As the Mid-Atlantic settles in for what must be the 623rd straight day of searing-hot temperatures, the folks at JetBlue are learning that maybe they shouldn’t rely on Mother Nature to cooperate when planning a promotional discount. The airline has had to pull the plug on an ill-conceived weather-related offering after too many people signed up.

The deal went something like this — JetBlue was offering discounts of up to 90% off certain fares from New York City airports each day the temperature in Central Park reached 90 degrees by noon. But between all the insanely hot days and the masses of people looking for cheap ways to get away from the heat, the airline was overwhelmed by the response.

And so, with more scorching days looming in the forecast, JetBlue ended the promotion late Thursday night, saying, “[W]e’ve had to end it early – our systems just weren’t able to manage the volume of New Yorkers looking to beat the heat. While we sold thousands of seats during the promo, we know there were many of you who weren’t able to take advantage of the offer.”

To make up for cancelling the promotion early, the airline is offering 25% off flights this fall (travel between Sept. 3 and Oct. 31) from the three major NYC airports. But you have to book by 4 p.m. ET today (July 19) and use the promo code 2HOT2HANDLE.

[via BusinessWeek]

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