JET BLUE'S FEBRUARY SPECIAL--NO PASSPORT? NO PROBLEM!

How hard is it to get a passport? I mean, come on! This is POST 9/11...anyone leaving or entering the country SHOULD have a passport. I don't understand the big hassle of having an important piece of identification.

To me, this sounds like JetBlue's "February Blue Light Special"


FREE PASSPORTS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY ONLY!!!

JetBlue Airways Offers Customers Free Passport Photos at JFK’s Terminal 6

(Source)--JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq: JBLU), in partnership with the Aruba Tourism Authority, the Bermuda Department of Tourism and the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, announced that customers traveling to or from JetBlue’s Terminal 6 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) during the month of February will have an opportunity to receive a free passport photo and application, as well as brochures and information on these beautiful destinations, to prepare for their future travel experiences on JetBlue. (Future travel experiences? Wishful thinking, JetBlue...)

The low-fare airline now offers service to five exciting destinations that require a valid passport for visitors traveling by air: Aruba; Cancun, Mexico; Nassau, The Bahamas; Bermuda; and Santiago, in the Dominican Republic.

In January, the U.S. Department of State and Homeland Security announced that everyone, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport to exit or re-enter the United States. (And why NOT? What's the stink?!? I thought having a passport to leave the country was a given...I had one when I was 11, so what is the big deal?!)

By January 1, 2008, U.S. citizens will be required to present a valid passport for all air, sea and land border crossings. “JetBlue offers affordable nonstop service connecting the great metropolis of New York, our hometown, with the sunny beaches of five Caribbean/Atlantic destinations that require passports for travel,” said Andrea Spiegel, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for JetBlue.

“By providing free passport photos and applications to our customers, we are giving domestic travelers a hassle-free way to prepare for their future travel experiences on JetBlue to wonderful island destinations like Aruba, Bermuda and Nassau.” “Our colleagues at JetBlue Airways have been very proactive in getting the message out to travelers about the new passport requirements.

This initiative is yet another example of how they are helping the tourism industry navigate this new challenge in Caribbean travel,” said Aruba Minister of Tourism and Transportation, Edison Briesen. “New York is where the largest concentration of U.S. travelers to Aruba comes from, so we are thrilled to be a part of this program that will help make the process of getting passports and visiting Aruba, easier.”

“We are pleased to be collaborating with JetBlue in an effort to get the word out about the new passport requirement and make the application process as easy and rewarding as possible,” said Fred Lounsberry, Chief Executive Officer of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board. “This offer is in perfect synergy with our existing passport reimbursement program, creating a win-win opportunity for JetBlue customers and future travelers to Nassau/Paradise Island. We encourage everyone traveling outside the U.S. to take advantage.”