JetBlue Blog

Airlines meals aim to offer tasty treats to their passengers, but have long struggled with the effects that low humidity and high altitude have on the taste buds. Lufthansa is facing the challenge head-on in one of the largest low-pressure chambers in the world, the tubular laboratory at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics.

Image courtesy of saechang on Flickr

They have created a simulation aircraft in this cow pasture, equipped with fake cabin pressure, turbulence, and just about every other condition to make you feel like you’re actually at 35,000 feet (including air filters to weed out the potentially-noxious scents of their four-legged neighbors). In this environment, they are able to test how different flavors taste in the air. Their findings show that salts and sugars get dulled at 35,000, while spices tend to hold their flavor. They also discovered that wines with higher alcohol content test better and have lesser affect than if consumed on the ground; the dryness of the air in the cabin makes normal full-bodied wine taste bland.

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News to come out of the airline industry this week was anything but stagnant. Though the bag was mixed with both good and bad news, one thing is for certain – it was far from boring!

Virgin America announced (again) that it would like to begin service from Chicago if it can get access to O’Hare, part of its recently public plan to expand by 60 planes. Continental announced this week that it won’t be making merger-related staff cuts until March 2011, although some bigwig announcements were made on Tuesday, while American Airlines and Delta plan to expand in Brazil.

It was discovered this week that the FAA failed in its oversight of safety orders at Northwest, an Allegiant Air flight made an emergency landing in Arizona, and a Lufthansa Cargo plane had a crash landing in Riyadh, Saudi’s capital airport (thankfully all are OK). Sadly, Pakistani airline, Airblue, crashed due to bad weather conditions and all 152 people on board were killed.

Japan Airlines asked its pilots to take pay cuts as its only option to survival, while AirTran says it will be bringing 100 new pilot jobs to Orlando, and someone didn’t help 9-year old Julien make his connection in Chicago to get home to his mom in Ottawa.

Another airline, meanwhile, booted a thin lady with standby status to make room for a not-as-thin teen who required two seats, Continental will be the first U.S. airline to test self-boarding (can Americans cut it?), and Lufthansa tests tastes in the sky.

American launched a new iPhone application with a travel guide, there’s word on the street that Lufthansa will name a new CEO, United won approval from the EU to buy Continental, Air Berlin hopes to join Oneworld airline alliance by early 2012, and the Middle East is increasingly becoming a hub for cross-world travel.

We had a good week, with news of a fabulous fall fare sale, Sarah McLachlan playing at T5, and shout-outs in Airline Business, The Chicago Tribune and on CNBC. Most importantly, perhaps, is that Hollywood legend, 90-year old Mickey Rooney, jetted with us!

As always, safe travels and have a great weekend. Thanks for reading!

For the seventh straight year, we are teaming up with the Boston Red Sox and Lindos Sueños (beautiful dreams) to send U.S. teens to the Dominican Republic where they will perform community service and play baseball alongside 10 teammates from across the Dominican Republic. As in the six previous trips, the 20 teens will serve a community in need each morning and will spend each afternoon playing baseball at the Red Sox Dominican Academy. We donated roundtrip flights (direct from Boston to Santo Domingo) for all 10 teens and members of the Lindos Sueños staff. Red Sox mascot, Wally the Green Monster greeted the students and Customers in Terminal C at BOS on Tuesday. Refreshments were served and Flight #691 began boarding at 10 a.m. for SDQ.

In 2010, the Lindos Sueños participants — 10 American teens and 10 Dominican teens — will visit Futuro Vivo, a school located in the town of Guerra, which focuses on the education of children and families in the poorest communities. While at Futuro Vivo, the children will refurbish a baseball field, paint and repair outdoor furniture, and spend time with the children from the school. Futuro Vivo was created 20 years ago and today serves over 900 children in need from towns neighboring the Red Sox Dominican Academy.

Each afternoon, the program participants will play baseball together at the Red Sox Dominican Academy. The teens will practice on professional baseball fields, and will compete together against teams from neighboring towns in the Dominican. The participants’ instruction will be overseen by Red Sox Director of Dominican Academy, Jesus Alou. Alou, a native of the Dominican Republic, played 15 seasons in the major leagues with the Giants, Astros, Athletics, and Mets, and at one time played in the same major league outfield alongside his brothers Felipe and Matty.

Similar to the six previous trips, the program will be primarily funded by a donation to the Red Sox Foundation and from the Charles Engelhard Foundation. JetBlue, Banco BHD, the official bank of Major League Baseball and the Boston Red Sox in the Dominican Republic, and David and Tiffany Ortiz contributed to this year’s program.

Related:
Press Release
Official site

If you happen to be lucky enough to be jetting with us through JFK’s T5 around 7 p.m. tonight, or you are one of our winners, you’ll be one of the few to be privy to a very special private Sarah McLachlan concert.

Celebrating her new album release, “Laws Of Illusion,” and Lilith Fair 2010, Sarah’s concert will kick off our second annual Live from T5 concert series, a unique live entertainment experience for Customers on the ground. The concert will take place post-security in the Marketplace at T5 and is not available for public purchase.

Loving her is easy!

Dollar Rent A Car has signed a multi-year agreement with us to provide rental cars as part of our Getaways vacation packages. Beginning in August, Dollar will be the exclusive value car rental provider for JetBlue Getaways.

The Dollar-JetBlue Getaways partnership is designed to provide customers with an additional opportunity to save even more time and money. In August, value-conscious JetBlue Getaway customers will have access to Dollar’s budget-friendly deals at cities throughout the U.S.

Customers may book JetBlue Getaways vacation packages, inclusive of car rentals from Dollar Rent A Car at www.jetblue.com/vacations. To learn more about Dollar, please visit www.dollar.com.

Our Senior Vice President of Marketing & Commercial Strategy Marty St. George is one of five new members to join the Board of Directors for the The Advertising Club of New York.

The Advertising Club conducted its 114th Annual Meeting of Members on Tuesday, where they announced the five newly-inducted 2010-2011 Board of Directors and nine recipients of the Club’s prestigious President’s Award. The reception was held at the Helen Mills Event Space in New York City.

The Advertising Club is the premier organization for all communications professionals in New York. The Club, founded in 1896, offers its members a forum to exchange ideas, make connections and honor excellence. The Club’s Foundation provides students numerous educational outreach programs that give back to build a stronger and more diverse advertising and marketing community. The Club is the facilitating sponsor of the International ANDY Awards, which acknowledge outstanding creative achievement around the world in the field of advertising.

There are still a few tickets left for Sarah McLachlan’s show at JFK T5 tomorrow night. Come find us in Manhattan at 14th Broadway right now!

Hi, we’re decked out in JetBlue gear at the blue wall on 14th and broadway (south end of Union Square). The first 15 fans to meet us will win a pair of tickets to see Sarah McLachlan perform live at JetBlue’s Terminal 5 at JFK on Thursday July 29 at 7 p.m. and Lilith Fair 2010 on July 31 at PNC Bank Arts Center. See you soon.

This week’s Travel Tips take us to Beantown, Boston, MA that is. This BlueCity is one of our most heavily trafficked and one in which we are working to grow even more. There are a plethora of points packed into this New England city and our BOS Crewmembers share some of their secret spots below.

Manager Station Operations Duty Ray points out that Boston Logan International Airport opened in 1919, and is one of the oldest airports in continual use in the world! Ray also suggests you do the Freedom Trail; you can do it on foot and he’s never heard a traveler say they didn’t get something out of it. Don’t waste time on Cheers, he says!

Boston is famous as one of the twin birthplaces of the United States. Although the

Image courtesy of mituldesai on Flickr

Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia, the Minutemen, Paul Revere, John Adams and many of the other founding fathers were from Boston. The original shots of the Revolution were fired here, and a good deal of the stubborn independence that has come to be part and parcel of the American character were endemic to New England and specifically Boston over a hundred years before we became a nation.

Boston combines the hipness of NYC at a scale that a person can manage without feeling overwhelmed, Ray relates. The city has world class orchestras, bands, museums, universities, parks, and more in an area that’s only 30 minutes from the rolling New England countryside. It’s no wonder travelers come from all over Europe and Asia to access America through the lens of Boston, a timeless, hip, cultured place that you can actually get your brain around (and manage your wallet at the same time!) in just a couple of days. Don’t miss the Duck Tours (Quack, Quack)!

First Officer Joseph says for those who are interested in sailing or a tour of the Boston waterfront, you should check out the sailing ship Liberty Clipper.  She departs at the Aquarium dock three times daily for a two-hour cruises around the harbor.  The dock is easily reachable from the T, just get off at the Aquarium stop.  It’s a great way to see the city from a different angle.  And for those aviation enthusiasts (Joseph knows there are a few), it’s a great way to see Logan airport.

First Officer Scott says that without a doubt, Santarpios Pizza in East Boston and Mike’s

Image courtesy of the-o on Flickr

Pastries in the North End are easy to get to and unforgettable experiences. Not surprisingly, the pizza at Santarpios is to die for! With thin crust,  lots of garlic and Durgin Park style ‘in your face’ service, everything is great as long as you want pepperoni or sausage toppings (tip: don’t expect Hawaiian pizza!). No need to pay for transportation, Scott offers, just take the airport bus from Terminal C to the airport T (Blue Line station) and walk through the
park to Chelsea street. Best of all, both of these spots are within 20 minutes of the airport if your timing is good (caution: the crowds can be HUGE at both shops — go early).

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We’re pleased to announce a four day sale, with one-way fares available for as low as $39 to destinations across the U.S. and the Caribbean.  Travel must be booked online at www.jetblue.com today through July 30.

Image courtesy of dno1967 on Flickr

Fall sale fares for flights from New York (JFK) to Syracuse (SYR) and L.A./Long Beach (LGB) to San Francisco (SFO) start at $49 each way.  Flights as low as $59 are available from Orlando (MCO) to San Juan (SJU), $79 from New York (JFK) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and $89 from Boston (BOS) to Orlando (MCO).

Customers looking for great deals on transcontinental routes can jet between New York (JFK) and Las Vegas (LAS), Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO) for $149 (a) each way.  Transcontinental fares from $149 (a) are also available between Boston (BOS) and Long Beach (LGB), San Francisco (SFO) or Los Angeles (LAX).

Sale fares must be purchased by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, July 30, 2010, and some cities require up to a 14-day advance purchase.  Fares are most often found on midweek travel dates.  Blackout dates and other restrictions apply. For more information please visit www.jetblue.com.

We hope you’ll fall in love with our falling Fall fares!

Press Release