JetBlue

“Snowtober” in northeast strands travelers at airports

Air Travel, Airports, Weather, , ,

(photo via Flickr Commons/National Postal Museum, Curatorial Photographic Collection)

Thousands of travelers were delayed and stuck at airports all over the country on Saturday due to the giant snowstorm that hit the northeast.

Most notable – as of late Saturday night – were stories coming out of Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford, Conn., which had a least 30 diverted flights touch down and where passengers on at least one airplane ended up stuck inside their airplane for at least seven hours.

As explanation, JetBlue tweeted: “The safety and comfort of our customers is top priority, both weather and infrastructure issues made remote deplaning impossible,” and “We are sorry for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, sometimes weather can foil even the best laid plans.”

The governor of Connecticut was reportedly sending 1000 cots to the Hartford airport, but that seemed little consolation to @kathylubey who tweeted: “Stuck in Hartford airport after being diverted from jfk. Bar closed all day. Seeking congratulations for weeping only once.”

Free “Catch Me If You Can” show at JetBlue’s T5

Air Travel, Airports, Environment, , , ,

If you’re traveling to or through JetBlue’s Terminal 5 at JFK airport on Thursday, August 11, 2011, boy are you in luck.

At 3:30 pm, cast members from the Broadway musical Catch Me If You Can will be presenting a free performance featuring six excerpts from the musical.

The musical is based on the film that was based on the life of Frank W. Abagnale, Jr., who forged checks, posed as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer, and generally lived the high life until getting busted by a determined FBI agent.

Here’s a sneak peek:

At the airport, sometimes the truth IS stranger than fiction

Air Travel, Fun Stuff, ground transporation, Smoking, , , , , ,

Maybe it’s the heat. Or the humidity. Whatever it is, there are some wacky travel stories floating around out there today.

A naked swimmer was nabbed near JFK airport, a mom was briefly jailed in Tennessee for yelling at TSA staff at Nashville Airport and refusing to let her child go through the scanner or get a pat-down and, my favorite, the FBI was called in to meet a Southwest Airlines flight arriving at Salt Lake City Airport and arrest a passenger who got unruly when told repeatedly that he could not “smoke” his electronic cigarette.

And then there’s the threat of this weekend’s “car-maggedon” in Los Angeles.
Gridlock – and worse – is predicted due to the scheduled 53-hour closure of a chunk of Interstate 405.

The highway shutdown will certainly disrupt traveler to and from Los Angeles International Airport and, on its website, the airport has a 405 Freeway Alert page offering tips and advice. In addition to suggesting that travelers take the Flyaway bus to the airport or get a hotel nearby, the advisory lists four different helicopter companies that will provide special weekend service to and from the airport.

Unfortunately, one alternate transportation option offered by JetBlue is already sold out.

The airline was offering $4 flights (each way) between Burbank and Long Beach Airports.

See – sometimes the truth IS stranger than fiction.

Tunes for travelers: Irish Festival at JFK

Entertainment, Festivals, Free Stuff, Music, , , ,

JetBlue is putting on an Irish heritage festival in the post-security Marketplace area at JFK Terminal 5 this week.

On Wednesday (March 16) and Thursday (March 17), JetBlue and its party-partners Aer Lingus and Tourism Ireland promise Irish step-dancing performances, traditional Irish music, complimentary shamrocks and Irish chocolates and “some of Ireland’s great mythological and folklore characters including Fionn Mac Cumhaill, Grainnuaile, Molly Malone, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, and W.B. Yeats.”

Not sure about the folkfore characters part – but the complimentary chocolates sure sound like fun.

On Thursday Irish Artist Julie Feeney “a dramatic and stylish chamber-pop singer, composer, orchestrator and producer and the winner of the Choice Music Prize for ‘Irish Album of the Year,’” will stop by T5 for a concert.

Poetic travel: win a pair of JetBlue travel passes from Boston Logan

Air Travel, Contests, , , , ,

Admit it: you thought about getting one of JetBlue’s All You Can Jet travel passes and taking the month of September off to just zip around the country.

I did.

But while we were daydreaming the passes sold out.

Well, you’ve got another chance.

Boston Logan International Airport is having a twitter-based contest to give away a pair of All You can Jet 7 passes – the kind that let you travel any day of the week from September 7th through October 6, 2010.

If you want to enter you’ll have to act fast.

The contest kicked off Tuesday morning at 10 am east coast time and end at 9:59 a.m. on Friday morning.

To enter, you’ll need to come up with something catchy and creative. Here’s what the folks at Boston Logan are looking for:

“Simply send us a “tweet” at www.twitter.com/bostonlogan with a haiku, limerick, verse of your choice, or image(s) explaining why you would like to visit destinations served by JetBlue and include the contest hashtag #AYCJBOS. Creativity counts. Limit one (1) entry per unique Twitter handle.”

Sounds easy, right?

Here’s a link to the All You Can Jet Boston contest rules and some additional information.

Good luck! And please make those entries entertaining: I’m one of the judges for the All You Can Jet Boston contest and I’ll be looking through every entry on Friday afternoon.