Plenty of airlines have sported throwback paint schemes in recent years, Air Canada, Air France, Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, Southwest and Alaska among them.
And if they all got together at a party, they would probably pat JetBlue on the head and purr, “It was before your time, dear.”
Nonetheless, the circa-2000 carrier is beating them all at the retro plane design game. The New York airline just unveiled its special RetroJet, an Airbus A320 by name “What’s Old Is Blue Again.”
It’s modish and smart, lined in orange and blue “speed stripes” with a tail emblazoned in a “jazz-inspired font.” To boot, the RetroJet sports the flashback phrase “New York International” (which you know today as JFK) and asks prospective fliers to book via 1-800-JET-BLUE rather than online. We actually just called and found it to be quite user-friendly.
The RetroJet currently only makes jaunts between New York and Palm Springs, a city famous for its steadfast mid-century aesthetics, which are most pronounced in destinations like the picture-perfect albeit campy Del Marcos and Skylark hotels.
And in celebration of the launch, JetBlue is offering one-way flights starting at just $89 — that’s more than half off the typical price. Flexible travel dates even yielded a couple of rare $66 fares, with the rates rising to approximately $101 come late winter and early next spring.
And as if this all didn’t sound like a blast already, the yesteryear bird promises “complimentary limited-edition amenity kits for all customers inflight.”
New Yorkers who don’t plan on flying the funky skies can get in on the action as well — JetBlue will soon launch a Palm Springs-themed “Time Travel Agency” in Soho.
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