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A JetBlue ad joked about $39 flights for 'remote work or study' as news broke that one of its passengers tested positive for coronavirus

Steve Helber/AP

  • JetBlue has announced that it has extended its sale on flights, with some as cheap as $39 for one-way tickets.
  • The email announcement of the flight sales read, "As if you needed another excuse to work or study remotely."
  • Schools and companies around the US have started asking its students and employees, respectively, to start studying and working from home given the current novel coronavirus spread across the country.
  • Several people on Twitter are calling the sale's announcement "irresponsible" and "not a good look right now" as news broke that one of its passengers on a flight from New York's JFK airport to West Palm Beach, Florida tested positive for coronavirus.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
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JetBlue has announced an extended sale on its flights, and some people on social media are unhappy about the "irresponsible" announcement.

The sale allows customers to book one-way flights as low as $39 from Boston to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, New York to Orlando, and Florida to Nassau, Bahamas, to name a few routes. It includes flight dates between March 18 to June 18 with blackout dates from April 8 to April 23 and May 21 to May 25, and only applies to the "lowest available fare," either via Blue Basic or Blue tickets.

The sale was originally planned to end on March 11, but JetBlue announced that it had extended the ticket purchase deadline to March 12 in an email with a subject line that read, "Work or study remotely. [winking face emoji]," and an email body that included, "As if you needed another excuse to work or study remotely."

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Several schools and companies have started asking its students and employees, respectively, to start studying and working from home amid the current global coronavirus scare , and JetBlue's reference to this in its email has caused an outrage on social media, with some users calling the sale's announcement " irresponsible " and " not a good look right now ."

The sale's ad copy came at the same time news broke that a JetBlue passenger on a Wednesday flight from New York's JFK Airport to Florida's Palm Beach International Airport tested positive for the new coronavirus.

COVID-19 has started to decimate air travel around the world. Over 100 airlines globally have also started to cancel flights outside of China, and the International Air Transport Association has predicted a $29.3 billion loss in passenger revenue this year because of the pandemic.

JetBlue itself has already begun offering free flight cancellation and changes on certain recently booked flights amid growing novel coronavirus concerns.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

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Here's what Twitter users had to say about the sale:

See Also:

SEE ALSO: Photos of deserted, nearly empty airports around the world show how coronavirus has decimated air travel

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