Channel 9

ITA Software Schedule Bug Today

I’m pulling different schedules from ITA Software today than I am from the direct airline websites and the OTAs.  Just fair warning out there as it is possible United is updating its schedules.  Example:

	United Airlines Flight UA829 on an Airbus A320 (jet) in coach class      (food for purchase, movie)
	Departs Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)	Thur, July 2	3:57p	3 hrs 23 min
	Arrives Denver, CO (DEN)		5:20p
	Layover in Denver			45 min
	United Airlines Flight UA511 on an Airbus A320 (jet) in coach class      (food for purchase)
	Departs Denver, CO (DEN)	Thur, July 2	6:05p	2 hrs 25 min
	Arrives Santa Ana, CA (SNA)		7:30p

That is coming from ITA.  Here is the actual flight option:

hu, Jul 02, 2009 – Pittsburgh, PA (PIT) to Orange County/Santa Ana, CA (SNA)
United 0829	Depart: PIT 4:04 PM Arrive: DEN 5:28 PM	Non-stop 3h 24m  Airbus A320  1,290 miles traveled	Fare basis code: WA14KN Booking class: W Economy 1,290 Award miles  No Meal Service	Seats:N/A   Select seats
<<< connecting to >>>
United 0511	Depart: DEN6:28 PM Arrive: SNA8:01 PM	Non-stop 2h 33m  Airbus A319  846 miles traveled	Fare basis code: WA14KN Booking class: W Economy 846 Award miles  No Meal Service	Seats:N/A   Select seats

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Pet Airways

Yes, this is for real.  Beech 1900 aircraft equipped to take your doggy or kitty from Chicago, New York, Denver, Los Angeles and Washington DC.  Seems crazy to me, that’s all I have to say. 

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Southwest Mystery Sale

50% off flights through June 1 excluding Memorial Day. Use promo code LUVPHL.  Deal is today only.  New 50% off sale tomorrow.  Check back at Southwest.com.  

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Luxury Hotels on the Cheap

Tablet Hotels has a new “Last Minute Tablet” section for deals with its partner properties in Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, Rome and Paris.  Check it out for some discount rates 7-14 days before your arrival. 

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April 08 Anniversary

Things are not great now, but there has been a recent absence of bankruptcy stories.  If you recall, last April marked the hallmark of airlines going under.  In the first 10 days of April 08 we lost ATA, Aloha, Skybus and a few smaller carriers. Eos would go next.  By October many airlines looked like they would not make it: Midwest and Sun Country, in particular.  Yet, they are both still here.  The ancillary revenue game has helped. But, at some point, primary demand is going to need to make a comeback, or we’ll see more names fly their last flight. 

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Budget Car Rentals

I’ve recently been making a few car rental reservations for the upcoming summer and Budget.com is significantly outpricing the competition.  Many of the promo codes I enter in actually increase the price and I’ve been going with the raw pricing from the homepage booking engine.  Of course, I will check hotwire before I actually rent the car, but this is a departure from the fun of searching for promo codes and plugging them into the various sites.  This might be an attempt by Budget to control its pricing.

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LGA-MDW on LUV

Tickets are for sale now on Southwest between LGA and MDW.  There are 5 daily roundtrips scattered throughout the day.  Aside from American’s and United’s frequent flights to ORD, Delta runs 9 flights a day on the same MDW-LGA route.  Pricing has always been competitive on this route, so Southwest’s entrance will only have a ripple in terms of the emergence of more discounted one-way tickets and a cap on the route.  Currently, an unrestricted ticket on Southwest is going for $284 each way plus tax.  Good luck to Delta, they should feel this the most first.

Also, from an operations perspective, Southwest has slated an average amount of time for its flight with 2 hours and 10 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes eastbound.  Westbound they’ve blocked 2 hrs 20 minutes to 3 hours and 0 minutes.  The hour flight is for the 5:30 PM westbound departure.  That gives them plenty of time to remain on schedule.

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Continental’s 24-Hour Policy

Anyone ever tested the limit on the number of times you can cancel and rebook tickets using Continental’s 24-hour cancellation policy?  I’m waiting to see if an alternate flight time drops in price before going forward with the flight I’ve selected.  In my defense, the Continental flight I am currently booked for is only on time 30% of the time and 30% of the time it is more than 90 minutes late.

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Fly to Mars with Expedia

Some packages as low as $99.

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JetBlue Northeast Frequency Promotion

Jetblue has a promo out for business travelers in the Northeast Corridor.  Booking and travel must occur between 3/25 and 6/17.  Combine this with the excessive discounts out in the market and you are getting a pretty good deal deal.  Although, it is likely not worth receiving the flight credits in your loyalty program of choice.  Further details below:

Frequent travelers, get a free* flight on routes you jet all the time! Take three trips between any of the cities below and we’ll give you a certificate good for a free flight to any of the same routes:

Boston, MA to:

• Buffalo, NY
• Charlotte, NC
• New York, NY (JFK)
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Raleigh, NC
• Richmond, VA
• Washington, DC/Dulles

New York, NY (JFK) to:

• Burlington, VT
• Buffalo, NY
• Charlotte, NC
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Portland, ME
• Raleigh-Durham, NC
• Richmond, VA
• Rochester, NY
• Syracuse, NY
• Washington, DC/Dulles

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