JetBlue’s New York jet celebrates the New York Jets

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Okay, there is no shortage of colors and plays on words in this new partnership deal. The New York Jets will actually have a New York jet flying in and out of the city soon. The team, which sports green in its logo and on its uniforms, is even overtaking the color of its partner, JetBlue. One of the carrier’s jets will be painted in the football team’s colors.

JetBlue is also offering DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket” football package to its passengers, showing a keen eye for the value of gridiron connections in filling seats.

According to Business Insider:

It is unclear if this new green and white jet will be used for flights to Jets away games. As part of the partnership between the airline and the football team, JetBlue offers discounted fares to Jets away games. It seems fitting if the new jet would be used for these flights.

[photo by NYCMarines via Flickr]

Daily Pampering: Thai detoxifying ritual at Canyon Ranch

by Melanie Nayer on

There’s a massage that leaves you relaxed and rejuvenated, and then there’s a massage that transports you into another universe. Enter: the traditional Thai detoxifying ritual from Canyon Ranch Miami.

The 100-minute session is a celebration of Thai healing therapies based on the royal healing traditions of Thailand. It begins with an application of aromatic Thai herbal pouches, combined with warm-oil massage to increase energy flow, relax muscles, soothe soreness and increase flexibility. The masseause stretches you while applying pressure to muscles, allowing better circulation before you step into a personal steam treatment, meant to uplift and detoxify. Called the “time machine” by those at the spa, you’ll steam the space-age looking capsule for 20 minutes before enjoying a 50-minute massage. Thanks to Canyon Ranch’s Aquavana, a European-inspired aquathermal oasis that offers everything from igloo capsules to personal rainshowers, you can continue on with your bliss following the treatment.

The price for this pampering: $330

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Virgin America launches SFO/LAX to Orlando! (Update: Photos)

by Stephen Greenwood on

For all you West Coasters still wondering where California’s summer went, now’s your chance to break out the sunscreen, fanny packs, and suit up in your classiest tourist garb. This morning, Virgin America officially launched its latest routes from San Francisco and Los Angeles to the ‘fun capital’ of America; Orlando.

To kick off the route, Virgin America has teamed up with Awkward Family Photos to encourage families to upload their “most awkward” vacation photos for a chance to win a lavish family getaway. Anyone that votes before midnight tonight gets a 33% discount off their next family booking on flights to Orlando. So, if you’ve been meaning to check out the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, or the new Amway Arena – now’s your chance.

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Gadling is onboard the inaugural flight & will be uploading photos from the reception (hosted by Sir Richard Branson and Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer) as it unfolds. The airline has had a whirlwind couple of months, winning Best Domestic Airline in Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards & announcing further expansion to Cabo San Lucas, Cancun, and Dallas Fort Worth. We’ll be interested to see just how they plan to follow up on this rapid expansion.

Have questions for Sir Richard Branson or Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer? Leave them in the comments below!

Costume store develops angry flight attendant Steven Slater costume

by Tom Johansmeyer on


I haven’t put on a costume for Halloween in years, but I think that’s going to change this year. I want to spend an evening as flight attendant hero irresponsible nut Steven Slater. In case you spent the summer living under a rock, Slater’s the flight attendant who tangled with a passenger (you know, one of the people he was responsible for protecting), popped the emergency slide, grabbed some beer from the plane and drove home to Queens.

He also hired a high-powered publicist, lied about his career and wanted his old job back before kicking around a future in media.

Ricky’s NYC, a major costume store with multiple locations, has developed a flight attendant costume that USA Today reports is clearly based on the nutjob who put lives on the ground at risk.

Here are the details on this particular getup:

The costume — shirt, tie, bandage (for the head wound reported to have been caused by a feisty passenger’s unwieldy carry-on luggage), brewskis not included — retails for $39.99 at Ricky’s stores and online at ricky’shalloween.com. It’s billed as the perfect outfit for making an early, and memorable, exit from a Halloween bash.

Fortunately, you won’t have to go to Queens after making your departure.

Travel and social media: five ways to cut through it all

by Tom Johansmeyer on

As I was scanning the headlines this morning, I came across Christopher Elliott’s article, “Are travelers overloaded by social media?” It’s a fair question. Not only are more and more of us plugging in – Twitter, for example, is adding 1.8 million new users a week – but we’re being increasingly being bombarded “communicated to” by hotels and airlines that are eager to get a bigger share of our wallets. So, there’s a whole lot of status updating and tweeting going on, and we need to figure out how to deal with it all.

It’s easy to blame the marketing guys for this. Aren’t they the people responsible, clogging our Facebook news feeds and Twitter timelines with hot deals and other promotional content? Well, yes … but we want some of that. That’s why I follow, for example, people like @Bsimi and @Colonnade, not to mention @JetBlue.

So, we have to balance our desire for promotional content (and let’s be honest – we do desire it) with keeping our social media environments clean and decidedly our own. Here are five ways you can get what you want without giving up too much:1. Make loyalty choices: with all the content floating around, you need to trim down the number of travel businesses you follow in order to truly take advantage of the best deals. Otherwise, you risk not seeing what you really want. Decide which brands mean the most to you, and ditch the others.

2. Make travel brands earn your social media share: for me at least, it takes more than a few hot deals to get me to follow a brand on Twitter or like it on Facebook. I want interesting content and customer service, too. I may test out a social media relationship for a while, but to make it stick, the company is going to have to perform.

3. Watch your friends: if you see a brand retweeted or otherwise interacting with one of your friends, it may be worth following it – or at least asking your friend why. This is why I follow @FSHotelHouston (Four Seasons Hotel Houston), for example, which was based on Twitter action I saw from @welshwonder.

4. “Favorite” and “like” what matters: use these features to bookmark social media content that you may want to use later. It will keep great deals from getting lost in your active social media stream.

5. Use these relationships effectively: By trimming your list down, you are effectively making a statement about customer loyalty – make sure the people managing those accounts know that! Don’t do it just for perks. Instead, develop a real relationship with the person behind the brand.