Mar 20, 2010 by Zach Custer - comment
Elissa Richard brings you the week's best airfare deals, buzzworthy airline news, trends in air travel, and tips on making the most of your flight.
To pump up the buzz on its new upcoming reality TV series “Fly Girls,” which follows the lives of five camera-loving V.A. flight attendants on the ground and in the air, Virgin America has launched a “Primetime” flash fare sale on cross-country and west coast flights. Now through March 1 only, nonstop, one-way tickets can be booked for as low as $49 (San Francisco-L.A.) or $119 (New York-L.A.), with travel between March 10-June 20, 2010. The show’s premiere, airing March 24 at 9:30 p.m. EST on The CW, is being filmed today on a Las Vegas-bound flight.
Sample Fares (each way) include:
• San Francisco-Las Vegas: $49
• New York/Boston-Los Angeles: $119
• Washington D.C.-San Francisco: $119
• Los Angeles-San Francisco: $49
• Seattle-Los Angeles: $89
• Ft. Lauderdale-San Diego: $129
• And more!
Note: A 14-day advance purchase is required. For more information, or to book a flight visit www.virginamerica.com.
Virgin America, the upscale carrier offering budget-friendly rates, is offering yet another reason to fly this winter with a new fare sale from just $39 (each way). Each aircraft boasts mood lighting, personal entertainment, WiFi, and comfy leather seats. The airline’s latest sale includes short-haul flights like San Francisco to Las Vegas from $39, or longer jaunts like New York to Los Angeles from $99. In addition, Virgin America recently introduced new routes between Fort Lauderdale and major cities in California. All tickets must be purchased by December 29, for travel valid through February 28 (some blackout dates apply).
Now charging fees for every conceivable in-flight comfort, major airlines are playing follow the leader yet again by prohibiting cash as a means of payment on board. Over the last year, the lengthy list of carriers with plastic-only policies or “cashless cabins” has grown to include American Airlines, Southwest, Alaska, Frontier, jetBlue, AirTran, Virgin America, and Midwest. Last week, Delta (for which credit purchases weren’t even possible a year ago), Northwest, and Continental announced they, too, have made the switch. Read the rest of this post »
Fly Virgin America from as little as $39 each way and see why this budget airline has been receiving high marks from air travelers. Each aircraft boasts mood lighting, personal entertainment, WiFi, and comfy leather seats. The latest sale includes short haul flights like San Francisco to San Diego from $39, or longer jaunts like Los Angeles to New York from just $109. Travel is valid from December 3 through May 23 (holiday blackout dates apply), but you must book by December 8.
Sample fares (each way):
• San Francisco–Las Vegas: $39
• San Francisco–San Diego: $39
• Los Angeles–Seattle: $69
• Los Angeles–Washington: $109
• Las Vegas–New York: $109
• Los Angeles–New York: $109
• And more!
For more information, visit www.virginamerica.com.
The holidays are shaping up to be a bit more merry and bright for flyers this year, now that a number of major airlines have announced free in-flight WiFi deals. While 2009 has seen all the usual suspects (Delta, Virgin America, JetBlue, etc.) rolling out en-route service on most or all flights, the cost of upwards of $10 a pop on longer trips (half the price of my monthly at-home bill) has left only the most email-addicted passengers biting the bait. Thankfully, just in time for air travel’s busiest time of year, discounts seem to literally be falling from the skies, with many airlines offering Internet passes completely free of charge. Read the rest of this post »
Forget the same-old glass of wine to take the edge off during your next flight – look to super-hip Virgin America for a fun alternative to calm those onboard jitters (or to simply kick off your vacation with a bang), with the introduction of absinthe to all of their onboard menus. The think-outside-the-box airline has long had us “oohing” and “ahhing” over their lounge-like mood lighting, high-tech gadgetry, and recent announcement that WiFi will be offered on all flights, so their recent partnership with French liquor company, Le Tourment Vert (translated into English as “The Green Torment”), predictably speaks to their strive toward drawing a hip clientele.
The Deal: Super-sleek Virgin America, with its mood lighting, personal power ports, on-demand meal service, and in-flight entertainment systems, is one of fave ways to fly, especially on the long-haul transcontinental jaunts. Happily, these coast-to-coast routes are now priced as little as $79 each-way – look for tax-inclusive round-trip fares of just under $180 for flights between cities like Los Angeles and Boston this month!
Sample One-Way Fares: LA–Boston $79; San Francisco–Boston $99; NYC–Las Vegas $109; San Diego–DC $109; and more
The Catch: Fares spike considerably once the summer months roll around – don’t miss the boat plane on this one.
Travel By: May 31
Book By: May 31
ROUTE AIRLINE STARTS
Denver to Mexico City AeroMexico 2-1-09
San Francisco to Mexico City AeroMexico 2-2-09
Los Angeles to Boston Virgin America 2-12-09
San Francisco to Boston Virgin America 2-12-09
Toronto to Mexico City AeroMexico 3-2-09
Dallas/Fort Worth to Madrid American 5-1-09
Atlanta to Tokyo-Narita Delta 5-4-09
San Francisco to Orange County, CA Southwest 5-9-09
Atlanta to Johannesburg Delta 6-1-09
Tokyo-Narita to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Delta 6-1-09
Salt Lake City to Tokyo-Narita Delta 6-3-09
Detroit to Rome Delta 6-4-09
New York to Valencia, Spain Delta 6-5-09
From the February/March issue of Sherman’s Travel magazine.