JetBlue's all-you-can-fly pass sells out, but the cheaper version remains

Update: The pass is now completely sold out.

Just as it did last year, JetBlue has sold out its all-you-can-jet pass within days of its announcement. Of course, the airline doesn't announce how many passes it actually makes available for the promotion, so we don't know if they went like hotcakes or more like molasses.

Still, you mustn't be discouraged by the news. Yes, the only type of the pass left is the restricted 5-day one, banning flights taken on Fridays or Sundays. Good thing it's the less expensive version. In fact, since it's $200 cheaper than the full pass, the remaining pass will pay for itself with fewer flights than its now-unavailable brother.

If you don't travel on Fridays or Sundays, $499 can still buy you a month's worth of unlimited air travel. But that, too, is almost certainly going to sell out very soon. Last year, the passes sold out a day ahead of the purchase deadline, which this year is Monday Aug. 23.

And just like that, JetBlue will have scored three rounds of free publicity in a week: pass announcement plus two sell-out announcements. It sure beats press that tells the world that your flight attendants are so fed up that they're using your aircraft as their own private bouncy castles.