Katie Beddingfield, a freelance writer and Washington, D.C., resident, recently purchased a $599 JetBlue All-You-Can-Jet flight pass and plans to put it through its paces over the next month.
Luckily, I snagged the pass before it sold out. (The company may revive the program if it is successful.) The rules say I can book up to three days in advance of each trip and sample as many of the airline's 56 international and domestic destinations as I like between September 8 and October 8. Common sense says, "Whoa, Nelly!"
Fare sales have been as common as gnats this summer, as airlines grapple with falling demand amid the recession. But this pass is different. I can grab any available seat on any flight-- no limits, no blackout dates. I had to sign up for JetBlue's loyalty program, TrueBlue, but, hey, it's free and I even got 35 points (100 points earns a free ticket) for my pass purchase.
My mind is spinning with possibilities: long-delayed plans to visit family and friends, a girlfriend getaway, a September wedding anniversary trip. Should I try to do as many trips as possible? What is possible? Certainly the eight nonstops from Washington Dulles, including Boston, New York, Fort Lauderdale and Oakland, CA are a great start. Toss in the in-laws in Denver, friends in Phoenix and Chicago, and my vaguely disturbing fascination with Vegas, and the month-long schedule begins to fill up. Then there are the international destinations (Caribbean hot spots, Cancun, Costa Rica). Sounds nice, but taxes and fees for international trips and to Puerto Rico are not included.
I have yet to book my first flight. I shouldn't delay--I can actually cancel or change flights up to three days prior for no charge, making this pass uncommonly flexible (at least on paper). So stay tuned as I flesh out my plans, ferret out deals on the ground (couch surfing, anyone?) and wage an epic battle with the pass.
Let the games begin.
Photo by Djibouti via Flickr
Luckily, I snagged the pass before it sold out. (The company may revive the program if it is successful.) The rules say I can book up to three days in advance of each trip and sample as many of the airline's 56 international and domestic destinations as I like between September 8 and October 8. Common sense says, "Whoa, Nelly!"
Fare sales have been as common as gnats this summer, as airlines grapple with falling demand amid the recession. But this pass is different. I can grab any available seat on any flight-- no limits, no blackout dates. I had to sign up for JetBlue's loyalty program, TrueBlue, but, hey, it's free and I even got 35 points (100 points earns a free ticket) for my pass purchase.
My mind is spinning with possibilities: long-delayed plans to visit family and friends, a girlfriend getaway, a September wedding anniversary trip. Should I try to do as many trips as possible? What is possible? Certainly the eight nonstops from Washington Dulles, including Boston, New York, Fort Lauderdale and Oakland, CA are a great start. Toss in the in-laws in Denver, friends in Phoenix and Chicago, and my vaguely disturbing fascination with Vegas, and the month-long schedule begins to fill up. Then there are the international destinations (Caribbean hot spots, Cancun, Costa Rica). Sounds nice, but taxes and fees for international trips and to Puerto Rico are not included.
I have yet to book my first flight. I shouldn't delay--I can actually cancel or change flights up to three days prior for no charge, making this pass uncommonly flexible (at least on paper). So stay tuned as I flesh out my plans, ferret out deals on the ground (couch surfing, anyone?) and wage an epic battle with the pass.
Let the games begin.
Photo by Djibouti via Flickr
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I'm interested in how well this works out. I too, am a travel writer in DC and maybe other airlines will follow.
good luck!! happy traveling:) i so wanted to get this pass to, but as it turned out, i found out about this pass after a flight to Phoenix had already been booked for me during this time slot. i hope they do it again! i can't wait to hear how it works out for you! i wish you well!!!!
I just checked weekend trip to Bogota on JetBlue. OK, I know, it's far for a weekend, but the cheapest round trip (no tax) is about $590. Tax for the round trip is only about $100 total so it may worth going.
Friday nights Avenida Septima is closed for traffic. Street performers, live music and magic shows help the "Jirafa" go down smoothly. Saturday morning grab a nice tamal with a mug of hot chocolate and life is good. Ajiaco for lunch and if you buy some of their nice leather handbags or shoes savings is so big that you will actually have a free trip. Safety? The crime rate per capita shows that it is safer than Washington DC
katie, what an interesting and awesome gig you've got going! the flight pass sounds like a great program, if everything works the way it's supposed to. guess you'll let us know!!
I'm doing this too! It took me about half an hour to book my flights - 11 cities in 23 days. I can't wait! I'll be posting about it on my blog as I go along.
Well, your "Whoa Nelly" didn't sink in here as I just spent the last 20 minutes playing with the Jet Blue map to see how many places one (you, unfortunately not me) could travel in a month without ever going home. Vicarious travel is so easy. I'll enjoy armchair traveling with you.
Hi! we booked the pass also-beginning with Bogota, we have found the international fees to be pretty high. We will be following your blog and invite you to see ours at http://nancyanddick@blogspot.com