With a new plane in its fleet every 10 days during 2006, JetBlue’s the airline to watch for introductory specials on new routes.
Check out Long Beach to Sacramento starting on May 3rd, Burbank to Orlando on June 30th, and Burbank to Las Vegas also on June 30th. Burbank airport is convenient to downtown Los Angeles, Universal City, Hollywood, and Pasadena.
We love this airline!
If you’re a regular reader, you know that BidonTravel strongly emphasizes checking for values before deciding where to go.
You might call this “imitating the French”—checking out the quality and price of the food in the market before deciding what to eat, instead of arriving at the store with a list of items to buy, as do so many Americans.
When thinking of traveling, watch for new routes. You know these airlines are going to promote and that means introductory low prices for you.
This year, you’ll find no better airline to check than JetBlue, which is adding a new plane to its fleet every 10 days.
Check out these new nonstop services on JetBlue. Introductory fares start at $54 each way, or perhaps less, if other airlines match.
Boston to Phoenix starts May 3rd
Boston to Richmond, VA April 6th
New York/JFK to Bermuda starts on May 4th.
New York/JFK to Portland, ME May 23rd.
New York/LaGuardia to Orlando May 3rd
New York/JFK to Richmond, VA March 31st
Orlando to Aquadilla May 3rd
Orlando to San Juan May 3rd
Washington/Dulles to Las Vegas May 3rd
Also, keep an eye on Southwest for continued aggressive expansion from Denver and elsewhere, and watch for traditional airlines like American and United to expand their international routes, where they face much less competition from budget carriers. Be the first to book and enjoy a bargain.
Subject to U.S. government approval, expect Virgin Nigeria to start nonstop service between Lagos, Nigeria, and either JFK or Newark airport as early as May 2006.
Britain’s Virgin Atlantic Airways holds a 49% stake in Virgin Nigeria.
Virgin America, related to well-loved Virgin Atlantic, has garnered the financing needed to start service between U.S. cities in 2006. At this point, no routes have been announced.
Expect this new airline to keep fares low.
Because U.S. aviation rules prohibit predominately foreign-owed carriers from carrying passengers whose trips are solely between U.S. points, Virgin Atlantic CEO Richard Branson plans to hold a minority stake in the new airline.
With Branson involved, however, expect excitement. As you may remember, the first in-flight film on Virgin Atlantic was Airplane. Also expect outstanding service.
The battle between American and Southwest airlines for Dallas is heating up, and that means lower fares for you.
Southwest received permission to serve Kansas City and St. Louis from Love Field, with service starting December 13th. This brings heavy competition between Dallas and Missouri for the first time in years.
Living up to its threat to add flights to Love Field if Southwest expands operations there, American Airlines said it would also start service between Love and Missouri.
Taking “AAdvantage” of the range of its 777 fleet, American Airlines has launched non-stop service between Chicago and New Delhi. This is a tribute to India’s increasing importance as an economic power and to the large population of Indian descent, which has settled in the Chicago area.
Eastbound, you reach Delhi in 14 hours and 25 minutes; westbound takes nearly 16 hours.
This route joins an increasing trend toward extremely long flights that save you time. However, be sure to drink pretty of water and to get as much exercise as possible during these flights, in order to feel as good as possible upon arrival.
JetBlue starts service between Boston and Washington/Dulles on January 17th with an introductory one-way fare of $25, plus tax.
Glab this while you can! JetBlue.com (opens in new window)
Regular one-way fares on this route are expected to range between $55 – 140, plus tax.
Today, Southwest Airlines released its initial schedule from Denver International Airport, with flights starting January 3, 2006. Tickets also went on sale today.
Initially, Southwest will serve Chicago/Midway, Las Vegas, and Phoenix with nonstop flights from Denver’s C Concourse, as well as other cities in its system with either direct (no change of plane) or connecting service. One-way fares start as low as $59 plus tax.
“These [nonstop] destinations are just the beginning for Southwest in Denver,” said Gary Kelly, Southwest’s CEO. To help ensure smooth operations, Southwest tends to ramp up service in increments.
Traditionally, other airlines match Southwest’s fares, which makes the airports Southwest serves the best values in the country.
Priceline does not use Southwest Airlines, but priceline customers using Denver airport will benefit immensely from this new competition.
As you might expect with fuel costs up significantly this year, retail ticket prices are also significantly higher for the upcoming holiday period.
Priceline.com reports that average retail ticket prices for Thanksgiving are running about 12 – 15 percent more than last year and 15 – 25 percent higher for Christmas period tickets. (On the bright side, these increases run less than the increases in fuel prices.)
We suspect these increases also apply to priceline’s “name your own price” airfares, where you bid for your fare.
Priceline reports the following holiday travel day combinations are producing the lowest fares:
For Thanksgiving:
• Depart November 19, 21 or 22, and return November 25
• Depart November 21, and return November 26 or 27
For Christmas:
• Depart December 19, and return December 27 or 28.
• Depart December 20, and return December 28.
• Depart December 21, and return December 27 or 29.
For Thanksgiving, as is usual, Tuesday, November 22nd and Wednesday the 23rd are the heaviest travel days of the holiday, with more than 55 percent of all customers choosing to fly on those days.
For Christmas, December 21, 22, 23, 27 and 28 are currently the heaviest air travel days.
