Contests

$4,000 crystal-encrusted eye-masks for 5 lucky Virgin Atlantic passengers

You may sleep, but your neighbor may be kept awake by the sparkle.

Travelers hoping to avoid jet lag on a long-haul flight often don black eye masks in hopes of getting some shut-eye.

They may look bland, but they work.

But on Thursday, five lucky Virgin Atlantic passengers will be able to snooze in considerably better style wearing a limited-edition mask, decorated with $4,000 worth of Swarovski crystals.

The airline introduced new amenity kits for its economy, premium economy and first-class passengers on Sept. 1. To celebrate, it’s tucking five swanky Swarovski eye masks — each with more than 3,000 red, white and blue crystals — in the amenity kits handed out in the economy section of five flights. The crystals were all hand applied (10 hours per mask) by Saima Anwar, an artist who also creates crystal eyelashes for celebrities such as Katy Perry.

Thursday’s winners could include passengers on any of the airline’s flights to or from 11 cities in North America, including New York, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles.

Five eyeshades have been created to mark the launch of new amenity kits which are now appearing on board all Virgin Atlantic flights.

“As the majority of our flights leave at night, arriving in London in the morning, we want to make sure our guests are well rested to begin their days, whether they be traveling for business or pleasure,” said Chris Rossi, senior vice president North America.

Virgin Atlantic has been sweet on Swarovski for a while. Since 2003, the airline’s first-class cabins have featured Swarovski crystals on the cabin walls. Curtains adorned with more than 1,000 Swarovski crystals were recently added to the revamped first-class section on the airline’s A330 aircraft.

While only five passengers will score the cool, crystal-encrusted eye-masks, the new, complimentary amenity kits are sure to be keepers. Each economy class kit contains one of the airline’s signature red eyeshades decorated with one of six sunglass designs, including one with heart-shaped frame and another in a shutter style.

The premium economy kits are charcoal gray pouches made from recycled plastic bottles. The pouches have silk linings and are designed to double as travel wallets.

Virgin Atlantic’s first-class passengers will be issued amenity kits made from the same recycled material, but their pouches will be big enough to be reused as holders for tablet devices or e-readers.

Why upgrade an amenity that many other airlines don’t even offer to travelers in the coach cabin? “To enhance the customer experience to travelers in any class by offering a number of on- and off-board amenities not found with other carriers,” said Rossi.

Or, as the airline states in a news release, because it’s “all part of Virgin Atlantic’s commitment to sustainability, and going green (and gorgeous!).”

(My story about Virgin Atlantic’s new amenity kits and the Swarovski crystal encrusted mask give-away first appeared on NBC News Travel)

Photos courtesy Virgin Atlantic.

Jet Blue giving free books to kids

JetBlue and PBS KIDS are back with the Soar with Reading program.

 

The program makes literacy-based games and activities available to everyone (here’s a link to download a fun, free booklet) and donates thousands of books to kids who need them.

For each title of a favorite kid’s book you share, JetBlue will donate an age-appropriate book to a child in need (up toe $200,000 worth of books). Your suggestion also earns you an entry into a contest for two round-trip plane tickets and $2,000 worth of hotel vouchers, an iPad and a collection of books, or a PBS Kids prize pack.

Here’s page from the activity book, which should also be available on JetBlue flights

Gatwick treats old and young travelers; Dulles doles out cake

The search for the UK’s oldest traveler is winding down at Gatwick Airport.

Citing researching that shows 56% of O.A.Ts (Old Age Travelers) over 70 are traveling more often than they did when they were younger and a “staggering” 61% of those aged 85 and over are out on the road more as well, Gatwick airport has been trying to find the oldest “holidaymaker” and give them a trip for two to Las Vegas on British Airways and three nights at the 5-star Vdara Hotel and Spa.

The deadline is June 29, 2012. Rules and details here.

Gatwick Airport also has something for very young travelers.

As part of its free audiobook download program, the airport is offering recordings of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the Three Little Pigs, the Ugly Ducking, Sleeping Beauty, the Three Billy Goats Gruff, the Princess and the Pea, Rumpelstiltskin, the Tortoise and the Hare, Puss in Boots and Little Red Riding Hood. You can download the stories at the airport or give a listen on SoundCloud here.

They do it at theme parks so why not at airports?

Earlier this month the 500 millionth passenger at Washington’s Dulles International Airport was surprised with soda, cake and cupcakes and given a Dulles Airport swagbag with a $50 gift card from Shop Dulles Airport.

(More) travel contests: because you can’t win if you don’t play

 

Must be something about the season, but there seem to be a lot of contests awarding travel and grand trips as prizes.  Give these a try and don’t forget to send me a souvenir if you win.

 

Nashville International Airport is marking the 75th anniversary of Berry Field Nashville, the airport’s original name and the source of its BNA airport code, with a sweepstakes that ends on June 1st. The prize: a trip to Nashville over the July 4th weekend that includes backstage passes to a fireworks event and performance, roundtrip tickets on Southwest Airlines, four nights at a Nashville hotel and tickets to the Grand Ole Opry. Enter here.

USTOA (the U.S. Tour Operators Association) has kicked off a four week Around the World with USTOA Sweepstakes with a different grand prize each week. This week’s prize: a trip to China! Coming up: trips to U.S. National Parks, Australia & New Zealand and to South America.

And Motel 6 is looking is having an Open Road Correspondent Contest. To enter, you’ll need to make and post a short (2 minutes max) video and answer a few questions in writing. The three ‘correspondents chosen will get to take a week-long road trip, with a guest to help out with the driving, and report on their adventures along the way.

The prize includes $5,000 for round-trip airfare to the starting point of the trip and for car rental, meals, gas and other expenses during the road trip, two iPads and hotel stays at, you guessed it, Motel 6 properties along the way.

 

Good luck!

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

Wish you were somewhere else this holiday weekend? The prizes in this contest include travel to some great places seated next to some very interesting people.

 

To promote its “Meet & Seat” program, KLM is running the “Be My Guest” contest, which features on-line “chats” with a half dozen Dutch celebrities and trips for six winners seated next to one of the celebrities:

A soccer (they call it football) journey to London with soccer player Ruud Gullit, a fashion trip to New York with model Yfke Sturm, a space journey to Amsterdam with Wubbo Ockels, the first Dutch astronaut, a movie trip to Venice with actor Jeroen Krabbé, a design trip Berlin with designer Hella Jongerius or music trip to the U.S. with DJ Armin van Buuren.

Enter here.

Oh, and you get to take someone with you.


Basball or Michael Bublé? Win one or both.

An unlimited travel budget would be nice. But few of us have that luxury.

Instead we scrimp and save and enter sweepstakes that award travel as prizes.

Here are two contests to keep those fantasies alive.

Source: The A.G. Spalding Baseball Collection, New York Public Library

 

Delta Air Lines, which sponsors 10 MLB teams, has launched the “Delta Travelist” contest, which invites fans to submit videos describing their ultimate baseball dream.

The airline will select “the most interesting, creative video” and award a prize that includes airfare, hotel, game day tickets and other perks for the winner and a guest.

Enter at http://www.facebook.com/delta. The deadline is May 11.

If baseball is not your thing, but jazz singer Michael Bublé is, then put your name in the hat for an American Airlines’ Five Star Smoothness contest offering a prize of a VIP trip to Los Angeles complete with a VIP meet-and-greet with Bublé and a $2,000 American Express® gift card that can be used for hotel accommodations, dining and shopping.

Deadline: June 11, 2012. Register at: www.aa.com/buble.

Prize: First Class tickets to Los Angeles (LAX); Five Star Service for two; an exclusive, VIP gathering with Michael Bublé; and a $2,000 American Express® gift card to be applied toward hotel, dining, shopping and more.

No yodeling in the New York subway

Yes, that’s Switzerland plastered on the side of a New York City subway car.

To promote their flights to Switzerland from JFK and Newark Liberty Airport, Switzerland Tourism and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) have transformed a subway shuttle train into a Swiss journey by putting Swiss imagery on the inside and the outside of an S shuttle car running between New York City’s Grand Central Station and Times Square.

That’s the shortest regular service in the New York subway system, by the way, traveling 0.8 miles in one minute.


You can pretend you’re flying to Switzerland while riding in this subway car or you can go there for real by winning an online contest.

Through May 12, the airline is offering weekly opportunities to win airline tickets and other prizes. Find out more  here.

Frontier Airlines seeking new spokesanimal

Frontier Airlines, which has pictures of critters on more than 60 of its airplanes, is adding one more.

Eighteen animals – including Doris the Chicken, Melvin the Turtle and Doug the Dung Beetle – are in the running and the winner will the animal (or insect) that receives the most votes.

“Auditions” are on now through April 7 at FrontierAirlines.com. Voting on the three finalists will take place April 9-15.  The winner will be announced at the end of April.

Voting is fun, but also rewarding:

Anyone who votes for their favorite ‘spokesanimal’ will receive an email with a discount offer on future Frontier travel and be entered to win up to $2,500 in Frontier Fly Bucks. On its Facebook page, the airline is also giving away prizes that include the new iPad, Kindle Fire and (more) Frontier Fly Bucks.

The ballot includes:

Doris the Chicken
Vladimir the Bat
Tina the Grebe
Doug the Dung Beetle
Enrique the Tree Frog
Polly the Parrot
Paula the Pig
Ralph the Ram
Alivina the Owl
Samson the Sloth
Melvin the Turtle
Chloe the Chipmunk
Cammie the Cow
Joanne the Giraffe
Fred the Walrus
Duke the Arctic Dog
Will & Hill the Prairie Dogs
Mario the Lizard

 

Tidbits for travelers: contests & an out of control flight attendant

The folks at Kansas City International Airport are pretty excited that Alaska Airlines has started service to Seattle. So excited that they’re having a contest to give away two round-trip tickets on Alaska Airlines between there and Seattle, Portland, Vancouver or Anchorage. Enter here. Deadline: March 21, 2012.

As long as you’re entering contests, enter this American Airlines contest for a trip to Napa Valley, New York or Paris. It looks like you need to buy a ticket to enter, but if you go to this page, you’ll find an alternate no-purchase-necessary option.

The email I received about the promotion promised a once-in-lifetime experience, but on Friday a planeload of passengers got an unwelcome, once in a lifetime experience when a flight attendant had a serious meltdown before the flight took off.

Here’s a TV news story about the event.

The flight attendant is getting medical attention and we hope she’ll be OK. But, interestingly enough, I received an email today from someone who said he was on another American Airlines flight a while back where a flight attendant was exhibiting the same sort of behavior.

“On my flight we were also told the plane could go down, people will and do die of heart attacks, and as we would be travelling over water we could drown when the plane goes down. It was not the most pleasant trip I have ever taken because there was some concern the flight attendant could do something really stupid in mid-air, such as open the cabin door. Suffice to stay I remained on alert the entire flight time.”

It’s impossible to tell yet if this is the same flight attendant, but pretty scary either way…

Tidbits for travelers

If you’re one of those people who heads straight to the gate once you’re at the airport, then the B4 YOU BOARD smartphone app could come in handy.

The app is free and offers the option of having a meal delivered to you right at the gate. You can also use the app to order something ahead of time and pick it up once you’re at the airport.

The service has already been rolled out at JFK and Minneapolis-St. Paul International airports and, just in time for the holiday travel season, is available at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport where, so far, the Tuscany Café and Chili’s Too! In Terminal 1, Blackhawks Restaurant & Bar in Terminal 2 and Wolfgang Puck Café and Chili’s Too!, in Terminal 3, are participating.

During the busy Thanksgiving travel days, Los Angeles International Airport(LAX) is hoping to create a N.I.C.E. experience and “neutralize irritations customers experience. ” Instead of handing out parking citations or warnings, the officers will hand out information with alternative parking options and coupons for a free cup of coffee.

And, at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), there’s a turkey-themed Twitter and Foursquare contest scheduled for November 21-23. @flySFO will tweet pictures of Pardon the turkey at different locations at the airport and all you have to do is guess where he is. Prizes include an iPad and other goodies. Find more details here.