Three Great Airlines Offer Three Great Sales

Airlines kick off 2010 with major sales.

If you are looking to plan that 2010 getaway, now might be a good time to check airfare. Virgin America, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have all announced some pretty good sales this week.

Virgin America is offering discounted seats if you book by January 11 and fly between January 7 – March 10. There are even a few select seats available through June 20. A three day advance purchase is required. Some one-way fares include:

• San Francisco to Las Vegas – $39

• Seattle to San Francisco – $59

• Boston or Washington DC to Los Angeles or San Francisco – $99

• New York or Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles or San Francisco – $109

• For more information and fares, check out Virgin America’s website.

Southwest Airlines is offering “3 Days of Deals” with some pretty decent deals.  Hurry because you only have until  this Thursday January 7, 2010 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time to grab a seat on sale. Travel is good through May 14, 2010 and a 14-day advance purchase is required. A few one-way fares that caught my attention include:

• Chicago to Long Island – $80

• New York to Baltimore - $59

• Denver to San Diego – $92

• Milwaukee to Ft. Lauderdale – $101

• For more information and fares, check out Southwest’s website.

Finally, if you are looking to “shake up the new year” and jet for less, check out JetBlue’s first sale of the new year. What is great about this sale is that you can either purchase tickets or use your TrueBlue points. You must book by January 13, 2010, travel by March 24, 2010 and blackout dates do apply. Some of the one-way fares that stood out include:

• New York to New Orleans – $84/$89

• Austin to Orlando - $79/$89

• Fort Lauderdale to Nassau - $29

• Boston to Chicago - $67/$79

• For more information and fares, check out Jetblue’s website.

Tags: boston, chicago, fort lauderdale, jetblue, Las Vegas, los angeles, new orleans, new york, San Diego, san francisco, southwest airlines, virgin america, Washington DC

25 Interesting (And Odd) California Facts

A few months ago I wrote a piece called “25 Interesting (And Odd) New York Facts” for my blog. It received many “re-tweets”, a few comments and a lot of clicks to my site. It is still in my top 10 most read blog entries since I posted it back in July. So I figured why not mooch off that story’s  popularity with a sequel featuring another U.S. state.

California is a part of the United States that provides travelers with many great attractions such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Lego Land, Highway 1 and tasty Mexican food. But it is also home to the likes of Paris Hilton, the “Governator” and the Brooklyn…er I mean Los Angeles Dodgers. So sit back, relax and enjoy a little California love.

1. California is bigger than eighty-five of the smallest nations in the world.

2. Nicknames include The El Dorado State, The Golden State, The Grape State, and The Land of Milk and Honey.

3. Death Valley is the hottest and driest place in the United States. Summer temperatures reach over 120 F!

4. About sixty percent of the world’s tallest trees can be viewed along the 31 mile Avenue of the Giants.

5. California is the king of dairy production in the United States.

6. Do not even think of molesting a butterfly in California. A law on the books will fine offenders $500.

7. Like turkey? California produces more of the gobbling bird than any other state.

8. Los Angeles ranks as the fourth largest economy in the United States when compared to other states.

9. The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles is the world’s largest outdoor amphitheater.

10. The Raisin Capital of the World is located in Fresno.

11. The Artichoke Capital of the World is located in Castroville.

12. The world’s largest almond plant is located in Sacramento. It turns out 12 million pounds per day in during the high season.

13. With more than 300,000 tons of grapes grown each year, California produces 17 million gallons of wine annually.

14. San Francisco is home to the Classic Toy Museum, Pez Memorabilia Museum and American Antique Slot Machine Museum.

15. One out of every eight music festivals in the United States is held in California.

16. The oldest Jazz Festival is held every September in Monterrey.

17. California has the largest economy in the United States.

18. If the size of California ’s economy were to be measured by itself to other countries, it would rank the 7th largest economy in the world.

19. More than 87 million people board a plane each year in California.

20. The massive migration caused by the Gold Rush was the largest in the history of the world.

21. Between 1848 and 1852, four short years, California’s population grew from 14,000 to 223,000.

22. The first motion picture theater in the United States opened in Los Angeles on April 2, 1902.

23. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge has enough steel wires in its to circle the earth’s equator 3.5 times.

24. Blue jeans, Barbie Dolls, the pill, white zinfandel wine, soda, the computer “mouse,” the wetsuit, and theme parks were all invented in California.

25. One out of every eight United States residents live in California.
    

Tags: california, los angeles, sacramento, San Diego, san francisco

Airtran, Virgin, & Southwest Offer Scary Good Sales

There have been all sorts of spooky airline deals coming in this week leading up to Halloween. Three airlines in particular have given passengers plenty of reasons to hop a plane and fly like a bat out of hell across the country.

AirTran: The low-cost carrier wants you to skip raking the leaves and get packing. With fares starting as low as $39 one-way, you will have enough cash leftover to pay the neighbor’s kids to finish cleaning the lawn.

You must book by November 10, 2009 and travel is valid through February 10, 2010. Some sample one-way fares include:

• Chicago (Midway)-Cancun: $84 (plus tax)

• Memphis-Atlanta: $69 (plus tax)

• Washington (Dulles)-Tampa: $69 (plus tax)

For more information, additional routes, and prices check out AirTran.com.

Virgin America: Fly across the country for only $62? That is “BOO-tiful” my frightened friends. This sale is so “spooktacular” that it is only good for travel this coming Halloween weekend.

Tickets must be purchased by 11:59pm on October 29 with travel occurring on either Friday October 30 or Saturday October 31. Some sample one-way fares include:

• San Francisco-Las Vegas: $31 (plus tax)

• Seattle-Orange County: $31 (plus tax)

• New York, Boston or Washington (Dulles)-San Francisco or Los Angeles: $62 (plus tax)

For more information, additional routes, and prices check out VirginAmerica.com.

Southwest Airlines: The “LUV” airline is at it again with another great sale. This time some seats are priced lower than many airline’s checked bag fees. Talk about a touchdown. Nothing scary about this deal…so boooooooooo-k now.

Tickets must be purchased by October 29 at 11:59 Pacific Standard Time. Travel is good between December 2-16 and January 5-February 10, 2010. Some sample one-way fares include:

• Los Angeles-LasVegas:$25 (plus taxes)

• Chicago (Midway)-Nashville: $50 (plus taxes)

• New York (LaGuardia)-Orlando: $75 (plus taxes)

For more information, additional routes, and prices check out Southwest.com.

I have officially filled this year’s quota of awful Halloween themed word play with this article.

Tags: airtran, atlanta, boston, cancun, chicago, halloween, Las Vegas, los angeles, memphis, new york, Orange County, san francisco, seattle, southwest airlines, tampa, virgin america, Washington DC

New Routes Coming Soon To An Airport Near You

Overhead view of Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport. This November both Virgin America and JetBlue will debut here within a 24-hour span.

Some people get all worked up over the new fall season of television shows premiering, certain individuals get excited about a new motion picture hitting the silver screen, while others might get overstimulated by the combination of baseball playoffs and the return of the NFL football. But yours truly could care less about all of those distractions. Why? Because the announcement of new airline routes tops them all. While my wife (and a few of you) may think I am a loon for caring so much about the debut of new itineraries at airports, I just can not help myself.

Living in such a busy area like New York, with major airports like JFK, Newark, and La Guardia, I guess you can say that I have pretty much every city in the world available at my fingertips. But what I look for is an airline adding service to my area. My reaction to the news of Southwest debuting at La Guardia a few months ago was easily comparable to a sports fanatic finding out that his beloved team just acquired the number one draft pick or received a great new pitcher as a result of a multi-team trade. Yeah pretty pathetic, but I admit to being a 100% “Grade A” travel nerd.

But that doesn’t make me a bad person does it? Well I do get some rather odd looks from the wife when all I can talk about over dinner is how JetBlue is now jetting to the Caribbean and Virgin America is possibly thinking of flying in and out of Chicago soon. In any event, here are some new airline routes debuting within the next few months. Enjoy.

JetBlue:

• Barbados (BGI) and New York (JFK) starts October 1, 2009
• Saint Lucia (UVF) and New York (JFK) starts October 26, 2009
• Kingston, Jamaica (KIN) and New York (JFK) starts October 30, 2009
• Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and San Francisco (SFO) starts November 17, 2009

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Virgin America:

• Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and San Francisco (SFO) starts November 18, 2009
• Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Los Angeles (LAX) starts November 18, 2009

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Southwest Airlines:

• Milwaukee (MKE) and Tampa Bay (TPA) starts November 1, 2009
• Milwaukee (MKE) and Phoenix (PHX) starts November 1, 2009
• Milwaukee (MKE) and Orlando (MCO) starts November 1, 2009
• Milwaukee (MKE) and Kansas City (KCI) starts November 1, 2009
• Milwaukee (MKE) and Baltimore (BWI) starts November 1, 2009
• Denver (DEN) and Reno/Lake Tahoe (RNO) starts January 10, 2010
• Denver (DEN) and Spokane (GEG) starts January 10, 2010
• Denver (DEN) and Boston (BOS) starts January 10, 2010

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United Airlines:

• San Francisco (SFO) and Kansas City (KCI) starts October 25, 2009
• Chicago (ORD) and Duluth (DLH) starts December 17, 2009
• Chicago (ORD) and Asheville (AVL) starts December 17, 2009
• Denver (DEN) and Midland/Odessa (MAF) starts December 17, 2009
• Denver (DEN) and Louisville (SDF) starts December 17, 2009

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American Airlines:

• Miami (MIA) and Charleston (CHS) starts November 19, 2009
• Miami (MIA) and Knoxville (TYS) starts November 19, 2009
• Miami (MIA) and Treasure Cay, Bahamas (TCB) starts November 19, 2009
• Miami (MIA) and Governors Harbour, Bahamas (GHB) starts November 19, 2009
• Miami (MIA) and Eleuthers, Bahamas (ELH) starts November 19, 2009
• Los Angeles (LAX) and Santa Fe (SAF) starts November 19, 2009

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Continental Airlines:

• Houston (IAH) and Edmonton, AB Canada (YEG) starts November 1, 2009
• Houston (IAH) and Frankfurt, Germany (FRA) starts November 1, 2009
• Houston (IAH) and Washington DC (IAD) starts November 1, 2009
• Cleveland (CLE) and Washington DC (IAD) starts November 1, 2009
• Honolulu (HNL) and Guam (GUM) to Nadi, Fiji (NAN) starts November 1, 2009

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Delta Airlines:

• Memphis (MEM) and West Palm Beach (PBI) starts December 17, 2009
• Philadelphia (PHL) and Paris, France (CDG) starts October 5, 2009
• Atlanta (ATL) and Brasilia (BSB) starts December 17, 2009
• Atlanta (ATL) and Fortaleza (FOR) starts December 21, 2009
• New York (JFK) and Kingston, Jamaica (KIN) starts December 12, 2009
• New York (JFK) and Freeport, Bahamas (FPO) starts December 18, 2009
• New York (JFK) and Puerto Plata, DR (POP) starts December 19, 2009
• Detroit (DTW) and Punta Cana, DR (PUJ) starts November 21, 2009
• Minneapolis (MSP) and Punta Cana, DR (PUJ) starts December 19, 2009
• Cincinnati (CVG) and Punta Canada, DR (PUJ) starts December 19, 2009

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AirTran Airways:

• Atlanta (ATL) and Aruba (AUA) starts December 19, 2009
• Orlando (MCO) and Aruba (AUA) starts February 13, 2010
• Orlando (MCO) and Key West (EYW) starts December 17, 2009
• Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Harrisburg (MDT) starts November 5, 2009
• Milwaukee (MKE) and Pittsburgh (PIT) starts October 6, 2009
• Milwaukee (MKE) and Indianapolis (IND) starts October 6, 2009
• Baltimore (BWI) and Indianapolis (IND) starts October 6, 2009
• Baltimore (BWI) and New Orleans (MSY) starts October 6, 2009
• Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Flint (FNT) starts November 4, 2009

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US Airways:

• Phoenix (PHX) and Montego Bay (MBJ) December 17, 2009
• Philadelphia (PHL) and Barbados (BGI) starts October 1, 2009
• Charlotte (CLT) and Honolulu (HNL) starts December 17, 2009
• Charlotte (CLT) and Rio de Janeiro (GIG) starts December 15, 2009

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Alaska Airlines:

• Atlanta (ATL) and Seattle (SEA) starts October 23, 2009
• Oakland (OAK) and Kahului (OGG) starts November 9, 2009
• Oakland (OAK) and Kona (KOA) starts November 10, 2009
• Portland (PDX) and Chicago (ORD) starts November 16, 2009

Tags: airtran airways, american airlines, aruba, atlanta, baltimore, brazil, california, colorado, continental airlines, delta, Denver, detroit, dominican republic, florida, fort lauderdale, georgia, indianapolis, jamaica, jetblue, jfk airport, key west, kingston, los angeles, maryland, memphis, michigan, milwaukee, minneapolis, minnesota, new york, orlando, san francisco, southwest airlines, spokane, tennessee, united airlines, virgin america, washington, west palm beach, wisconsin

Introducing TripWolf 2.0: Fresh Look & Great New Trip Planner

The end of the summer and start of the fall season usually brings about change. Schools are back in session, your favorite television shows return, and in the case of online travel guide tripwolf, it means a whole new look.

Available in five languages (English, Spanish, Italian, German, and French), tripwolf.com is a social network guide that offers guests a combination of professional travel pieces and user generated content.

With the launch of tripwolf 2.0, users will be able to enjoy a completely revamped look and feel to the website. One great feature includes the all new trip planner. With trip planner you can now put together your very own itinerary and immediately print a personalized travel guide. Best of all it is absolutely free and no registration is required.

You will be able to browse the tripwolf’s impressive 500,000 (and growing) destinations, points of interest, and hotels worldwide. Once you find something appealing, just click the “add to my trip” icon and it will appear in your trip planner. Pretty effortless and to the point…even grandma nomad could plan a trip.

In addition to the orderly trip planner, the guys and gals at tripwolf have even built hundreds of ready-made trips for you to use when trekking around the globe. Talk about travel made simple.

Once you have your plans all mapped out and set in place via the trip planner, you will be able to download and print it out through a PDF file (Coming soon you will even be able to download it directly to your iphone).

So for people that are hungry for travel, be sure to check out the all new tripwolf. Mmmmm, it still has that new website smell!

Tags: barcelona, boston, chicago, europe, Las Vegas, London, los angeles, new york, Travel, tripwolf, tripwolf.com, united states