Blue.......Jet Blue

Jet Blue announced this week that it will be offering flights nonstop starting Dec 15th from Boston to St. Thomas 5 days a week!! On the way back there is a stopover in San Juan, but thats ok.

I ran a quick test search to check out pricing:

1 traveler roundtrip: Boston, MA (BOS) to Saint Thomas, VI (STT)

• Departing Flight #807
  • BOS
  • STT
  12/17 9:35AM

  12/17 2:30PM
• Returning Flight #808
  • STT
  • BOS
  12/26 3:20PM

  12/26 7:29PM

• Airfare
• Fare:
  $458.00 x 1 = $458.00
• Taxes & Fees
  $50.10
• Total:
  $508.10

Those travel times are great, not at the airport too early and getting here with plenty of daylight. Even with the stop in San Juan you leave STT at 3:20 and are home by 7:30. This is great news. Here is a USA Today article on the matter. These 88,000 new seats should really help to drive down high prices we saw last winter even if the Jet Blue flight is not the cheapest for you since competition in the airline market is a great thing. Hope to see more bahstun folks this year.

Fare Compare

Today was an exciting day for me. I discovered Fare Compare. It got even more exciting when I was starting to write a "How To" on using the site to find the best flights using their site when I discovered that they had already created that page for me! When messing around I found flights in January for $298 RT from both Chicago and Atlanta to St. Thomas. The most important part in successfully navigating Fare Compare is to make sure you check the "My dates are flexible" box which will give you the grid you see below.

Four Steps to Finding Cheap Flights When Your Travel Dates are Flexible

By: FareCompare | Last updated: May 21, 2010

FareCompare’s When-to-Fly Flexible Calendar Search makes it easy to find the the best price for your trip. When you are shopping for flights, simply select “My dates are flexible” and FareCompare will show you the cheapest days and times to fly on your preferred departure date, as well as other dates near that date.

When you’re planning a trip, the best way to save when booking your flight is to shop using FareCompare flexible calendar search. FareCompare When-to-Fly flexible calendar instantly searches hundreds of date and length of stay combinations, allowing you to instantly compare dates and times, to find the price that fits your budget. And it’s easy as 1 – 2 -3.

Flexible Calendar Flight Search – Find Cheap Flights Fast

1. Choose your destination and preferred flight dates. When you search, select the “My dates are flexible” checkbox.

2. Shop using the flexible calendar. Once your search is complete, you can shop the results for the specific day you selected in your original search, or you can shop using the flexible calendar search on the left.

The dates highlighted in the calendar are the cheapest days to fly in the thirty days surrounding your preferred departure date. To change your departure date, simply click on the price in the calendar.

3. Choose your length of stay. Instantly compare prices for your selected departure date. The FareCompare When-to-Fly Flexible Calendar Search easily lets you compare prices and departure dates, eliminating the need to ‘hunt and peck.’ FareCompare completes the equivalent of hundreds of searches with one-click.

Once you’ve selected your preferred length of stay, click “Select.”

4. Complete your search – choose your itinerary. Once you’ve chosen your length of stay, allow your itinerary search to complete and choose you preferred itinerary on the results page.

You can continue to shop for flexible days, simply repeat the process until you find the price that fits your budget. To be sure you always get the best price, signup for FareCompare When-to-Fly Airfare Alerts or get real-time When-to-Fly tweets on Twitter.