Jaunted - The Pop Culture Travel Guide

JetAmerica Has Sold Out Its $9 Fares to Those Who Still Want to Fly JetAmerica

juliana — 2009-07-09T18:14:35-05:00

JetAmerica is extremely unpopular these days after pulling the plug on passengers just 11 days before the JA flights were expected to take off. (We keep getting upset letters from passengers and we're updating them here.)

But apparently, some people are still willing to give them another chance. JetAmerica has sent us this statement saying they have removed advertisements for its $9 one-way fares from its website. And why?

"The reason is because we are sold out of $9 fares in all but the Toledo, Ohio market for all future flights through September 2009. However, there are still plenty of one way seats available at fares starting as low as $19 one way," said JetAmerica spokesperson Bryan Glazer.

The $9 one-way fare ads have been replaced by a box that says "Ultra-low fares. Every Day. Every Flight." So we guess the sell-out bit is good news for the airline and $19 is still low. But what about when these flights will actually take off? That's still not known as there was no comment from Glazer about "slot issues or regulatory matters."

Meanwhile, here's a snippet of a letter from a once and former JetAmerica customer:

As far as I am concerned, I'll walk, hitch-hike, ride a bike, or drive before I will ever consider flying Jet America. They could give me free tickets, free hotels, etc ... I WON'T FLY WITH THEM ... EVER! They can take their 'discounts' for future flights and shove them. I'd join a class action suit if there was a chance of sticking it to them, but I don't see any chance of that.

Related Stories:
· JetAmerica stories [Jaunted]
· Minister, Hopeful Lawyer and Others Forced to Pay More Thanks to JetAmerica [Jaunted]

Sydney: Sydney's Darling Harbour Gets Construction Work

amandak — 2009-07-09T17:29:54-05:00

Any tourist who's visited Sydney has spent time in Darling Harbour, but if you go back again in a couple of years it's going to look a little different. There's some major redevelopment going on along Darling Walk and come 2011, Sydney's hoping it will attract a bunch of extra tourists down to the harbor.

Much of the construction work will take place on the old site of Sega World, the short-lived amusement park that closed down in 2000 (after only four years of not-so-thrilling rides). The redevelopment will cost A$500m ($400m) and includes a huge bank building plus more exciting stuff like retail shops, caf�s, a water play area and a children's theater.

According to the local Planning Minister, the new design connects this part of the harbor to the city much better and they hope this will help bring more tourists and locals down to Darling Harbour. We think it's usually too busy as it is, so we're not sure if we're for or against this development, but it's only two years until we'll be able to find out.

Related Stories:
· $500m Project to Transform Sydney Site [The West]
· Sydney Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: Chewy Chua]

United and Delta Get Off Easy in Codeshare and Denied-Boarding Violations

juliana — 2009-07-09T16:48:03-05:00

Chris Elliott has the scoop on the latest fines that the Department of Transportation issued to United Airlines (who was already having a bad week, thanks to the broken guitar video) and Delta Airlines for failing to notify passengers of codesharing flights and for denied-boarding violations. Elliott reports:

United Airlines faces $80,000 in penalties for neglecting to inform travelers that certain flights were operated by another airline. And Delta Air Lines is being fined $375,000 for bumping passengers from its flights without compensation.

The investigation of United declared that phone reservations agents were not disclosing the codeshare partners while Delta's investigation was based on passenger complaint records. But these fines are extremely minor as Elliott points out that each airline will probably only pay half so long as they promise to not to do it again. (In our best Church Lady voice) Wellll, isn't that special?

Related Stories:
· All Together Now: 'United Breaks Guitars' [Jaunted]
· Delta and United face steep fines for codesharing, denied-boarding violations [Elliott.org]

[Photo: Paul Brady]

Wide Load: Briggs & Riley Baseline Holds A Lot But At a Hefty Price

egw — 2009-07-09T16:31:20-05:00

We didn't head home alone this 4th of July weekend; Briggs & Riley Travelware sent us a sample of their new 20" Carry-On Expandable Wide-Body Upright from the Baseline collection "for serious travelers," which we promptly abused for 1,800 miles. How did it come out? Not bad!

First impression: Straight out of the box we recognized it was slightly larger than our usual carry-on (a Delsey roller with laptop pocket) but smaller than the Samsonite we use for weeklong trips. In the check-in line, it looked about average height compared to other rolling carry-ons, but as promised, slightly wider.

Is Pet Airways A 'Frivolous' And Eco-Unfriendly Idea?

JetSetCD — 2009-07-09T16:14:06-05:00

Although we've already covered the fact that Pet Airways will be the only new airline launching this month, and actually has planes unlike a certain other airline which will remain nameless (cough-JetAmerica-cough), we haven't considered the eco-impact of such a seemingly frivolous carrier.

And "frivolous" is exactly the stance that green blog Treehugger adopted earlier this week when they covered the airline. In response, Treehugger's readers surprisingly rose up in support of the idea and proved themselves to be not only eco-conscious, but pet-friendly as well.

To cover their bums in this matter, Treehugger has left the decision of whether Pet Airways is worthwhile use of a new airline or not up to a poll, currently being conducted here. "Frivolous" is winning thus far, but we're going to wait until the airline actually gets off the ground before making any judgments.

Related Stories:
· Is Pet Airways Un-TreeHugger? [Treehugger]
· UnTreeHugger: Pet Airways [TreeHugger]
· Pet Airways Will Be The Only New Airline Launching This Month [Jaunted]
· Pet Airways Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Pet Airways]

Kairouan: Mint Tea And Handmade Carpets: Tunisia's Kairouan Market Delivers

JetSetCD — 2009-07-09T15:14:10-05:00

Avoid the temptation to purchase the "local color" of your trip at the airport gift shop and step into the magical labyrinths that are city markets. Practice your haggling and strap on that money belt as we profile some of the world's best.

One of the best travel decisions we've ever made was to forego the typical Mexico spring break for a far more cultural (and culture-shocking) one in Tunisia. And it only got better the further we went into the North African country, as prices dropped and hand-made carpets got more colorful. Speaking of carpets, we headed to one of the capitals of this industry: the city of Kairouan.

As the fourth most important city in Islam, Kairouan attracts its share of foreign visitors, and all are attracted to the vibrant market of the city in the walled-in medina. Here is the place to purchase hand-painted ceramics, glassware, and especially the meaning-laden carpet you've always dreamt of owning.

Airlines Getting Creative With Pre-Flight Safety Videos

Omri — 2009-07-09T14:14:19-05:00

Airlines have developed a suspicion - from where, we have no idea - that we passengers aren't really listening to their pre-flight safety instructions. Apparently they feel that their prerecorded soliloquies about emergency doors and water landings are being adhered to with something less than rapt attention.

In response, they're going out of their way to get passenger eyeballs onto video monitors. Virgin America changed up the game first with their cartoon safety instruction video which has tongue-in-cheek humor and shows a cute girl with a bad nicotine habit and a nun that is more plugged in than a 13-year-old boy.

And how could we forget Deltalina? In fact, we really wish we could forget the image of her botoxed face telling us to put on a seatbelt.

Now, everyone of course knows about Air New Zealand's new naked safety video, which we covered while it was being produced. The final commercial is currently inching its way toward 4 million views on YouTube. Reasonably attractive but suitably everyday male and female attendants in body paint. It's viral magic.