Money Matters, Simplified.
Fly unlimited with JetBlue for $599
by Jamie Anderson - August 13, 2009 - comments
JetBlue’s "all-you-can-fly" promotion is a seasonal variation of the AAirpass sold by American Airlines. The AAirpass provides 25,000 miles of travel to be flown within a year for $11,250
Texas, August 13: With a view to draw first blood and attract a bigger pie of the air travel market share, JetBlue Airways (JBLU.O) will offer a "all-you-can-fly" pass for as little as $599 which would permit the holder to book unlimited flights.
The pass which would be valid for one month will allow the pass holders to fly to any of JetBlue's 56 destinations across the U.S., as well as leisure destinations in Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean.
The discount carrier is also scheduled to launch its flight to Baltimore on Sept. 9 and to Barbados on October 1. It was not immediately clear if the scheme would be extended to these destinations as well.
Limited time to grab a pass
Interested passengers have time until Aug. 21, which is when the booking for the "all-you-can-fly" pass ends. The carrier reserves the right to end the offer at its own discretion before that. The scheme is valid from Sept. 8 through Oct. 8.
“We’ve never done anything like this before, and we think it’ll be well received,” said Bryan Baldwin, a spokesman for the carrier.
A pass holder may get the tickets booked to the requisite destination at least three days before the date of departure.
The subscription of $599 includes the domestic taxes and fees, however, international and Puerto Rico taxes and fees are not built-in the deal.
The program attracts a charge of $100 in case of any change or cancellation in the pass holder’s schedule. Likewise, "No shows" for flights also attract a fee of $100. The pass would be suspended by JetBlue till such a fee is paid.
The JetBlue's frequent fliers get an added advantage of amassing an additional 35 TrueBlue points when they buy the pass.
The logic behind the promotion
JetBlue, the discount carrier has witnessed a fall of 0.5 percent in its load factor, a measure of the plane’s occupancy, in July. In terms of miles flown by paying passengers, the carrier witnessed a fall of 4.6 percent in the same period.
During this time of the year, the airline carriers respond to the seasonal slump by trimming flights and jobs. This time around, the unrelenting recession and resultant double-digit joblessness rate have added to the woes of the carrier.