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The holidays are – ready or not – just around the corner.

So you and Santa better start putting your heads together to start finding gifts for everyone on your list.

If you know someone who’s been very, very good and who likes very, very expensive gin, then the folks at the Vancouver International Airport (YVR) have made it easy.

The international duty free store at the airport is currently exhibiting – and selling – one of five bottles of Bacardi’s Bombay Sapphire Revelation super premium gin.

The price: $200,000 for the specially-designed, translucent blue decanter shaped like a giant gemstone with a stopper decorated with diamond and sapphires. (Profits will benefit charity.)

One bottle not enough? The four other bottles are on display in airports in London, New York, Dubai, Singapore, and Sydney.

By the way, I’ve been very, very good.

Categories: Airport shops, Shopping, Souvenirs
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Passing through the International Terminal (TBIT) at Los Angeles International Airport last week I noticed signs at the Asiana Airlines check-in lines for something called Happy Mom Service.

I got in line and found out that Happy Mom Service gives moms traveling with babies an expedited check-in line, complimentary breastfeeding covers and infant slings, and cabin baby seat installation and rental. The service also offers express boarding and express baggage delivery for moms with infants.

Asiana tested the service at Incheon International Airport and at airports in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Frankurt, Paris, and Sydney and last year expanded the service to all airports it serves.

Great idea!

Categories: Air Travel, Kids, Kids travel, Travel tips
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During an opening-day tour of the brand new International Terminal at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (officially: Tokyo International Airport) last week, I spent a good amount of time searching for souvenirs on the pre-security shopping street designed to evoke a very early style Japanese village.

And because Souvenir Sunday was coming up, I of course looked for inexpensive “of” the city or region items to share with you.

First up: Green Tea and wasabi-flavored Japanese Kit Kat bars, available by the single bar, the 12-bar box and in much larger mini-multi-pack versions.

Other Kit Kat flavors being offered at the airport included strawberry cheese cake, blueberry chese cake, and Intense Roasted Soybean Flavor.

It turns out that’s just a small selection of the wild and wacky Kit Kat flavors available elsewhere in Japan – and around the world. Here’s a link to Fried Toast’s Flickr set of more than 100 types of Kit Kat ‘flavors.’)

I stocked up on Kit Kats and hit the Hello Kitty Store:

I contemplated buying these Super Hero-shaped water bottles, but realized I’d have to give them up at the security checkpoint.

Instead I bought these cookies, which depict the airline of Sirotan, a white seal character popular in Japan -

And, just because they looked fun and colorful, some paper souvenirs.

After a morning poking around the shops in the International Terminal, I headed back to my hotel – which was conveniently located inside one of the airport’s two domestic terminals.  And there, at the Starbucks in the mall attached to Terminal 2, I found these special Starbucks mugs, made especially as an airport souvenir.

Categories: Air Travel, Airport shops, Airports, Fun Stuff, Shopping, Uncategorized
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Heading north to Alaska?

If you see Santa, send us an email from your flight.

While Aircell works on completing its Alaska-wide Gogo Inflight internet network for Alaska Airlines, passengers flying between Anchorage and Fairbanks will be able to use the service for free.

So far, Alaska Airlines has installed Wi-Fi equipment on more than 70 percent of its Boeing 737 aircraft and predicts it will have its entire fleet Wi-Fi ready by early 2011.

Categories: Air Travel, Free Stuff, free Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi
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Ever since the opening of Narita International Airport (NRT) back in 1978, Tokyo’s Haneda Airport has been used for predominantly domestic flights within Japan and some charter flights within Asia.

But as of Thursday, October 21, 2010, Haneda Airport has a new runway and a brand new International Terminal that’s filled with shiny new arrival and departures halls, gleaming gate areas, and dozens of new restaurants and shops.

An increased schedule of international flights to North America, Europe and Asia begins on October 31^st.

The big advantage of flying into Haneda Airport will be the time you’ll save getting to and from Tokyo.  By express train, it’s an hour’s ride from Narita Airport to Tokyo.

From Haneda, you can get to town on a monoral or a train in about 20 minutes.

The other advantage: Haneda’s International Terminal is brand new.

I was on site for opening day inspecting the restaurants, the shops and the new amenities along with what seemed to be at least half the population of Japan.

Several hundred people lined up as early as 3 in the morning to be among the first to ride the new monorail connection to the airport.  And throughout the day thousands of what the airlines certainly hope will be future passengers made their way out to the terminal just to take a look around.

They visited the outdoor observation deck. Even though it was raining and there wasn’t much you could see.

They cheered on the cars zipping around the airport’s slot car racetrack.

They bought Hello Kitty souvenirs in a Hello Kitty store that a father of two young Hello Kitty fans assured me was among the most-well stocked Hello Kitty stores he’s seen.

And they waited patiently to be among the first to have a meal in brand new airport eateries that range from a pizzeria with a brick oven to a French café and a restaurant where sushi is delivered via conveyor belt.

Around lunch time, I joined one of the longest lines at the airport. The one where people were waiting to order green-tea soft swirl from the newest branch of Kyo Hayashiya, a sweets vendor that has its roots in a teahouse established in 1753.

And like this woman who was buying ice cream for herself and a friend, I sat and ate the swirled, sweet treat while contemplating future adventures that might start at this sparkling new airport.

There’s lots more to share about the amenities at Haneda’s International Terminal – and the two domestic terminals, which are quite swanky.

But in the meantime, here are links to the opening day reports from two travel colleagues, Airline Reporter David Brown and Jaunted’s Cynthia Drescher.

Categories: Airport guides, Airport shops, Layover, Observation Decks, Openings, Planespotting, Shopping, Snack Saturday, Transportation
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