JetBlue to Put Last-Minute Fares on eBay

Well, this is a new one. JetBlue has put roughly 300 last-minute tickets and six JetBlue vacation packages up for auction on eBay. That’s right, you can now bid for JetBlue tickets against other would-be travelers.

This works like any other eBay auction. Just head over to JetBlue’s eBay store, select your departure city (which may not be listed, because there are only nine options), and peruse the inventory. Most fares are for short weekend trips departing within a month. Taxes and fees are not included in the bid price, but they are presented up front so you can figure out the final cost before committing to a bid (memo to airlines: Do this all the time!).

At this point, you’re probably asking yourself if this is just a clever marketing gimmick or a chance to snag a genuine deal. With most auctions ending later this week or this weekend, it’s difficult to tell, but I will say that many of the current bid prices are very low, sometimes shockingly low. I checked some departures from here in Boston, and found a round-trip flight to Seattle going for $102.50 (the same exact flight is currently $398 on jetblue.com), a round-trip flight to Ft. Lauderdale for $66 ($298 on jetblue.com), and a pair of round-trip tickets to Long Beach for $162.50 ($776 on jetblue.com).

The catch, of course, is that those prices will only go up as bidding progresses, with most bids ending on or around September 14. In fact, JetBlue is likely counting on bids going up, considering how low some of these prices are. My advice would be to target a few flights that interest you and check back closer to the auction’s conclusion to see if the eBay price beats the jetblue.com price.

If you do try to snag a deal with JetBlue’s eBay auction, come back here and leave a comment telling me about your experience.