March 2009 Archives

New York-based JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq: JBLU) today commemorates the launch of Orlando's only daily nonstop service to San Jose, Costa Rica's Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), the carrier's first Central American destination and ninth country in its route network. Costa Ricans traveling through Orlando will also have seamless one-stop connections to New York's John F. Kennedy as well as Newark, New Jersey and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

To celebrate its new service, sale fares as low as $69 (a) are available between Orlando and San Jose each way for travel purchased today through April 8, 2009 at www.jetblue.com. Travel must take place between April 14 and June 17, 2009. Average everyday fares will start at $139 each way.

"JetBlue is committed to furthering our growth in Latin America and we are excited to provide the Orlando community with its only nonstop service to San Jose, Costa Rica," said JetBlue's Chief Executive Officer Dave Barger at a press conference at SJO this afternoon. "Central Floridians continue to give JetBlue reasons to add more destinations, more direct flights and more value when they travel to new international cities like Bogota, Nassau and San Jose."

"JetBlue's entry into the Costa Rican market is a reaffirmation of the wisdom and foresight that brought our countries together in a free trade agreement that supports us in hard times and positions us for better times ahead," said Peter Cianchette, U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica.

    JetBlue's daily schedule between Orlando and San Jose:

          Depart Orlando (MCO)  10:05 a.m.   Arrive San Jose (SJO)  11:14 a.m.
          Depart San Jose (SJO) 12:09 p.m.   Arrive Orlando (MCO)   5:19 p.m.

JetBlue operates service to Costa Rica with its 100-seat EMBRAER E190, offering comfy all-leather seats in a two-by-two configuration (with no middle seat!), seatback televisions (including programming en Espanol), the most legroom in coach of any U.S. airline (b), and unlimited free snacks and beverages. Customers will also be treated to the best customer service in the industry, delivered by the airline's friendly and award-winning crewmembers.

SOURCE JetBlue Airways Corporation

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today announced it is making a European vacation a lot more affordable this summer with discounts as much as 57 percent*** to destinations like Venice, Italy; Zurich, Switzerland; and Prague, Czech Republic.

"Travelers can take advantage of the stronger U.S. dollar abroad with Delta's low summer fares on over 500 weekly flights from the U.S. to 34 European destinations," said Tom Bach, Delta's senior vice president of Revenue Management. "This combination makes European vacations a great value in 2009."

Delta is the No. 1 carrier across the Atlantic, offering multiple options to Europe from its hubs in New York-JFK, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Detroit and Cincinnati.

Below is a sample list of destinations available. Fares listed are one-way, based on round trip purchase. Terms and conditions follow.

        FROM                       TO                ONE-WAY**  % DISCOUNT***

    Atlanta, Ga.            Barcelona, Spain           $409            50%
    Boston, Mass.           Venice, Italy              $399            51%
    Chicago, Ill.           Rome, Italy                $429            44%
    Dallas, TX              Berlin, Germany            $439            30%
    Denver, Colo.           Shannon, Ireland           $299            51%
    Houston, TX             Madrid, Spain              $419            43%
    Las Vegas, Nev.         Copenhagen, Denmark        $439            29%
    Los Angeles, Calif.     Amsterdam, Netherlands     $459            32%
    Miami, Fla.             Athens, Greece             $489            35%
    New York-JFK+           Prague, Czech Republic     $479            16%
    New York-JFK++          Valencia, Spain            $399            28%
    New York- JFK+++        Zurich, Switzerland        $329            46%
    Pittsburgh, Pa.++++     Paris, France              $329            57%
    Seattle, Wash.          Milan, Italy               $469            41%
    Washington, D.C.        Edinburgh, UK              $349            43%


    **   One-way fares based on roundtrip purchase.  Additional
         taxes/fees/restrictions/baggage charges may apply.  Details provided
         below.
    ***  Up to 57 percent off published nonrefundable peak travel roundtrip
         economy fares with a 14-day, 7-day or 0-day advance purchase that
         require a Saturday night stay available in these markets at delta.com
         on March 23, 2009.
    +    Service from JFK to PRG begins June 18, 2009
    ++   Service from JFK to VLC begins June 5, 2009
    +++  Service from JFK to ZRH begins June 8, 2009 and ends Oct. 23, 2009
    ++++ Service from PIT to CDG begins June 3, 2009
SOURCE Delta Air Lines

Icelandair is excited to announce new scheduled service between Seattle, Washington, and Reykjavik, Iceland, beginning July 22, 2009.

Icelandair will offer four flights a week departing Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) at 4:30 p.m., arriving in Reykjavik at 6:45 a.m. the following morning. Flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays will connect with Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm and London, offering up to 4 hours faster connection times from Seattle to Scandinavia than possible through other European hubs. Flights to Helsinki, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris will also be available via Reykjavik. Connecting flights returning via Reykjavik arrive in Seattle at 5:45 p.m., just in time for dinner at home or easy connections throughout North America.

Additionally, Icelandair will work in cooperation with Alaska Airlines to provide passengers convenient connections to a host of cities across the West Coast, including San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Anchorage and San Jose.

"Icelandair is pleased to now offer more choices to Europe's top destinations from Seattle," said Thorsteinn Egilsson, General Manager - The Americas. "We also look forward to partnering with Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in serving all westward travelers, including the large Scandinavian population of the Pacific Northwest."

Icelandair's efficient 183-seat Boeing 757-200ER aircraft uses Iceland's unique geographic location, and optimizes a hub-and-spoke route system based in Keflavik, Iceland, to offer the most convenient routes for those traveling from the Pacific Northwest.

"The Boeing 757's versatility continues to create value for our longstanding and esteemed customer Icelandair. We commend Icelandair for optimizing the abilities of the airplane to open new routes and look forward to seeing Icelandair's 757s flying with its distinctive winglets above the Seattle skies soon," said Aldo Basile, vice president of Sales, Europe, Russia and Central Asia, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The publicly traded Icelandair Group, of which the fully-owned Icelandair is a key subsidiary, currently employs about 3,000 people in ten countries and is listed on the Nasdaq OMX Nordic Exchange as ICEAIR. This entry into the Seattle market will create approximately one hundred new and much-needed jobs in Iceland and the U.S., and present the opportunity for a new realm of travelers to experience Iceland and beyond.

Icelandair, the flag carrier of Iceland, was founded in 1937, and is the only airline in existence today with such a long and distinguished record on the North Atlantic transatlantic route. Today, Icelandair offers travelers updated aircraft with personal entertainment centers, and three cabins of service including the new Economy Comfort Class. Icelandair's Frequent Flyer Club awards frequent travelers with airline tickets, hotel and car rentals and the ability to trade points on points.com for an array of goods and services.

Icelandair has been a member of IATA since 1950, a member of AEA since 1957 and the International Flight Safety Foundation since 1966. Safety, convenient schedules, short flying times, on-time performance and customer service have been the hallmarks of Icelandair operations.

In addition to Seattle, Icelandair offers service to Iceland from Boston, New York-JFK, Minneapolis/St. Paul (seasonal), Orlando Sanford (seasonal), Halifax (seasonal) and Toronto (seasonal). Connections through Icelandair's hub in Reykjavik are available to 18 destinations in Scandinavia (including Copenhagen, Oslo, Stavanger, Stockholm), Great Britain (including London, Manchester) and Continental Europe (including Amsterdam, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris). Only Icelandair offers travelers the ability to stopover in Iceland for up to 7 nights en route to any Icelandair destination at no additional airfare. Additional information about Icelandair, fares, and packages is available at www.icelandair.com or by calling (877) I-FLY-ICE.

SOURCE Icelandair

Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today announced that it has received tentative approval from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to operate daily year-round service between its Houston hub at Bush Intercontinental Airport and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and through flight service between New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro beginning summer 2009, pending final government approvals.

"Continental is delighted to receive tentative authority for this route, which links two important energy markets," said Jeff Smisek, Continental's president and chief operating officer. "We thank our co-workers and our corporate and agency clients, as well as the many federal, state and local officials who wrote letters in support of the application. We also are grateful to the City of Houston and Houston Airport System and the City of New Orleans and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, which filed exhibits in support of Continental's route proposal."

Continental plans to operate the daily service using a Boeing 767-200 aircraft, with 25 seats in BusinessFirst and 149 seats in economy. The proposed nonstop flight will be timed to offer convenient flight connections at Continental's Houston hub to cities throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

The airline currently operates daily nonstop service between Continental's New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport and Sao Paulo's Guarulhos International Airport and between Houston and Sao Paulo, with continuing service to Rio de Janeiro.

Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 2,800 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 135 domestic and 132 international destinations. More than 650 additional points are served via alliance partners. With more than 42,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with Continental Express, carries approximately 67 million passengers per year.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture. For the sixth consecutive year, FORTUNE magazine named Continental the No. 1 World's Most Admired Airline on its 2009 list of World's Most Admired Companies. For more company information, go to continental.com.

SOURCE Continental Airlines

Route links U.S. and China financial hubs with first-ever scheduled, daily nonstop service

Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) on Wednesday, March 25, will become the first U.S. carrier to inaugurate scheduled service between New York and Shanghai, China, with daily nonstop flights from the airline's hub at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The new service will provide daily nonstop flights in the largest U.S.-China market that today lacks daily service, linking the world's financial center and top business and tourism destination with China's center for finance and trade.

"China is a valued international market for Continental, and we expect great success from this new nonstop route to Shanghai," said Continental President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Smisek. "China remains an important business destination, with economic growth projected to continue this year despite the weakened global economy. We are proud to bring our outstanding product to Shanghai by launching this service as previously announced, even as other airlines are canceling or delaying similar routes."

With the success of the Beijing Olympics showcasing modern China to the world, and the upcoming Expo in Shanghai in 2010, Continental expects to see increased demand for service between the U.S. and China over time.

Continental has operated nonstop service between New York and Hong Kong since 2001 and between New York and Beijing since 2005. With the new service to Shanghai, Continental will be the only airline in the world providing daily nonstop service between New York and three Chinese cities.

Convenient Flight Schedule

Continental will operate the nonstop flight daily with a Boeing 777-200 aircraft. Flight 87 will depart Liberty at 11:20 a.m., arriving in Shanghai mid-afternoon the following day at 1:45 p.m. The return flight 86 will depart Shanghai in the afternoon at 3:45 p.m. and arrive at Liberty in the evening of the same day at 6:20 p.m. Flying times are approximately 14 hours and 30 minutes in each direction. The flight is timed to provide convenient roundtrip connections at Continental's New York hub to more than 60 other cities throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Onboard Product Tailored for China Market

Continental's Shanghai flights will feature special products and services for customers, with movies and music available in English and Mandarin, and local Chinese newspapers available for BusinessFirst customers. Instructional videos, including the safety and arrival video and pre-recorded announcements, will be available in Mandarin. Menus will be available in English and Chinese, and inflight meals designed by chefs based in the U.S. and in China will feature Chinese choices. A Mandarin-speaking flight attendant will be available to help customers inflight and Mandarin-speaking agents will be available to help customers at check-in.

Award-winning BusinessFirst Service

The new flights will feature Continental's award-winning BusinessFirst service, rated by Conde Nast Traveler magazine as the highest among all U.S. carriers for trans-Pacific flights for 10 years in a row.

Beginning in the fall of 2009, the premium-class cabin will begin to feature Continental's new 180-degree lie-flat seats. The lie-flat seats feature more individual storage space and laptop power, iPod connectivity and 15.4-inch video monitor for customers to enjoy on-demand movies, music and games.

Other BusinessFirst amenities include gourmet menu selections created by Continental's Congress of Chefs. A specially selected and trained corps of Concierges is available to provide individualized pre-flight and post-flight services for BusinessFirst customers at 42 international airports worldwide. Customers traveling in BusinessFirst are also able to access any of Continental's 27 Presidents Clubs and more than 60 airline affiliated lounges worldwide.

Flights to Shanghai will feature Continental's new Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD) in both the BusinessFirst and Economy cabins of its Boeing 777 aircraft. The entertainment systems on these aircraft allow customers to choose from more than 250 movies, 300 short-subject programs including popular television shows and 3,000 music tracks, with a jukebox feature to make individual playlists. In addition, this new entertainment system has 25 video games and the interactive Berlitz Word Traveler foreign language program. With the AVOD system, Continental is installing in-seat power that will not require an adapter. One outlet is available per seat in BusinessFirst and two outlets for every three seats for all rows in main cabin.

Economy class on the Continental 777 is also exceptionally comfortable and spacious, in a 3-3-3 seating configuration with wider-than-usual aisles.

Continental also offers tour packages to China through Continental Airlines Vacations.

SOURCE Continental Airlines

Customers Can Get Closer to AAdvantage Elite Status Even Faster

American Airlines today announced that customers can earn double elite-status qualifying miles when they book travel and fly on American Airlines, American Eagle, and AmericanConnection between March 18, 2009, and June 15, 2009. The special promotion puts customers on the fast track to gaining AAdvantage Gold(R), AAdvantage Platinum(R), or AAdvantage Executive Platinum(R) status.

"We know our members value their elite status, and we hope this offer will get them to that destination faster," said Rob Friedman, President of AAdvantage(R) Marketing Programs.

The benefits of elite status include mileage bonuses, upgrade privileges and various other perks, depending on a customer's elite status, level. Giving customers the opportunity to reach that next level of elite status faster is just another way American Airlines is showing its commitment to rewarding its frequent travelers.

To qualify, AAdvantage members simply need to register prior to travel at www.aa.com/offers using promotion code DBEQM. For more information on the benefits of AAdvantage elite status go to www.aa.com/elitestatus.

Terms and Conditions

Double elite-status qualifying miles are not redeemable for award travel, but do count toward qualification for AAdvantage Gold, AAdvantage Platinum, and AAdvantage Executive Platinum status. AAdvantage elite-status qualifying double mile offer is valid only for travel on eligible purchased, published fare tickets on American Airlines, American Eagle or AmericanConnection marketed and operated flights between March 18, 2009, and June 15, 2009. Promotion does not apply to travel on mileage award tickets or fares that are ineligible for AAdvantage mileage accrual. Flights operated by our codeshare partners or oneworld alliance carriers are not eligible for this promotion. Offer applies only to new reservations booked between March 18, 2009, and June 15, 2009. Registration prior to travel is required. This offer does not increment the member's elite qualifying points, segments or award-eligible mileage balance. Double elite-qualifying miles will be calculated at 100% of the elite-qualifying miles earned for each applicable flight and will be posted to the account of the traveling AAdvantage member within six to eight weeks after the offer ends.

About the AAdvantage Program

The AAdvantage Program was the first and is the world's largest frequent flyer program. Established in 1981, the program now has more than 60 million members. Members can earn miles at more than 1,000 participating companies, which include more than 30 hotel chains representing more than 60 brands, more than 20 airlines, eight car-rental companies, 12 financial companies, and over 250 brand name retailers. In addition, members can earn miles when making purchases with one of more than 100 affinity card products in over 40 countries. In 2008, AAdvantage members redeemed more than 155 billion miles to claim more than 4.8 million awards for flights, upgrades and car rentals. For more information and a listing of AAdvantage program participating companies, visit www.aa.com/aadvantage.

SOURCE American Airlines