JetBlue makes pitch to Sox fans

Promotions may help the loyal follow their team

JetBlue is offering discount fares between Boston and other cities near American League parks.

JetBlue Airways Corp. is teaming up with the Red Sox. The airline's first pitch is a nine-hour sale that starts at 9 a.m. today, with one-way fares as low as $9 in honor of the team's legendary No. 9 hitter, Ted Williams.

The airline, known for providing every passenger with a leather seat and a personal television screen, is becoming the team's official marketing partner through 2011, winning the rights to advertise at Fenway Park, paste its logo on the Sox's website, and plaster the team's red-stocking logo on JetBlue's marketing materials.

To create buzz, JetBlue is launching the fare sale on routes between Boston and all of the other cities it serves that are near American League ballparks - for travel between Jan. 6 and Feb. 10, with some restrictions.

The carrier is also dreaming up contests, airline ticket giveaways at games, and vacation packages that would allow members of Red Sox Nation to follow their favorite players to stadiums around the country, said Robin Hayes, JetBlue's chief marketing officer.

The partnership gives JetBlue, which already is the marketing sponsor of the LA Dodgers, Buffalo Bills, Orlando Magic, and Boston Marathon, another way to jockey for more passengers at Logan International Airport in Boston.

This week, JetBlue said it would starting in May add 11 flights from the Hub, the carrier's second-busiest city.

"It's so core to what it means to be in Boston," said Lisa Borromeo, JetBlue's manager of national sponsorships, said of the Red Sox. The matchup "really speaks to Bostonians and makes them understand that we understand who they are and where their passion points are."

Sox manager Terry Francona agreed the partnership is a win-win.

"When we announced the deal internally," said Sam Kennedy, the team's chief sales and marketing officer, "I got an e-mail from Terry Francona saying, 'Aw Sam, congratulations. I love the TVs,' " referring to the seat-back sets playing DirecTV for free on JetBlue planes.

Neither party would disclose financial terms of the deal. But Henry H. Harteveldt, principal airline analyst for the market research firm Forrester Research Inc., said he would not be surprised if a three-year deal, which Delta Air Lines Inc. previously had with the Red Sox, cost JetBlue $8 million to $12 million over the life of the contract.

"I really question what the payoff is for some of these sponsorships," Harteveldt said. However, he said it could be worth every penny if the Red Sox continue to do well and JetBlue carries the players, especially when they return from out-of-town playoff wins to a media circus at the airport.

But the champs haven't decided which airline should fly their players, equipment, and scouts hundreds of thousands of miles a year from one game to the next. Kennedy said the team is in discussions with JetBlue about that, and the airline's chief executive recently told the Globe he'd like to win more charter contracts, especially those awarded by the Hub's high-flying sports teams. The Sox expect to make a decision next month.

Delta, which currently handles the team's charter business, said it's also in negotiations to be the charter carrier for the next few years. However, the airline said it made "a business decision" not to renew its marketing sponsorship because of both the deteriorating economy and its merger with Northwest Airlines Corp., which is resulting in the world's largest airline. Delta said it is picking up all of Northwest's marketing sponsorships.

"Delta is committed to lowering costs, increasing revenue, and further improving our competitive position," said spokeswoman Susan Elliott. "We've continued to refine our sponsorship portfolio over the last several years accordingly."

Nicole C. Wong can be reached at nwong@globe.com.