer: JetBlue's the big winner!

Says the magazine:

By offering tickets (with fixed routes and dates) on eBay, JetBlue hoped to attract leisure travellers who had not considered going away this autumn, or did not know that JetBlue flew on certain routes. The company also auctioned package holidays with secret destinations, betting that the aura of mystery would bring in bids. (It did.)

While those package deals were ripoffs, they helped cover the losses incurred by selling certain flights below the going rate at jetblue.com. More importantly, though, the carrier got tons of attention and publicity--including a story in The Economist and this post.

Related Stories:
· Flights Under the Hammer [The Economist]
· JetBlue Showing Up Sarah Palin with New EBay Sale [Jaunted]

Spoiler Travel: Where Will JetBlue's Mystery Trips Take You?

September 9, 2008 at 8:00 AM | 2 Comments

Included in JetBlue's big eBay promo/fare sale/stunt thingy are four "Mystery" flight-and-hotel packages. Bidding on each has already topped four figures, even though some people may not know where they'll be headed. So, as a sort of Jaunted PSA, we put on our deerstalker and deduced where each package would take the winners:

Package 1: It's a domestic vacation, sure, but which of "JetBlue's fun leisure destinations" does it involve? Well, Flight 31 leaves JFK at 10:55 am, arriving in Orlando at 1:37 pm on September 18. The trip back syncs up too. You can buy a package with a similar hotel and flights for two on JetBlue.com for less than $750; we won't be bidding on this one!

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JetBlue Showing Up Sarah Palin with New EBay Sale

September 8, 2008 at 9:03 AM | 0 Comments

So Sarah Palin tried to sell one single solitary private jet on eBay? Big deal: JetBlue is putting more than 300 flights and six vacation packages up for auction--and the airline announced the news on Twitter.

You can shop the carrier's eBay store by departure city, where flights from the NYC area to Florida are currently a great deal. Flights from Southern California to New York are also going for way less than what you'd pay by booking directly at JetBlue.com. Four of the six vacation packages are billed as "mystery" deals, but with a little sleuthing, you can figure out where you'll be spending your vacay, since JetBlue lists depature and arrival times for your flights.

Of course, there are some caveats: First, these prices are bound to go up, as some auctions don't end until September 14. You'll also have to factor in taxes and fees on top of your bid; to its credit, JetBlue is up front about that. Finally, these tickets aren't good any time you like: You're buying seats on specific flights, so if the dates don't work, why bother?

Related Stories:
· JetBlue's Official eBay Store [eBay]
· JetBlue coverage [Jaunted]

American Airlines Having One Last Big Caribbean Fare Sale

July 18, 2008 at 10:30 AM | 0 Comments

Homeboys may be on the way out of the Caribbean, but American Airlines is leaving with a bang. The carrier has put pretty much every destination in the region on sale, as long as you book by the end of this month.

We tried something simple to start, an early September round-trip between St. Maarten and Miami. AA is selling seats for $388, which is a steal compared to the $850 United is asking. Since the sale also covers Mexico, we tried NYC-Mexico City and dug up a fare of $526 all-in. That's the best rate going for the early September dates we used.

As with all airfare sales, sometimes you'll find great deals and other times it won't work out. Just remember: The money you save may go towards luggage fees if you overpack!

Related Stories:
· AA Caribbean and Mexico Sale [Official Site]
· Airfare Sales coverage [Jaunted]
· American Airlines coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Todd Neville]

Adventures of Link: The Latest from Spirit

June 18, 2008 at 6:02 PM | 0 Comments

By now we shouldn't be shocked by any of the marketing Spirit Airlines puts out.

But the latest hype from the LCC isn't crude; it's just terribly hard to belive. Spirit says if you sign up for its new credit card, you'll get a free flight.

There probably will be, like, eight people who snag the free tickets. Us? We'd rather not read through pages of conditions to save $17.

Related Stories:
· Spirit Airlines' Credit Card [Official Site]
· Spirit Airlines' Current "NC-17" Sale [Official Site]
· Frat Guy Continues to Head Spirit Airlines Advertising Division [Jaunted]
· The Spirit MILF Returns [Jaunted]
· Maybe Spirit Isn't That Bad: Ryanair Planning "Beds and Blowjobs" [The Cranky Flier]

Qantas Hyping Super-Cheap Transpacific Fares

June 18, 2008 at 10:35 AM | 0 Comments

Qantas doesn't plan to let V Australia steal away its customers when Richard Branson's newest airline takes flight December 15. So the old-line Aussie carrier is hyping some great fares on its A380 flights between LA and both Melbourne and Sydney.

Qantas says it's selling tickets for as little as $380 round-trip on flights departing between November 2 and December 8. But as far as we can tell, those super-cheap tickets are already gone.

We did find an LAX-Melbourne round trip in November for $1,215. Not less than 400 bucks, but that's certainly not bad! If you're willing to spend a bit more, A380 service between the US and Oz starts on October 20.

Related Stories:
· Qantas Strikes First in Virgin Price War [SMH]
· Fare Wars coverage [Jaunted]
· A380 coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Naddsy]

Frat Guy Continues to Head Spirit Airlines Advertising Division

May 19, 2008 at 11:37 AM | 4 Comments

Seems you either have to be a Maxim devotee or an Urban Dictionary savant to keep up with Spirit Airlines' ad campaigns. The latest--which is running on Jaunted at the moment--features "Big Spirit Deals."

And just in case you didn't catch the double meaning of BSD, the "$19 each way" part of the ad actually swings back and forth. More tacky than Spirit's "MILF" sale? We didn't think it was possible!

Related Stories:
· Spirit Airlines: Home to the MILF [Jaunted]
· The Spirit MILF Returns [Jaunted]
· Spirit Airlines coverage [Jaunted]

Virgin America's New Summer Sale

April 21, 2008 at 10:00 AM | 0 Comments

So, Virgin America is trying to price its way into the hearts of consumers as the legacy airlines are reeling from ever-higher jet fuel prices. Sounds like the perfect time to launch an early summer sale!

Our quick search of some dates in May shows that VA does indeed have the lowest prices between SFO and JFK. (The carrier's about 10 percent cheaper than the best seats on American.) On the new LAX to SEA route, fares on Virgin just edge out Alaska Airlines' prices.

Other routes are on offer, too. The current sale ends this Friday, but as Airfare Watchdog notes, VA has a tendency to extend discounts when people are buying tickets. Like we've said, the first one's always (close to) free.

Related Stories:
· Virgin America Summer Sale [Official Site, via]
· Virgin America Has a Plan to Get You Hooked [Jaunted]
· Virgin America coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: b_d_solis]

Adventures of Link: Saving You Some Cash

February 27, 2008 at 5:07 PM | 0 Comments

We see more than our share of airfare deals every day, but this week might set some kind of record. There are heaps of super-cheap fares out there right now. Most of these bad boys need to be booked in the next few days, so if anything looks good, don't wait.

Delta is serving up some low fares from Atlanta and New York. Think round trip from LGA to New Orleans for $224 all-in.

And Southwest has some one-way fares as low as $29, with lots more tickets going for $49 one-way. (You can even book 'em if you're a cutie.)

Related Stories:
· Delta Puts Atlanta and New York on Sale [Official Site]
· Southwest Lets Your Get Away in April and May [Official Site]
· JetBlue Goes Coast-to-Coast for $129 One-Way [Official Site]
· US Air Flying Philly to Barcelona for $500 [Official Site]
· AirTran Seats Starting at $39 One-Way [Official Site]

[Photo: Neil101]