24-hour flash sale: JetBlue fares as low as $39 one way; routes limited

JetBlue rolled out a 24-hour flash sale Tuesday morning that dropped round-trip fares below $150 on dozens of the carrier’s non-stop routes.

JetBlue routinely offers similar short-lived sales, and this latest one covers travel during winter months that are typically among the airline industry’s slowest. As is typical of JetBlue’s previous flash sales, most of the cheapest fares were for the airline’s shortest routes.

Among the shorter routings with fares of less than $55 each way were San Francisco-Long Beach ($39 each way); Las Vegas-Long Beach ($44 each way); Fort Lauderdale-Jacksonville ($44 each way); Washington National-Charleston, S.C. ($49 each way); Portland, Maine-New York JFK ($44 each way); Boston-New York JFK ($49 each way); Syracuse, N.Y.-Boston ($54 each way) and Long Beach-Reno ($54 each way).

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A handful of the rock-bottom fares came on longer routes, where bargain-hunters would typically see higher fares.

Nearly all of those came on routes to or from Florida, where travel demand typically dips as kids go back to school and families hold off on vacations until spring break or the summer. Among the noteworthy sale fares to Florida: Pittsburgh-Fort Lauderdale ($39 each way); Detroit-Fort Lauderdale ($44 each way); Richmond-Fort Lauderdale ($54 each way) and Baltimore-Orlando ($59 each way).

One other route with notable fares: Albuquerque to New York JFK was on sale for $64 one way, with the return leg advertised at $79 one way.

Overall, the flash sale rolled out Tuesday by JetBlue was less broad than previous editions. While there were some eye-opening bargains, many of the routes represented decent deals and not jaw-dropping bargains.

And, of course, there’s fine print for the sale. (story continues below)

Tickets must be purchased by midnight Tuesday (Dec. 19), and the sale fares are excluded from Friday and Sunday flights. The sale covers travel from Jan. 10 through Feb. 14 and from Feb. 26 through March 14. The sale fares are capacity controlled, meaning the cheapest seats will disappear as they sell out on individual flights. Fliers also should note that restrictions could vary slightly by route.

Also: Sale prices are for JetBlue’s “Blue” fares that don’t include checked bags for non-elite fliers.

A Tuesday morning spot-check of JetBlue’s website showed reasonable availability of the sale fares on the routes sampled by Today in the Sky. Some routes had significantly greater availability of the lowest advertised fares than others. Fliers also should expect the highest availability of cheapest fares on unpopular flight times, such as those departing early in the morning.

Fliers able to travel on Tuesdays or Wednesdays appeared to have the best shot of snagging JetBlue’s lowest fares. Also, JetBlue's day-of-week availability for the fares meant it could be challenging for fliers to make long weekends at the lowest fares on many routes. However, the prices can be combined with non-sale fares in creating a round-trip.

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