JetBlue and United give Twitter a try to sell airline seats fast

Looking for a quick, cheap getaway? A bargain may be just a tweet away.

 JetBlue and United airlines are offering their Twitter followers first
dibs on some discounted fares, using the uber-trendy form of messaging
to quickly connect with customers and fill seats on flights that might
otherwise take off less than full.

 Like the e-mails that many airlines began to send out in the 1990s,
tweets are presenting a new, faster way to promote sales. And in
fitting with this latest mode of instant communication, travelers have
to decide quickly whether to fly.

 JetBlue posted its first "Cheep" on July 6, a $9 one-way trip from JFK
to Nantucket. Since then the carrier has generally notified Twitterers
about sales on Mondays, giving them about eight hours — or as long as
there are available seats — to book a trip for that or the following
weekend.

 "By promoting the Cheeps through Twitter, we give the already
spontaneous audience of Twitter users a chance to grab great
last-minute fares," says JetBlue spokesman Morgan Johnston.

 In addition to filling empty seats, the sales can introduce new
customers to the airline, he says. "Those first-time customers trying
Cheeps … we know they're going to come back."

 United's Twitter-only fares, also known as "twares," started in May.
The airline's sales tweets can come at any time for a flight leaving
on any day, and fliers have had to pounce quickly because the offers
are usually available for only one to two hours.

 "Twares are all about surprising our customers with low fares for a
very, very limited time," says Robin Urbanski, a United spokeswoman.
And, she says, they "sell extremely fast because the prices are
unbeatable."

 Many airlines continue to offer e-fares, notifying fliers about
last-minute sales via e-mail. But travelers usually have a few days
rather than a few hours to book their tickets.

 With Twitter fares, Johnston says, "You really have to act fast.
Because people watch Twitter in a real-time manner, the ability for
someone to … come in and immediately act on it is a unique phenomenon
to the culture of Twitter."

 Twitter is new enough that businesses likely are still trying to grasp
who uses it and how that audience can benefit their enterprise, says
George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com.

 "They're experimenting with it to see what the value is," he says. "Is
it better to send an e-mail with a $9 fare or better to Twitter it?"
Still, he says, "I think absolutely airlines and all travel companies
need to get in the game and see how it plays out."

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