An intrepid traveler with too much of time on his hands hopes to get every mile he can out of JetBlue's crazy $600 All-You-Can-Jet pass, vowing to fly as often and as far as a benevolent benefactor will allow.
In other words, he wants someone to pony up for the pass so he can jet around the country.
Brendan Ross of Austin, Texas, isn't some bum looking for a freebie. The 28-year-old has a job as an air traffic controller waiting for him, but he's got some time while the security clearance comes through. In the meantime, he's a man with no job, a lot of free time and a love of all things air travel. As his situation coincided with JetBlue's promotion, Ross sought to capitalize on it. He posted an ad on Craigslist looking for someone to finance his cross-country capers. Has he had any takers?
Not exactly.
"I've had several exciting offers to make thousands at home by spending a few minutes on the internet per day, though," Ross told Wired.com. "I'm sure the economy has taken its toll on job opportunities for guys who want someone to pay for them to fly around the country. It's not exactly a burgeoning market."
Ross said he isn't looking for money, just a chance to see as many airports as possible. In exchange, he's willing to do just about anything his sponsor asks. He'll spy on a significant other, act as a human courier, take photos of homes for out-of-state buyers, promote Golden Palace ("They've bought all sorts of crazy crap off eBay, why not buy their own personal guy who flies around?"), or even rate the efficiency of TSA screeners by city. You name it and he'll probably do it. Perhaps some right-wing interest groups will fly him around the country as a semi-professional Town Hall meeting protester.
Beyond buying him a pass, Ross hopes his sponsor springs for a $20 per diem. If not, it's peanuts and a half-can of soda for dinner. If he can't catch a flight, he'll stay at the airport (Paging Viktor Navorski....).
"It may end up that I don't leave an airport for an entire month unless I'm on a plane, so I may as well see as much of it as I can," Ross said. "They're all unique in one way or another." For his sake, we hope Ross gets to spend some time at JFK where JetBlue occupies Terminal 5.
What drives a man to willingly commit himself to most travelers' worst nightmares? Like most people, we couldn't imagine a month of chairs you can't sleep in, $15 gin and tonics and remote outposts of mediocre restaurant chains. But then Ross isn't like most people.
"Most folks don't get energized by the smell of Jet-A exhaust," he said. "Besides, I'll be working air traffic control. Stress is going to be my way of life, may as well get used to it now, right?"
Ross may be too late. Apparently Jet Blue has sold out of passes. But we're gonna see if we can convince them to print one more, because we'd love to see him make this crazy trip...
*Main photo: Flickr / Paynomind. Second photo: Brendan Ross.
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