Gettin’ Carried Away

Can you believe it’s already August? Flowers are in full bloom, crayons and notebooks are hitting store shelves and baseball season is more than halfway over. But, more importantly, Gettin’ Carried Away is celebrating a birthday this month… its 1st Birthday, to be exact!

I can’t believe how far my travel blog has come in a year: it won an award; it landed me the Community Manager position at TBEX (giving me the opportunity to meet some of the most influential bloggers/writers in the travel industry); it launched my career as a travel writer; and it became the outlet I longed for, a place where I could share my travels with the world through a medium I dearly love, writing. None of this would have happened without your readership, so thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Birthdays are usually celebrated with the three P’s… parties, pastries and presents. I’m sad to say that I don’t have the resources to throw a huge party for all my followers. And I’m not the best baker in the world, as frosting tends to end up all over me instead of the cake.

However, I do have a travel gift for one lucky reader as a thank you for helping Gettin’ Carried Away get this far: a FREE weekend at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, courtesy of Edelman and the Illinois Bureau of Tourism.

In order to enter for your chance to receive a free hotel stay, leave a comment below describing your best Chicago experience.

• Do you have a favorite restaurant?
• Which attraction do you like the best?
• What is the best neighborhood?
• Even if you have never been to the Windy City, perhaps you tried Chicago-style food somewhere else in the world, or maybe you caught a White Sox/Cubs/Bulls/Bear/Blackhawks game in another city.

The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Please limit yourself to only one comment, as readers who post more than one comment will be disqualified. The lucky person will be announced on Gettin’ Carried Away’s actual birthday, Sunday, August 16.

Denver-based Frontier Airlines has seen better days. In April 2008, the airline filed for bankruptcy and it will be sold at auction in court this August. Indianpolis-based Republic Airways was the first aviation company to submit a bid for Frontier. However, according to the Southwest Airlines press release that was released today, “The carrier [Southwest Airlines] has submitted a nonbinding proposal in accordance with the bidding procedures established in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The bid is worth a minimum of $113.6 million, which is in excess of the bid currently filed by Republic Airways.

Southwest has until August 10 to submit a binding proposal. As a low-cost air carrier, boasting a “No Hidden Fees” promise, Southwest Airlines is already a popular choice for travelers today. I mean, I even find myself browsing the website, picking some of my U.S. trips based on Southwest’s sales, which is why I’m heading to Pittsburgh next week (for under $100 roundtrip). The acquisition of Frontier would no doubt benefit the company even more, allowing it to expand its service. Southwest already launched brand-new routes to Minneapolis, Boston and New York this year, and getting Frontier would give Southwest new destinations for the end of 2009 and beyond.

And how much are the bids so far? Republic Airways offered $108.8 million, and Southwest’s non-binding bid has already outbid Republic at $113.6 million. But will Southwest go through with it? I think they probably will, but we’ll have to wait until August 10 to find out for sure.

Twitter has become the hottest marketing tool for companies all over the world. And one U.S. airline that is taking advantage of the “Twittersphere” is JetBlue.

JetBlue already had a Twitter account, but the company created a second profile called @jetbluecheeps in order to offer some sweet deals on airfare exclusively (sort of) to their followers on Twitter. I mean, in all reality, you could just e-mail the link to a friend. However, the general idea behind this marketing venture is pretty cool.

If you’re on Twitter, simply follow @jetbluecheeps and keep a look out for their “cheep” deals every Monday. One of their first deals included a $19 flight from New York’s JFK to Chicago O’Hare. But… there is a catch… or two or three:

• You can only purchase the flight that day (while supplies last) 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. EST.
• You must fly out on Saturday, one way only. It’s a last-minute “cheep” deal.
• There are only 25 - 50 seats available at the “cheep” price.

I have to say, this is a pretty neat idea. It got me to follow @jetbluecheeps, and I tuned in the last two Mondays to see the flights being offered. I’m hoping there’s a flight from Chicago soon… and I will have the time to just take off, on a whim. How about you?