Thanksgiving Special: Air Travel Innovations

Nov. 25, 2009 — -- If you only get on a plane once-in-a-blue-moon -- say for Thanksgiving -- you'll notice there have been some changes this year, and it all boils down to airline survival.

Changes like "all-you-can-eat" deals, gizmos and gadgets, and pet power -- things the airlines, mostly, are doing to make ends meet. But is it working for travelers?

I'm going to take a look at six air travel "innovations" we've seen over the past year -- and one "passenger pushback" response -- and grade them from one to five cranberries, five being best of course.

Cranberries are the perfect symbol for this time of year, plus while they can be sweet, they are always tart.

For more air travel news and insights visit Rick's blog at: http://farecompare.com

1. "All You Can Eat" Promotions -- 4 Cranberries

Earlier this year, JetBlue launched a clever "All You Can Fly" publicity gambit that had fingers flying in Twitter-world and quickly sold out. It was a win-win for frequent fliers, road warriors and especially the airline.

JetBlue enjoyed a marketing triumph plus it gave them a chance to fill up some otherwise empty seats. Pity this stunt was only good for a single month's worth of flights.

Not to be outdone, United soon came up with its own "all you can eat" innovation: pay $249, and you get two free bags on every flight for a year (along with up to eight people flying with you on the same confirmation number). A family of five checking one bag apiece would save with just two trips a year.

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