All Those Airline Announcements – It Must Be Mid-August

August 13, 2009 | Uncategorized

From my years as an airline executive I can tell it’s mid-August once again since there is enough going on in the airline industry to put you in a tailspin.

As happens every year with the busy Fall business travel season just around the corner — although what happens this year in this economy is anyone’s guess — everyone is getting their ducks and planes in a row. It’s time to make new announcements, get your name out there in the news and be poised to pounce on all those business travelers who are about to take flight once again.

The first shot of the season was fired with gate and slot swaps, Delta and US Airways swapping landing slots and gates in New York and Washington, and AirTran and Continental at Washington and Newark.

Not to be pushed out of the limelight, JetBlue just announced an “All-You-Can-Jet” pass for one month of unlimited travel for $599.  The trick here is to move quickly — you have to purchase the pass by August 21 and all travel has to take place between September 8 and October 8 this year. All told, it’s not a bad deal if you can fly a lot in a one-month time period.

And not to be left out of the news, that new kid on the block – Virgin America - has announced its plans to fly to Fort Lauderdale from Los Angeles and San Francisco for only $99 one-way. Presumably they will fly you back as well.

The company also announced it is celebrating its second birthday with a new contest for its loyalty club members — it’s frequent flyer program is called Elevate — asking them to write a short story, 50 words or longer, about their first time flying on Virgin. The winner gets 100,000 points and all members will be given a special discount.

In addition, the one millionth person to become a member of Elevate will also win 100,000 points. Now’s the time to log on at www.virginamerica.com — as of two days ago membership was at 950,000 and gaining altitude.

Jim Ferri