The $61 IcelandAir mistake fare was covered in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday (thanks to an alert reader for the heads up) and in Friday’s Rocky Mountain News. Cheap Tickets helps people fly on the cheap, but customers may never again see a deal like the one offered this week. A computer glitch on the company’s Web site allowed numerous fliers to book round-trip tickets from the United States to Reykjav’k, Iceland, on Icelandair for under $100 – far less than the normal summer fares. … On Thursday evening, Cendant Corp., owner of Cheap Tickets, said it was honoring the fares. It did not say how many of the dirt-cheap tickets had been purchased, and Iceland-air did not return a phone call. Speculation is that at least 800 tickets were purchased at the $61…
More Cheap New York Airfares – Atlanta and Cincinnati for $100 roundtrip
United has retaliated against Delta’s $100 Chicago-New York roundtrip with a $100 fare between New York and Delta’s hubs in Atlanta and Cincinnati.The fare basis is TNMX, and I just priced it on Orbitz without any problem.Best part is, just like the Delta fares, there’s no advance purchase or Saturday night stay required.
Northwest Fly Free Faster 4 – 10,000 Bonus Miles
Northwest’s Fly Free Faster 4 promotion begins on June 1. Register first and them complete one “qualifying activity” and five “partner activities” by August 31st for 10,000 bonus miles. (The “qualifying activitiy” can come in the middle of or even after the “partner acitivities” – the order is unimportant.) Qualifying Activity The activities which will qualify you for the bonus: Credit one flight segment on Northwest, KLM or Northwest Airlink to your Northwest frequent flyer account “Apply, be approved and pay the annual fee for” a new Northwest Visa (although some folks have gotten free Visa cards and still qualified in the past, your mileage may vary). Sign up for service with MCI, Nextel, T-Mobile, or EarthLink (using a promotion that earns Northwest miles) Purchase a new one-year WorldClub membership Purchase 5,000 WorldPerks miles through…
America West is Promoting their Los Angeles Service
Book and fly 2 roundtrips on America West’s nonstop coast-to-coast service from LAX (to Boston, New York JFK, and/or Washington-Dulles) by November 15th and receive a free companion ticket good for travel to any of America West’s nine nonstop destinations originating from LAX. Registration required.
Attention Bay Area Travelers
Free off-airport parking in Oakland from May 25 through August 31.
$65 + tax, Chicago-New York roundtrips
Delta is offering a $65 + $43 tax ($107.90) roundtrip fare between Chicago O’Hare and New York’s LaGuardia or JFK. This seems to be available throughout the next year, doesn’t require a Saturday night or minimum stay, and doesn’t even require advance purchase. The fare seems to be available everywhere — at Delta.com, Cheaptickets.com, and Orbitz… The fare basis is UA0TN.Update: Still available at 9:15pm Eastern.
The Source of Delta’s Woes?
A piece in the Cincinnati Post wonders whether Delta would be in such huge financial trouble if they hadn’t done so much to alienate their best customers. The movement led by the airline’s Platinum Medallion-level frequent fliers has included ads in USA Today, a roving billboard outside a stockholders’ meeting and a negotiating session with Delta executives. They say they were trying to save Atlanta-based Delta from itself and potential bankruptcy. If Delta had listened to them, some say, the airline might not be struggling for its survival. Delta for years attracted customers with its SkyMiles program, and many of its most loyal passengers — those flying at least 25,000 miles a year — enjoyed benefits such as upgraded seats and free flights. But in 2002, Delta reworked SkyMiles. It cut in half the frequent…
Free Stuff
Free paper from Hewlett-Packard. Free mouthwash.64 meg USB drive for taking a survey.Food and Wine pairing magnet.
American Express Bonuses
All points-earning American Express cards are offering double points on retail, dining, and entertainment expenses from June 15 – July 15 (up to 10,000 bonus points) to residents of the greater Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles areas. Registration required.Update: As the first reader comment observes (and as I posted elsewhere yesterday) the geographic limitation applies to all Amex cardholders except those with the Delta American Express. It appears as though the bonus is open to all Delta cardholders regardless of residency. For the month up until June 15, targeted cardholders of the Delta Skymiles American Express earn double miles on all spending over $1000. Registration is required for this one, too.
Independence Air Unveils iClub
Independence Air, which starts service next month, has unveiled its frequent flyer program, iClub. Earn one point per dollar spent on Independence Air tickets. 1500 points is a free trip of 1500 miles or less or 50% off a trip longer than 1500 miles.The real innovation, taking a page from Southwest and going a step further, is There are no blackout dates restricting your use of awards and we don’t limit the number of award seats on our flights. If there’s a seat available for sale, it’s available for award travel. iClub members also save $25 on their first online ticket purchase.I like the simplicity of the program and especially that there aren’t any capacity controls. Customers looking to redeem awards won’t go away unhappy. But the awards themselves aren’t all that appealing — short-haul…
