Jaunted

Airport News / Airports / California Travel / LGB / → All Tags

Long Beach Airport Gets a Chill-out Fire Pit and More Reasons to Skip LAX

There’s plenty of airports from which to choose when you’re flying into Southern California, but there’s only one that recently took the bandages off as part of a comprehensive nip and tuck. Long Beach Airport opened back up last week, and we’ve got to say—at least from the pictures—that it looks better than ever.

The whole renovation was a good ten years in the making, and the new concourse cost around $45 million, so it’s not really surprising that they got it right with that much spending and that much time. The Los Angeles Times gets into some of the details that set the airport apart, and allow it to show off a little bit of California cool. For example, they’ve got a fire pit and lounge chairs within the new terminal, and there are plenty of local restaurants offering up more than just the regular airport cuisine. There’s even an iPad setup thing that gives flyers a little on-the-run access to email, news, and even some online ordering.

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Awesome Stuff / AYCJ / AYCJ 2011 / JetBlue / Airline News / BluePass / Travel Deals / BOS / LGB / → All Tags

All-You-Can-Jet Pass Evolution: Score JetBlue's 'BluePass' for Three Solid Months of Flights

Whoa whoa whoa. One month ago when JetBlue announced that the famous All-You-Can-Jet Pass wouldn't live to see a third annual run, there were a lot of frowning intrepid travelers wondering what the heck they were going to do with their autumn now. Well, those frowns are turning upside-down at today's hot-off-the-press news that JetBlue is introducing a reworked AYCJ, a departure airport-specific BluePass.

Don't freak and get out your credit card yet; the BluePass is not for casual fliers, nosiree. You've got to be based in either the Long Beach/LA or Boston areas (or willing to make the airports your base). The BluePass will last not just one month like AYCJ, but three months, and the cheapest of the three BluePass options goes for $1,299. Now, the nitty-gritty:

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AYCJ 2010 / AYCJ / JetBlue / Airlines / Airline News / LGB / LCC / → All Tags

The Last Day of AYCJ: Will There Be a 2011 Pass?

AYCJ 2010 officially ends this evening, which—all things considered—is kind of a huge bummer. JetBlue's All You Can Jet website is displaying a sad banner that says "we're sorry... the last date of travel is October 6." Tragic. Potentially even more tragic is that there's no promise of an AYCJ 2011 on the site.

So will there be a third annual AYCJ? It depends on whether the LCC thinks that the program has been a success. There are easy ways to imagine why it might be a loser for them. Certainly if all of the AYCJ flights were purchased by the passengers at full price, JetBlue would have made more money.

And it's not like the airline is straightforwardly getting new customers, since most of the people who buy the passes are travel junkies who buy tickets based on price and already search JetBlue. But that logic can be a little deceptive because there's no reason to believe that those full-priced tickets—the ones that get used "for free" by AYCJ pass holders—would have been purchased. Those seats may have just gone to waste.

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JetBlue / LGB / IAD / LAX / AYCJ 2010 / AYCJ / → All Tags

AYCJ 2010 Begins to Wind Down

In an effort to avoid a repeat of the insane disaster from our last AYCJ 2010 trip, which involved what ought to have been a straightforward IAD to JFK to LAX itinerary, we booked a direct flight between IAD and LGB last Thursday. Sure Long Beach is a lot farther from Jaunted's Los Angeles HQ than is LAX, and sure the drive is that much more annoying.

But as we pulled into the gate into the quaint aviation-related outpost that is LGB, the CNN feed on JetBlue's wonderful Direct TV announced that there were five-hour delays at JFK because of the torrential downpour. Suddenly the extra drive seemed kind of charming. Veritably scenic, in fact.

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Gay Travel / Events / Jetblue / Airline News / Party Dispatch Report / Festival Travel / Pam Ann / LGB / → All Tags

Party Dispatch: Pam Ann Takes Off with JetPRIDE

Back in April, we gave you a preview of JetBlue’s planned JetPRIDE flight from San Francisco to Long Beach in honor of Long Beach Pride, and this last weekend, the big gay flight totally happened and we were absolutely onboard.

The special quickie flight, given the flight number 1969 in honor of the Stonewall Riots and the birth of the Pride movement, featured pink drinks and a hostess with the mostest: Australian comedienne Pam Ann.

After the jump, check out our play-by-play coverage—including video—of the goings on, complete with cocktails and cupcakes, gift bags, and a giveaway contest courtesy of JetBlue’s Pride partner, Joie De Vivre Hotels.

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Airfare Sales / JetBlue / Vegas Travel / LGB / LAS / Twitter / → All Tags

JetBlue's Sample Sale Will Fly You To Vegas for $24

While JetBlue finally began service out of LAX at the start of the summer, it still pays to fly out of Long Beach. Travelzoo alerted us to a one-day only JetBlue "sample sale" from Long Beach to Vegas for $24 outbound and $29 for the return. The sale is good for Tuesday and Wednesday flights from October 6 to December 16 but you must book by tonight at 11:59pm MDT. Also included in the sale? One way tickets out of Vegas to New York or Boston for $99 a piece.

Speaking of Las Vegas and JetBlue, recently ousted star of "Jersey Boys" at The Palazzo, Erich Bergen, was Twittering from the JFK JetBlue terminal this morning. Now that's he's out of a job, he just may move into the terminal because it has Borders, Jamba Juice, Lacoste and free WiFi. And so much more. But sorry, no stage yet.

Related Stories:
· Sample Sale [JetBlue]
· JetBlue coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: VegasMichael/VegasChatter]

Airline Rumors / JetBlue / LGB / Airport Hell / → All Tags

JetBlue Sick of The Drama in the L-B-C

With service at LAX supposedly starting on June 17, it comes as no surprise that JetBlue is exploring the possibility of leaving the Long Beach Airport. In many ways, this news both saddens and excites us. We're excited because we live closer to Long Beach and driving to LA from the LBC could be a horrendous drive if you hit traffic.

We're a little saddened because Long Beach is one of the coolest retro airports. Ironically, this is one of the reasons that JetBlue executive said they might be leaving town.

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