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The early bird gets the… cupcake.

If you’re catching an early flight Friday morning (January 28th) out of Newark Liberty International Airport, be sure to get yourself a free cupcake.

A branch of CRUMBS Bake Shop has opened in Terminal C (by the C2 checkpoint) and, to celebrate, they’re going to give the first 1,000 people who stop by a free cupcake. The sugary celebration starts at 6 a.m.

You might bring that cupcake with you to the LAX Theme Building Observation Deck on Sunday morning, January 30th, where Los Angles International Airport officials will be hosting a Sunday Morning Coffee from 8:30 until 11 a.m.

The Observation Deck is usually open to the public Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m and this Sunday planespotters and aviation buffs will be out in force to see some unusual airplanes that will be stopping by.

Air New Zealand’s new Airbus A320 with All Black Livery will be making at stop at LAX on its way to New Zealand from France. The All Blacks are a rugby team sponsored by Air New Zealand and this fall the 2011 Rugby World Cup games will be held in New Zealand.

Air New Zealand’s new Boeing B777-300 is also scheduled to operate at LAX on Sunday and Qantas Airways’ daily Airbus A380 super jumbo jet service between LAX and Sydney resumes this Sunday as well.

Here’s the Sunday morning schedule sent out by LAX:

• Air New Zealand All Blacks A320:  ETA 9:25 a.m.; ETD 11 a.m.
• Qantas A380:  ETA 9:45 a.m. (evening departure)
• Air New Zealand B777-300:  ETA 10 a.m. (evening departure)

The Observation Deck has a 360-degree view of LAX’s terminals and airfield, and there are complimentary telescopes installed up there for better viewing. On Sunday morning there will also be a portable scanner available so visitors can listen to the radio transmissions between the pilots and the air traffic controllers.

And after the Sunday Morning Coffee event the party can go on: the space-age, retro-themed Encounter Restaurant, right under the Observation Deck will be offering a Plane Spotters Lunch Special.

Categories: Air Travel, Airplanes, Airport shops, aviation, Free Stuff, Observation Decks
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Next time you’re going to or through Philadelphia International Airport, take a moment to look around at some of the new art on display in the terminals.

Noted American glassblower Michael Schunke has some of his work in Terminal D:

James Dupree’s Evolving Elements is in Terminal E:

And Shannon Donovan’s Rest Awhile, a life-size diorama of an old-fashioned sitting room, is in Terminal C.

“There is the appearance that little has changed over the generations,” notes Leah Douglas, PHL’s Director of Exhibitions, “However, Donovan has purposefully infused her interior with odd curiosities such as three-dimensional branches and blossoms that emerge from the floral patterned wallpaper, ceramic cakes and flowering clay hubcap forms that adorn the wall and floor.”

When you’re in Miami International Airport’s North Terminal, take a moment to look at the faces in 100 Latinos Miami.

The exhibit, by Gate D26, features portraits of Hispanic immigrants living in Miami-Dade County. There are artists, activists, entrepreneurs, athletes, journalists, doctors and professors; all people Verónica Durán chose to include here because “by virtue of their talent and success [they] contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of the region.”

Categories: Air Travel, Airports, Art, Exhibits
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Heading to Texas for Super Bowl XLV?

You’ll probably start your Texas adventure at Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport.  And the airport is ready for you.

From February 2th through February 7^th, DFW will greet football fans with video highlights from past NFL games and a wide range of entertainment, including bands, live statues of football players and Rowdy, the Dallas Cowboys mascot.

Categories: Airports, Sports
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The airport in Oklahoma City is called the Will Rogers World Airport, in honor of Will Rogers, a cowboy who became famous in the 1920s and 1930s as an actor, columnist, humorist, vaudeville performer, and world traveler who died, with his buddy Wiley Post, in a plane crash near Barrow, Alaska in 1935.

I like that the airport is named for this Oklahoma native and I’d like to think that he’d get a kick out of the souvenirs Clark Massad found for sale last time he was in town.

Massad told me he was looking for the Oklahoma Rose Rock that used to be sold at the airport, “but apparently they’ve mined them all and sold them all off.”

Instead he found “delicacies” – chocolates and candy – with classic names such as Oklahoma Cow Poop, Oklahoma Cow Patties, Oklahoma Oil and Tornado Seeds.

“I even managed to come across real Oklahoma Dream Catchers made by one of the local tribes.”

Next time you’re stuck at the airport, please take a moment to poke around the shops. If you find some great souvenirs that are inexpensive (around $10), “of” the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, please snap some photos and send them along.  If your souvenirs are featured here on StuckatTheAirport.com, I’ll send you a special aviation-related souvenir.

Categories: Air Travel, Airport shops, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs
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When Continental Airlines and US Airways begin operating from Concourse D on Sunday, January 23^rd, Raleigh-Durham International Airport will have completed the construction of Terminal 2.

Concourse C opened in October, 2008 and now everyone gets to move freely through a lovely new one million square foot building that has 40 shops and restaurants, 36 gates and eight works of art and architecture.

New venues include Carolina Vintages, a wine bar offering North Carolina wines and produce,  Jason’s Deli, Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Flavours, a gourmet market.

New shops include Brighton Collectibles, PGA Tour Shop, Hudson News and 2^nd Ed. Booksellers, a locally-based used bookstore.

The eight works of art include Robert Kushner’s Welcome, installed along the arrivals corridor;

Lydia Rubio’s Gate of Air, the companion pieces to Gate of Earth, which was installed in 2008;

Gate of Earth, by Lydia Rubio

Mei-ling Hom’s Cloudscape and Ed Carpenter’s Triplet.

Carpenters Triplet is the large sculpture with wood masts and dichroic glass and LED lighting suspended from stainless steel cables in the atrium.

Categories: Air Travel, Airport shops, Airports, Architecture, Art, Events
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