NEW YORK, July 2, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq:JBLU) today announces that for the fourth year in a row, cycling fans traveling on the low-fare, high-frills airline in July will have a live, aerial view of VERSUS' nonstop daily coverage of the Tour de France beginning Saturday, July 7 at 9:30 a.m. ET. The grueling 23-day event will be available on channel 37 of the low-cost carrier's personal seatback televisions, in addition to its signature lineup of 36 channels of live DIRECTV(r) programming, more than 100 channels of XM Satellite Radio and a revolving selection of pay-per-view movies from FOX InFlight.
This year's Tour will consist of 20 stages and cover 3,550 kilometers: the approximate distance between the low-cost carrier's home base at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) and its 20th Blue City, Las Vegas, NV. To celebrate, JetBlue is awarding customers who travel roundtrip with a bike between July 7 and July 29 with 12 additional TrueBlue points. The additional points will be awarded in August, at the completion of the Tour de France. Travelers must be members of TrueBlue (www.jetblue.com/trueblue), the airline's award-winning customer loyalty program.
"We provide more live sports coverage and special events than any other airline in the skies today and consistently seek out exclusive programming, like the 2007 Tour de France on VERSUS, that will entertain our customers and enhance their JetBlue experience," said Eric Brinker, Director Brand Management and Customer Experience for JetBlue Airways. "In recognition of the intensity and extreme distance of the 23-day event, all JetBlue cycling fans traveling with a bike during the Tour will receive 12 additional TrueBlue points for their future travels."
Once customers arrive at their destination, they can continue to follow the Tour as VERSUS provides more than 300 hours of Tour action in July. This includes live coverage in the morning, replays during the day, and an expanded prime time show, which will provide sports fans across America with an informative and viewer-friendly look at each stage of the Tour. VERSUS' stellar coverage will be hosted by the incomparable team of Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, Bob Roll and Al Trautwig. A complete tour schedule is available at VERSUS.com.
"The Tour de France is the greatest sporting event on Earth and, thanks to JetBlue, in the skies too," said Gavin Harvey, President of VERSUS. "With the first ever start in London, a new and more difficult course, the chance for American Levi Leipheimer to be in yellow, this year's Tour will be action packed from start to finish and this partnership with JetBlue ensures that cycling fans won't miss a minute of the action."
In addition to its home town of New York City, JetBlue flies to several road race hotspots and some of the best cycling cities in the country according to Bicycling magazine's rankings last year, including Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; Denver, CO; Portland, OR; Richmond, VA; Rochester, NY; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA.
TrueBlue offers fliers easy-to-earn, easy-to-redeem awards for travel across JetBlue's network of 54 popular destinations. Each JetBlue route is classified as short, medium or long-haul, and customers can earn points for each one-way trip: two points for a short flight; four points for a medium flight; and six points for a long flight. Double points are awarded for reservations booked online. A free round-trip award flight is awarded after TrueBlue members earn 100 points.
VERSUS (VERSUS.com) celebrates real competition in all its forms. Now in more than 72 million homes, the network is the national cable home of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs as well as best-in-class events like The Tour de France, the America's Cup, the Professional Bull Riders (PBR), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), Professional Boxing, the Boston Marathon and Davis Cup. The network also offers collegiate sports from top conferences such as the Pac-10, Big 12 and Mountain West. VERSUS features the best field sports programming on television and is a destination for sports fans, athletes and sportsmen to find exclusive, competitive events that audiences can't find elsewhere. VERSUS, a wholly owned company of Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq:CMCSA) (Nasdaq:CMCSK), is distributed via cable systems and satellite operators throughout the United States.
New York-based JetBlue Airways has created a new airline category based on value, service and style. Known for its award-winning service and free TV as much as its low fares, JetBlue is now pleased to offer customers the most legroom throughout coach (based on average fleet-wide seat pitch for U.S. airlines). JetBlue is also America's first and only airline to offer its own Customer Bill of Rights, with meaningful compensation for customers inconvenienced by service disruptions within JetBlue's control. Visit www.jetblue.com/promise for details. JetBlue serves 54 cities with up to 575 daily flights. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all travel is ticketless, all fares are one-way, and an overnight stay is never required. For information or reservations call 1-800-JETBLUE (1-800-538-2583) or visit www.jetblue.com.
JetBlue's 36 channels of DIRECTV(r) service are not available on flights outside the continental United States; however, where applicable, FOX InFlight(tm) is offered complimentary on these routes. FOX InFlight(tm) is a trademark of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. JetBlue's in-flight entertainment is powered by LiveTV, a wholly owned subsidiary of JetBlue.
TrueBlue Points Offer: Offer expires July 29, 2007. Offer applies only to TrueBlue members in good standing and only for those destinations that accept bikes. Not applicable for flights to/from Bermuda, Dominican Republic or for CapeAir codeshare flights. In order to be eligible, TrueBlue Member must be traveling roundtrip on JetBlue with a bike between July 7 and July 29, pay the $50 bike fee, and provide TrueBlue number at check-in or online. All roundtrip travel must be completed between July 7 and July 29. If one leg of trip falls outside of the travel window, or TrueBlue Member cancels one or both legs of roundtrip travel, all TrueBlue points will be forfeited. This is a roundtrip offer. TrueBlue Points are subject to TrueBlue Terms and Conditions and expire one year after date of issuance. TrueBlue Points will be credited to your TrueBlue Account in August. Limit, one award of 12 TrueBlue Points per TrueBlue Member for each booking. May not be combined with other offers.
The JetBlue logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=795
This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature which represent our management's beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and are based on information currently available to us. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements due to many factors, including, without limitation, our extremely competitive industry; increases in fuel prices, maintenance costs and interest rates; our ability to implement our growth strategy, including the ability to operate reliably the EMBRAER 190 aircraft; our significant fixed obligations; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and maintain our culture as we grow; our reliance on high daily aircraft utilization; our dependence on the New York metropolitan market; our reliance on automated systems and technology; our being subject to potential unionization; our reliance on a limited number of suppliers; changes in or additional government regulation; changes in our industry due to other airlines' financial condition; and external geopolitical events and conditions. Further information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to, the Company's 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.