Flying Unlimited

A few days ago my inbox started getting filled with emails from friends exclaiming that the forwarded contents were "Amazing!" and an "Awesome Deal!" They were all promoting the same thing: Jet Blue's $599 All-You-Can-Jet pass that allows passengers to fly as much as they want to anywhere the airline flies from Sept. 8 to Oct. 8. The offer is certainly amazing and awesome, but how many people can afford to take more than one trip a month?

The deal probably won't make sense for most people. But as travel expert Rudy Maxa points out on NPR, for business travelers and the unemployed with some cash on hand, this could be a great idea. You can almost get your money's worth with just one flight from the east coast to the west coast. And even if the deal only brings in these two consumer segments, it might be worth it for Jet Blue.

The airline industry needs all the help it can get. High oil prices increased costs last year and the recession continues to keep many passengers grounded. And the continuing string of flight delay horror stories have made many weary of air travel altogether. Is Jet Blue hoping to make money off of this? Of course. But at this point, for the airlines, any goodwill gesture towards passengers that will help their battered public image will be a deal in itself.

Photo courtesy of Wbaiv, via Flickr