JetBlue A320 N640JB
JetBlue announced today that passengers can now purchase an unlimited travel pass for $599.00 and fly to any of the airlines 56 destinations as much as they want from September 8th to October 8th. No blackout dates, any seat is game, you can book and change up to 3-days before departure date, AND you still get TrueBlue awards points to boot.
I normally don’t blog about an airline fare special, but I think this might be an important test. If this becomes successful, this might be something JetBlue or other airlines do more. How great would it be to pay a flat fee and fly around the country (or world) visiting different locations on the cheap?
This is not the first time an airline has done something like this. American Airlines allowed folks to pay $250,000.00 to fly free for life, however the program ended in 2004. Earlier this year Cathay Pacific offered their All Asia Pass, where travelers could get unlimited flights to selected cities over a three week period for around $1500.00. Air Canada has also played with the notion of having unlimited flights. The problems in previous attempts, is #1 having too many restrictions or #2 being too costly (the last American pass sold for $3million). It seems JetBlue might have the right formula with relatively low cost and low complexity. It is something I would seriously consider taking part in, if I had a month I could take off of work!
Image: Taurs Photographix
Virgin American's RED where you can order food and drink right at your seat.
In an age where almost everyone has an Debit or Credit Card and that airlines are charging for more things on flights than just movies and alcohol, it seems obvious that airlines should be taking credit cards in flight.
Going cashless has many benefits (not having to have cash on the plane, don’t have to ask for change, encourages people to spend more, etc), but some flight attendants are worried what happens if the card reader doesn’t work? And there are concerns that the credit cards will slow down service.
Although airlines that have already implemented the service show there is a learning curve, but once learned, service can actually pick up.
Virgin America probably has the coolest system where you can order items on the entertainment module in the seat back and actually swipe your credit card there.
Current American cashless airlines:
* United Airlines: Since late April
* AirTran
* American Airlines by June 1
* JetBlue
* AirTran
* Southwest Airlines
* Sun country Airlines
* Frontier Airlines
* Alaska Airlines
* USA3000
* MidWest Airlines
* Virgin America
There could be more — there doesn’t seem to be a full list of airlines and I tried to search down as many as I could.
Although the additional charges might be bothersome, at least most airlines are making an effort to make paying them easier.
Image: NotCot.com
Cargo Door open on jetBlue A320
A cargo handler working for JetBlue decided to take a little nap at a bad time. He fell asleep in the planes cargo bin and didn’t realize what was going on until in the air. Lucky for him, the cargo hold was heated which allowed him to live to tell his tale.
He took the short flight from New York to Boston and after be determined it was all an honest mistake, he was allowed to return to New York. No word if he will be one of many people newly unemployed.
Let's Honk for JetBlue
There has been a lot of bad economic news for the airline industry for a long while now. But many individuals are starting to feel the pain of the suffering economy by losing their jobs.
To assist those unfortunate people who lose their jobs, JetBlue Airways is offering a full refund to anyone “who experiecnes involuntary full-time job loss prior to their trip.” This is quite helpful for those who planned a nice vacation before receiving a pink slip for sure (even though that is probably a time where they need a vacation the most).
The JetBlue Promise Program also allows people to be confident in purchasing new tickets, if their job is on the line. Of course there are the normal restrictions (must give 2 weeks notice, your flight must be booked from Feb 1 to June 1 2009, and you must lose your job on Feb 17th or later). All that being said, it is kind of nice an airline helping out someone who might need a nice vacation right about now!
After a three-month effort to try and unionize the pilots of JetBlue, they did not have enough votes and the pilots remain union-less. Only 33% of the pilots voted for the union, where 50% was needed to approve the formation of a union. This might show a positive outlook of the JetBlue pilots that the main cooperation is able to hear and deal with their concerns now and in the future.
JetBlue, being able to remain union less since its inception in 2000 has allowed them to keep costs low and compete better against other airlines who have unions.
Although unions can surely help with securing competitive wages and benefits for employees, it seems that sometimes in the dire situations the airlines are in, they look out for more of their own interests and not the overall big picture of the airlines. If employees feel they can get what they want without having to form a union — that is probably a good thing!
Source: USA Today Image: matt.hintsa