The travel deals and news weekly feature is brought to us thanks to Mike at InFlightOut (www.inflightout.com). He is always on the look out for great deals and sharing them with us. Follow him on Twitter @inflightout
In this post, Kimpton Hotels Summer Weekends sale, San Francisco Tokyo airfare sale, a JetBlue promo, and a press release on the San Jose Airport that is opening new ticketing lobbies.
TRAVEL DEALS
Kimpton Hotels Summer Weekends Sale Underway
Kimpton Hotels is running a property-wide sale with rates as low as $89, including some fabulous hotels in Chicago, New York, Boston and San Francisco. Plus, receive a complimentary bottle of wine for each qualified stay. Book by this Sunday, for stays through September 6, 2009. Two night minimum and pre-pay required for these rates. Click here for more details.
(Pictured: Hotel Triton, San Francisco. A Kimpton property)
San Francisco to Tokyo/Narita $454 "All In"
HOT! Late Tuesday Air Canada released a great fare between San Francisco and Toyko (NRT) airports; just $454 roundtrip, taxes included! We haven't seen many great fares to Asia lately, but this is definitely an exception. Books as an Air Canada Tango Plus fare, so members earn 100% Status miles. All flights connect in Vancouver. Valid for travel through June, three night minimum stay, and outbound travel Monday-Thursday only. Visit Orbitz to check availability.
Example dates: 6/18-6/21 and 6/17-6/24
JetBlue Promo: Book A Trip Now, Get $50 Off Later
JetBlue released another promotion whereby if you fly now, you can fly again in the future at a discounted price. Here's how it works: Register for the promotion first. Then, purchase a ticket between now and May 27, for travel dates May 19-June 23, 2009. You will then receive an electronic $50 off voucher good for a future airline ticket for travel between September 9 and November 15, 2009.
TRAVEL NEWS
San Jose Airport Opens New Ticketing Lobbies
(Press Release)
Spacious new street-level ticketing lobbies opened at Terminal A of Mineta San José International Airport (SJC) Wednesday morning (May 13), expanding the number of ticketing stations by 60 percent.
The new ticketing lobbies are the first newly-constructed customer space to open in the airport's comprehensive $1.3 billion terminal area modernization program, and the first of several major improvements for Terminal A that will come into service over the rest of this year.
Southwest Airlines now occupies the entire South Ticketing Lobby, and the North Lobby is shared by American, Hawaiian, and Mexicana Airlines. Because of SJC's innovative shared-use technology foundation, in the future multiple carriers can easily use the same ticket counters and aircraft gates as new flights are added to serve San José.
Passengers walking across the bridge from the Terminal A garage now will go down the new escalators to check in at the new ticket counters. In addition, Terminal A now has a much longer curb for departing passengers to unload and conveniently check in at street level.
The space vacated by the old upstairs ticket counters now will be cleared out to make way for an expanded and efficient new security checkpoint that will help reduce passenger wait times and improve their travel experience at SJC when it is completed this fall.
"It was quite a challenge to orchestrate the complex series of steps with contractors, airlines, and the airport so that we could make the entire switch overnight," said Steve Pagan, SJC project manager for the Terminal A improvements.
"We've been planning the details for months so that we could complete construction, move equipment and technology systems from upstairs to downstairs in one night, and be ready for our customers first thing in the morning without missing a beat."
Phase 1 of SJC's $1.3 billion terminal area improvement program involves the modernization and replacement of the airport's terminal facilities. The overall project includes the construction of a new Terminal B and Concourse that will take the place of Terminal C, originally built in 1965, along with upgrades and expansion at Terminal A to provide more spacious and comfortable waiting areas and faster security check-in systems.
Over the next year, SJC will be completing major elements of the program. Interim activation of the Terminal B Concourse will take place this summer when several gates will be used by Southwest until the rest of the terminal is completed next summer.
The program also includes a new 3350-space rental car and public parking garage directly in front of Terminal B; expanded space for more options for quality food, beverage, and retail services; and improved roadways serving the airport for more convenient access.
The modernization program is scheduled for completion by the end of 2010. Plans for future airport expansion in Phase 2, which would extend Terminal B and add new gates, will be contingent on reaching growth triggers for the number of flights or passengers pre-established in collaboration with the airlines serving San José.
ABOUT MINETA SAN JOSÉ INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Mineta San José International Airport, a self-supporting enterprise, is owned and operated by the City of San José. SJC served 9.7 million passengers and handled approximately 162 million pounds of air cargo in 2008. SJC has approximately 150 flights a day on 13 domestic and international carriers to 27 nonstop destinations.
Mineta San José International Airport is located in San José, California's third largest city and the nation's tenth largest city (population 1,007,000).
For more Airport information, visit www.sjc.org, or call Airport Customer Service at (408) 501-0979. Motorists can also tune their radios to 530 AM within two miles of SJC for current information on airport traffic, parking and security.
