Basically the plane is configured to fly at low speeds for both of them. So I’m not a pilot, but I had a student’s pilot’s license a while ago…ĪFAIK, Takeoff and Landing configuration of the plane from an external perspective is pretty similar. The result was a well-liked promotion that got the airline coverage all over the US and even around the world. JetBlue even went to the FAA to make sure that it wouldn’t have any trouble getting a clear flight path through crowded air space. All they needed were crews to fly the extra legs, but with a Long Beach crew base, I can’t imagine that was hard to find for a little flightseeing around SoCal. They slotted another roundtrip to Long Beach in there. The next flight lands from Vegas at 555p but doesn’t go back to New York until 920p. So they stuck a roundtrip to Long Beach in there while it was on the ground. One airplane comes in from JFK at 1118a and doesn’t leave for Vegas until 355p. On Saturdays, JetBlue has a thinner schedule in Burbank. This idea came up on Monday, was launched on Wednesday, and flew on Saturday. There aren’t a lot of places where something like that could come together that quickly, but JetBlue is one of those places. JetBlue has a large presence with its Long Beach crew base, so it could have come from anyone, and hopefully they get a little thank you note, at the very least. According to JetBlue, it came from “a crewmember outside of the marketing department, and we ran with it!” I’m guessing it came from someone here in SoCal. Of course, when the flights operated on Saturday, there was more coverage as well.Įven though this was a marketing coup, the idea didn’t come from marketing at all. It was covered nonstop leading up to the flights. That little wrinkle simply gave the story staying power. The bikes won considering the drive time to the airport and the waiting time as well. A biking group called Wolfpack Hustle put together a challenge to see who could get from a location near Burbank Airport to the Long Beach Aquarium the fastest – someone who flew or someone who biked. In fact, environmentally-friendly transport lovers jumped on the bandwagon. You might think that there could have been backlash from environmentalists decrying such a waste, but I saw none of that. JetBlue knows your pain, and JetBlue is going to try to relieve it and help you fly down to the beach.Įmails quickly flew through cyberspace – I had all kinds of friends sending me notes about this, asking if I’d be taking it. JetBlue hasn’t been as visible in SoCal as it was during its early days, but this was a clear stand of solidarity with those who live here. After so many weeks of covering the same boring stuff around the closure, this was a fun story that really hit the spot and was top story on several newscasts. Within minutes, news vans had swarmed JetBlue’s operations in Burbank and Long Beach to cover the story. Our research shows that once a customer tries us, they become loyal fans!” If that’s the case, then this worked wonders. This was all about generating exposure, or as JetBlue said, “the value we are receiving beyond the publicity is earning new customers and educating the community on about all of the cities we serve. That’s enough to buy just over 200 gallons of fuel, and I bet the flight used even more than that. In fact, JetBlue says that this was the fastest selling promotion it has ever launched.Ĭlearly JetBlue didn’t expect to make a profit on these flights alone. The flights sold out in less than three hours. The flights were scheduled for Saturday afternoon and would cost only $4 all-in each way, $5 if you wanted to spring for extra legroom. JetBlue decided to jump in on Wednesday by offering two roundtrip flights between Burbank and Long Beach for cheap. Meanwhile, there had been a few efforts to figure out ways around the mess including discounted helicopter flights and things like that. The local media had been covering it for weeks, and when it was given the name “Carmageddon,” it really stuck. Every electronic road sign on every freeway flashed closure info. Kudos certainly go to all the authorities involved for getting the word out so well that people stayed local this weekend.īut many of the warnings in advance were that there would be terrible gridlock. The public awareness was tremendous, and in the end, the freeway reopened way early and there was no gridlock. The freeway is being expanded and they had to knock down a bridge as part of that project. Carmageddon was supposed to result in epic gridlock thanks to the closing of the 405 freeway in a key spot between West LA and the San Fernando Valley.
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