AirTran

Free in-flight Wi-Fi offers

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I’m a big fan of free wireless Internet at airports.  Now I’m also a big fan of free wireless Internet on airplanes.

Especially these free in-flight Wi-Fi offers that have popped up recently:

This Saturday, October 31, 2009, Gogo Inflight Internet will be free on all Gogo-equipped Delta flights. To access the service use the code GOPINK.

Delta pink plane

It’s great that Delta passengers can spend Halloween using Gogo for free.

Even better: for each free session that day, Aircell (the company that brings us the Gogo service) will be donating $1 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, up to $10,000. They’re also going to give all Gogo proceeds from Delta’s Pink Plane for the month of October to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Gogowifi

It seems first timers might also be able to get free Wi-Fi on Delta through the end of the year with the code: deltatrygogo and on Airtran with airtrantrygogo. (Let me know if this works for you.)

But wait! There’s more:

From November 1 – 7, 2009, there will also be free Wi-Fi on Wi-Fi-equipped American Airlines flights, courtesy of the folks at LEXUS.  To access that service use the code: 2010LEXUSLS. ( No car purchase necessary.)

And one more: from November 10, 2009 all the way through the holidays and until January 10, 2010, you’ll get free Wi-Fi on Virgin America flights, courtesy of the folks at Google. Details about free Wi-Fi on Virgin America here.

Have you found some other free in-flight Wi-Fi offers? Let us know.

College-bound? It’s time for Travel Deals 101

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Heading to college or sending a kid off to school?

back-to-school

Once tuition, room, and board bills are paid, there may not be much cash left over for actually traveling between home and the college campus.  But, as I write in my Well Mannered Traveler column on MSNBC.com today, some airlines offer a little help.

abcs

Lufthansa, Air Tran, United, JetBlue and American offer some sort of perks for students.

Here are some of the more popular travel discounts:

AirTran Airways has a discount standby program not just for college students, but for anyone 18 to 22 years old. (College student or not: on your 23rd birthday, you age-out of the program.)  AirTran U lets young people fly standby for $69 on short segment flights and $99 on long-haul segments.  There are some blackout dates and a variety of restrictions, but during 2008, more than 83,000 young people took advantage of the program.

Lufthansa’s GenerationFly program offers any U.S. college student with a valid .edu email address discounted fares to Germany and most every destination the airline flies. As a nice bonus, part-time students, teachers, and faculty members are also eligible to participate in the program.

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Several other programs have special airline offers for students as well.

The discounts promised by the Student Advantage Card (about $20/year) include a 10% discount on American Airline flights. And on its Web site, American Airlines offer discounts on vacation packages to students at about two dozen participating universities.

JetBlue offers an 11% discount to students who have an ISIC card (International Student Identity Card), which costs $22 a year. Holders of that card can also book special discounted fares with STA Travel, one of the major discount student travel agencies, which offers tickets that allow changes for just $50.

And, while United Airlines United Airlines doesn’t offer any special discounts for college-age students, the carrier’s College Plus program gives students enrolled in both the College Plus program and the Mileage Plus frequent flier program a graduation present of 10,000 bonus miles.

The deals for student travelers don’t end at the airport. Amtrak and Greyhound and even some hotels also offer discounts to students who have either the ISIC or Student Advantage card.

schoolbus

To find out more – and learn about some hotel deals for parents of college students, see the full column Travel Discounts for the college-bound on MSNBC.com.