JetPride :: The perfect start to a perfect Pride!
0I'm not one who normally arranges my travel around Pride parades, but when I got the chance to fly on JetPride Flight #1969 from San Francisco to Long Beach in time for Long Beach Pride this year, it was just too good to pass up.
For the fourth year in a row, JetBlue is the official airline of Long Beach Pride- one of America's biggest Pride festivals. This year, the airline is hosting a special JetPride Flight, to which it's given the honorary flight number "1969," to commemorate the Stonewall Riots.
Stay tuned to the EDGE Travel section for an upcoming photo gallery and blow-by-blow (pardon the pun) breakdown of the flight once it takes off; before then, however, I thought I'd share a little preview of all the wickedly delicious fun I'm expecting on the flight (and no, none of it has to do with joining the Mile High Club).
JetPride Flight #1969 will depart SFO (that's San Francisco International Airport for all you non-travel-dorks) at 12:30pm on Friday, May 14, and touch down in Long Beach at 2pm. The airline promises a "festive in-flight experience featuring pink cocktails, gift bags and other goodies, plus Australian entertainer Pam Ann, the world's most glamorous 'air hostess.'" Pam is serving as the flight's honorary purser, so I'm planning to ask for my nuts extra salty. (Yeah, I said it, what's she gonna do about it?)
High flying fun
Not only does the trip sound like a blast, it also seems like a great way to make new friends... while avoiding getting picked-on by the notoriously sharp-tongued Aussie diva. Add to that the fact that JetBlue has priced the flight at just $79 each way (plus our government's lovely taxes and fees), and that a portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Gay and Lesbian Center of Long Beach, and you've definitely got a winner.
As with many memorable nights spent in Castro bars, passengers must find their own way home; there's no hungover and hung-out to dry return flight. That said, given JetBlue's five flights daily from Long Beach to SFO - and an additional four to Oakland - it shouldn't be difficult. (Or should I say 'hard'?) To book a seat on the special flight, call JetBlue's dedicated JetPride Desk at (888) 538-2583 option 4.
Once in Long Beach, JetBlue has partnered up with the Hotel Maya in Long Beach to offer a special Pride Package.
A full-service luxury boutique resort with mixture of Latin American flavor and SoCal style, the Hotel Maya boasts 11-acres of prime Long Beach waterfront, which recently underwent a $20 million renovation. Barely a year old, the resort features 195 guest rooms on lush grounds- an oasis in the heart of the city.
The special Mayan Pride 2010 package (their motto is "You're Here. You're Queer. Get A Room!" We like it.) is available from Thursday, May 13 - Tuesday, May 18, with room rates starting at $249 per night with a two-night minimum. The package includes two tickets to Long Beach Pride, two entries into MyPartner.com's "America's Gay Bachelor Finale 2010" party (hosted by the hotel), two passes to the Downtown Long Beach Association's Pink Party, two Pride-tinis upon arrival (ingredients forthcoming, but it's a gay cocktail- does it matter?), a $50 food and beverage credit, and late check out...you know, just in case you need to sleep off the festivities.
Personally speaking, this will be my first time at Long Beach Pride after years of suffering through the lackluster turnout for L.A.'s version; needless to say, I'm looking forward to it. Not just the JetPride flight and the hotel package... but all of the other packages that may be in evidence at the Parade.
Stay tuned for a fabulous photo album and what's sure to be some salacious commentary! Until then, I'll keep flying the (gay-)friendly skies.