Contests

Travel contests: you can’t win if you don’t play

Contests, , , ,

prizes

I’m a firm believer of the “you can’t win if you don’t play” theory of contests – and life. So here’s a round-up of some of the travel-related contests that have landed in my inbox.

Same-sex marriages are about to become legal in New Zealand and Air New Zealand is marking the occasion by holding an in-flight wedding for one lucky Kiwi couple, with a honeymoon in Palm Springs. Enter by July 26, 2013 here.

(Here’s my story about the first-ever, same-sex, inflight weddings, which took place on an SAS flight back in December, 2010.)

Contest_HA_Savor the Flavors image

 

To celebrate the launch of non-stop service to Taipei, Taiwan, Hawaiian Airlines is giving Facebook fans a chance to win 140,000 HawaiianMiles by taking the Hawaiian Airlines Street Eats quiz. The contest ends: July 31, 2013.

Finally (for now): prizes in a Radisson Blu contest that runs through August 15, 2013 include 30 free nights in a variety of Radisson Blu hotels around the world and 360,000 miles in Lufthansa’s Miles & More program which must be redeemed for two (2) Lufthansa Economy Class Round the World Flight Award Tickets.

You’ll need to write a very short essay about your dream destination, which will be judged on creativity and clarity. Details here.

Good luck!

Name-a-Plane and fly to Frankfurt

Airlines, Airplanes, Contests, , , ,

Lufthsansa Name the Plane

Betty, Bob, Brutus? What name would you give to an airplane?

In preparation for delivery of its first Boeing 777F in Frankfurt this October, Lufthansa is having a contest to name an airplane. Entries will be taken until July 15, 2013 and the winner will be flown to Frankfurt so they can be on hand when the new plane lands.

Find more details about Lufthansa’s “Name the Plane” contest here.

Travel Tidbits: Guns at airports + travel contests

Airports, Contests, Guns,

A little bit of this and that..

As more and more groups come out in opposition to the TSA’s impending rule changes about allowing small knives and some other previously prohibited items back onto planes as carry-ons, TSA chief John Pistole said the agency is sticking to its guns about the change in its ruling about knives.

TSA GUN

From the TSA Blog – just one of the 20 loaded guns found at airport checkpoints this week.

In the always entertaining – and often shocking – TSA Week in Review report, TSA blogger Bob Burns reports that this week 21 guns were found at airport checkpoints around the country. 20 of those guns were loaded and seven of those guns had rounds chambered.

Vermeer Woman in Blue Reading a Letter

KLM shared the news that it has been flying Vermeer’s Woman in Blue Reading a Letter to various museums around the world lately and to celebrate the painting’s return to the Rijksmuseum, the airline is having a contest to give away a trip for two to Amsterdam in April, when the Rijksmuseum is set to reopen.

And, while we’re talking about contests, American Airlines has a new contest with prizes that include business class trips for two on several new routes, including Dallas/Fort Worth to Seoul, Chicago to Dusseldorf and Dallas/Fort Worth to Lima.

Virgin America also kicked off a contest this week to promote flights between Newark (EWR) and both San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX). Enter the Fly Like a Boss contest by April 1st to get 25% off a flight to Newark Airport and a chance to be part of the airline’s April 9th launch party in Newark, which, they promise, includes a chance to hang out on an aircraft with Mashable CEO & founder Pete Cashmore and Virgin Group Founder Sir Richard Branson.

Travel contests: because you can’t win if you don’t play

Contests, , ,

prizes

I’m a big believer in “you can’t win if you don’t play,” so here are a few contests to enter with great travel adventures as prizes:

From now through March 8th, 2013 San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is celebrating Scandinavian Airlines’ (SAS) new non-stop service to Copenhagen with a Facebook sweepstakes (and a strange little video starring hamsters). Entrants choose their favorite destination from one of 12 European cities served by SAS and the winner of a random drawing will be awarded two round-trip Economy Class tickets on SAS to the destination they selected. Enter here.

Also through March 8, American Airlines is having a contest with four grand prizes that include a first class trip for two anywhere the airline flies, a year-long Admiral’s Club membership, Five Star Service (“To whisk you through the airport like a star”), a Samsung Tablet, Bose headphones, first-class pajamas, and a $1,000 gift card. Enter here.

And, to welcome the terracotta warriors to San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum, Cathay Pacific Airways is giving away prizes that include a 10-day China tour and a chance to fly to Xi’an to see the iconic terracotta warriors in their homeland.  Enter here through March 18.

  • Grand Prize: 10 days/9 nights “Cathay Pacific Essence of China” tour, including a pair of roundtrip Economy Class tickets on Cathay Pacific to Beijing, Shanghai and a private sightseeing tour to view the real Terracotta soldiers in Xi’an.
  • 2nd Prize – A one weekend night stay at the Galleria Park hotel in San Francisco, plus pair of VIP tickets to see the Asian Art Museum’s “China’s Terracotta Warriors” exhibition
  • 3rd Prize – An Annual Family Membership at Asian Art Museum plus a copy of the official exhibition souvenir book

Good luck!

Houston Airport’s little pony

Animals, Contests, ,

Houston pony

Horseback riding at an airport?

You bet!

Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has a volunteer mounted security patrol – the Airport Rangers – made up of people who ride their horses along the perimeter of the 13,000 acre airport.

It’s a great win-win arrangement: in return for helping to monitor all that airport land, the horses and their owners have access to lots of wooded trails and open space.

Right now, the airport is having a contest to find a good name for a colt born into the Airport Ranger family.

The contest runs through Friday, March 1. Contestants are being asked to suggest a great name for the pony and to guess what kind of horse she is.

The prize: a chance to meet the pony, ride with the Airport Rangers and Mayor Annise Parker and an invitation to a Texas barbecue.

Details on entering are here:

Travel tidbits: LinkedIn for travelers; win tickets to South America

Air Travel, Contests, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, ,

Another site for travelers to bookmark:

Are you on LinkedIn? It’s a good way to connect with others in your field and now it’s another place to go to chat about travel issues and read articles related to travel. This week LinkedIn introduced “Jet: The Business Traveler Network,” which includes a running, curated, feed of news articles from around the web.

Sometime it really pays to go out for to eat South American cuisine

LAN TICKETS

Leave to LAN Airlines to knock people’s socks off. On Wednesday representatives from the airline showed up at Bocanova Restaurant in Oakland and gave everyone in the restaurant – 200 people – tickets to South America! Last year, the airline did the same thing for a restaurant full of people in New York City.

Jealous? The airline is also giving away tickets to South America to people who don’t eat out in Oakland or New York but are on-line. As part of its “Only in South America” campaign, the airline is giving away tickets daily from January 25-30 on www.facebook.com/LANAirlinesUSA.

Win a ticket for a flight into space

Contests, Space, ,

http://youtu.be/aiXGUDnbSqs

The folks at AXE ( a line of grooming products for men) have kicked off a contest to give away 22 tickets for a seat on a suborbital spacecraft – and they’re recruited astronaut Buzz Aldrin to help with the promotion. (See below).

Rules vary by country and market, but it appears that contestants outside the U.S. need to create an “astronaut profile” explaining why they want to go to space, gather enough votes to qualify for some sort of challenge that might win them a spot in a space camp in Orlando, Florida and from there possibly get chosen for one of the 22 slots on the flight.

Entrants from the U.S. appear to have it much easier. Just go to this site before February 3rd and fill out a form.

http://youtu.be/x7gu8WVQNOQ

Travel contests: you can’t win if you don’t play

Contests, ,

It’s true: you can’t win if you don’t play. So take a moment to throw your name in the hat for these contests. You never know…

Cathay Pacific Airways is hosting a Jingle All the Way … to Hong Kong luxury holiday sweepstakes.

Grand prize: two Cathay Pacific round trip flights to Hong Kong in Premium Economy class from one of four US gateways (Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco); a four-night hotel stay at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental (a member of the Mr & Mrs Smith Hotel Collection); a $1,000 shopping spree on Saks.com; and 100,000 Asia Miles from Cathay Pacific’s loyalty program (good for anything from flights and hotels to Trek Bikes and iPads.)

The first runner-up will receive 75,000 Asia Miles and second runner-up will receive 60,000 Asia Miles.

Enter here. The sweepstakes runs through December 19, 2012.

San Francisco International Airport is holding a Postagram contest on Facebook and Twitter through December 21, 2010 with prizes that include an iPad mini and a GoPro camera.

If you’re flying through SFO you can get your photo taken at a Postagram photo station or enter here.

And if you participate in the Staybridge Suites hotels’ Twitter Chat about on the Art of Traveling Solo on December 13 from 6 – 7 p.m. EST (@Staybridge/#travelingsolo) you’ll be entered in a contest to win one of three prizes, including a two-night Stay at any Staybridge Suites hotel in the United States and a $500 American Express Gift Card; a $500 gift card to Mori Luggage and Gifts; or a Chef G. Garvin Prize Pack.

Good luck!

United Airlines mileage give-away contests

Contests

A few contests with United Airlines miles as the prizes:

United Airlines is hosting a 10 Million Charity Miles Giveaway contest.

38 charitable organizations will get 25,000 miles each. Members of the MileagePlus loyalty program are being asked to choose which of the groups should get the rest of the miles.

Participating organizations include the American Cancer Society, Make-A-Wish America, Wounded Warrior Project, Feeding America and the Salvation Army and the groups that get the largest number of votes will receive a larger share of the miles being granted.

Visit 10millioncharitymiles.com through Dec. 25, 2012, to vote for the groups you think are most worthy. MileagePlus will announce the results in January 2013.

If you’d rather have 25,000 miles yourself, the United Terminals Houston E & Newark C Concession Facebook & Twitter Pages are giving away three prizes of 25,000 MileagePlus award miles between now & 2/28/13.

To enter, you’ll need to “Like” the terminals on Facebook &/or Follow them on Twitter.

Here the links to Houston:
Shop Houston Terminal E
Twitter

Contest entry link:

Here’s the links to Newark Terminal C:
Shop Newark Terminal C
Twitter

Contest entry link

Good luck!

Win prizes at BWI and PDX airports

Contests, , ,

Baltimore Ravens football fans – and everyone else – can enter the “AIRMALL Purple Zone” contest at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) for the chance to win official Ravens gear and other prizes – including a trip to a Ravens away game during the 2013 season.

Passengers who make a purchase at participating BWI Marshall retail locations will receive a Ravens scratch-off ticket and have a chance at winning prizes that include Ravens t-shirts, hats, polo shirts, and autographed mini-helmets, discounts at some airport shops and – the grand prize : a trip for two to a 2013 Ravens away game, including round-trip airfare, game tickets, ground transportation, hotel accommodations, a Ravens prize pack and lunch. (You can also get a scratch ticket by mail. See the contest details.

And travelers who live in or near Portland, Oregon should definitely enter the Holidays Take Flight contest at Portland International Airport. The winner gets a $1,000 traveler voucher redeemable for round-trip travel from PDX to any Alaska Airlines destination. Enter here.