Hi readers! I am currently on a flight headed for California to visit my Dad. I am writing this post at an altitude of 35,000 feet. How is that possible? It is because Virgin America is the BEST airline EVER. I was a Virgin virgin but I don’t think I could possibly fly another airline ever again.
Not only does Virgin have great entertainment at every seat (Satellite TV, video-games, on-demand entertainment like seasons of TV shows and movies) AND Wi-Fi available. The only problem with the wifi was the price: $12.95 for the flight. When I booked the flight, I thought it was free, but since I will be on the plane for over 5 hours, it was WELL worth the $13. How else would I publish a blog post from the sky? They also have USB and AC plugs at every seat to charge your electronics while you play. Because what good would the Wi-Fi be if my computer’s battery ran out? Although, according to Apple, my MacBook Pro has a battery that can last up to 9 hours. Considering I’ve been on it for 20 minutes and am already down to less than 3 hours, I don’t really buy that claim.
So anyway, just wanted to post this because I CAN…and normally when I’m flying, I just wish I can go online. I will try to keep up with my daily blog posts from California…but I make no promises:)
Last August, I wrote this blog post about the incredible Jetblue deal for an unlimited month of flying. Well, I guess after the Steven Slater incident, they need to get some good press, because THEY ARE DOING IT AGAIN!
Now until supplies last, you can purchase a pass to fly unlimited on Jetblue from Tuesday, September 7, 2010 through Wednesday, October 6, 2010. Depending on which pass you purchase, you can either fly every day of the week or for $200 less, be limited to 5 days per week (excludes Fridays and Sundays). Once pass is purchased, flights can be booked starting on August 23rd, 2010.
Once again, there is a lot of fine print and some things travelers should probably be aware of before signing up:
- Domestic taxes and fees included, but if you want to travel internationally or Puerto Rico, taxes and fees are not included.
- You may only book one flight per city per day; if JetBlue finds you have violated this policy, they will honor only the last booking made and cancel your other bookings from that city on that day.
- If you don’t show up to a scheduled flight, your pass will be placed on hold, any reserved pass flights will be canceled, and no new flight segments wil be able to be booked until the you pay a $100 no-show penalty.
Hope someone who reads my blog gets a pass and has lots of fun in their travels. Send me a postcard!
EDIT: Eight hours after posting this blog, all passes have sold out. A coincidence? I don’t think so. You’re welcome, JetBlue.
A full vacation recap post to come soon!
I am writing this blog post at an altitude of 15,000 feet. Although I have no wi-fi, it’s still nice to whip out the laptop for something to do. I am on a Southwest Boeing 737 on my way to Las Vegas. Although it would be really fun to spend a night there, I only have a 2 hour and 15 minute layover, which due to wind blowing in the plane’s favor has now turned into a 3 hour and 15 minute layover. Now I certainly think I have time to go to the strip, but wouldn’t want to take any chances. I know they have wi-fi in the airport, and that’s good enough for me for 3 hours, you know, in between playing the slots.
During my flight, I learned all sorts of new things about Southwest procedures. Apparently, a lot has changed since my last flight in 2001. Yes, I haven’t flown anywhere in almost 10 years.
- No more pillows – They have discontinued the use of pillows and blankets due to SWINE FLU. Freaking Swine Flu. It just has to ruin EVERYTHING. I really think this no pillow rule should be more publicized so that travelers can be aware to buy a neck pillow before boarding. No wonder they are in every shop at the airport. Thank goodness I had a sweat-jacket, which doubled as a make-shift pillow.
- No more peanuts –They’ve advanced to 100 calorie Nabisco packs! The only problem? Oreos were not an option. Didn’t they know I was coming? Jeez.
- No more little liquor bottles – I remember the days that you used get the little liquor bottles and a can of soda/carton of juice/whatever. Nope, no more. I ordered a Vodka Cranberry and got an already mixed drink in that little cup. I don’t think these Flight Attendants have gone to bartending school recently (although maybe they should), and mine clearly had a heavy hand. I would have much rather had two less potent drinks then one almost undrinkable cocktail. Note to self: Get a beer next time. They can’t mess that up.
We are starting our descent down to Vegas. I can already hear the slot machines dinging.
UPDATE: I am now sitting on my connecting flight waiting to take off for San Diego. In the 3 hours I was here, I won $25! But I spent $30 to get it. So I only lost $5 in 3 hours in Vegas. Damn, I’m good.
We are T-minus 36 hours until I leave for San Diego to visit my parents! I am so very excited, not only to see them, but also to just go on a vacation. It’s been almost 10 years since I’ve even been on a plane. And I have a layover in VEGAS! I’ve never been to Vegas. I will be there for 2 hours so there isn’t really enough time to do anything, but I heard there are slot machines in the airport *giggle*. When I get to California, my parents plan on taking me to all the tourist spots: San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, Disneyland and a day-trip to Hollywood. I think that will be my favorite part! We need to go stalk some celebrity hangouts. I think lunch at the Ivy is certainly in order. I will try to blog during the week at night to keep you all informed of my adventures and I will most definitely be tweeting my way through California! Stay tuned:)
