Posts in the category "Contests":

Traveling is expensive. Especially if you want to eat and sleep when you get somewhere.

So we’ll start the week off with two contests you many want to enter to help subsidize an adventure.

AirTran Airways has a Facebook-linked sweepstakes encouraging students to become a “Facebook creeper,” which they describe as someone who “crawls Facebook, obsessively checking the content of other people’s profiles.” (That does sound sort of creepy)

The airline has set up the AirTran U Creeper page and is giving away one round trip flight per week  through the end of November 2010.  Here are the details about the AirTran Airways “creeper” contest.

Not a creeper? If you or someone you know is under 23 years old – in college or not – keep in mind that AirTran has a program that offers cheap standby tickets year-round.

[For more details about this and other student airfare deals see the article I wrote last September for MSNBC.com: Travel Discounts for the College-Bound ]

And, here’s one for fans of Hawaii and Olympic medal-winning speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno.

Alaska Airlines is running a contest for a 4-night/5 day Hawaiian vacation (for two) on Maui. And yes, Ohno will join you at the luau. .  The contest runs through April 15^th and you can get lots of extra entries by connecting through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Enter the Follow Apolo to Hawaii contest here.

Good luck! And if you win, please send us some souvenirs.

Categories: Air Fare Deals, Contests
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I love hanging around airports, of course, but I also find bliss when let loose in small museums filled with odd and unusual artifacts or if there’s a wacky roadside distraction somewhere and I’ve got the keys to the car.

So I’m fortunate to be able to produce radio features and write books about my discoveries. More than two hundred of my favorite offbeat attractions in Oregon are in the newly updated Oregon Curiosities book you see pictured in the craftily-titled Buy My Books section here on this site. There are an equal number of unusual people, places and things in the Washington Curiosities book I’m starting to update right now.

One of the aviation-related places in the Oregon Curiosities book is The Bomber Restaurant complex in Milwaukie, about six miles south of Portland.

From 1947 until 1991 this vintage World War II B-17G four-engine bomber served as shelter for a forty-pump independent gas station that was one of the top performers in the country. When the gas station closed, the bomber fell on hard times and for years the plane was just a sad-looking roadside attraction suffering from bird poop, vandalism, and Oregon’s rainy climate.

Now restoration of the bomber is under way. Her nose is all shiny and new and on display inside the on-site WWII-themed Wings of Freedom Showcase. And while the gas station is long gone, you can fill up your stomach at the memorabilia-packed Bomber Restaurant, where the menu includes Bomblettes (omelettes) and Bombarded Hash Browns for breakfast, and Tokyo Rose BLTs and Bomberburgers for lunch and dinner.

If you want to see The Bomber for yourself, be sure to enter the Oregon Mt. Hood Territory’s Secret Sweet Spots contest. Each week you’ll be asked to answer a (very easy) question about a “hidden gem” in the region. You’ll find the answers in the short videos on the Mt. Hood Territory website.

Of course, one of those Secret Sweet Spots is The Bomber.

Categories: Architecture, Aviation history, Contests, Exhibits, Museums, Restaurants, aviation
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Doesn’t Paris sound good right about now?

Then sign up to win a pair of tickets (from Pittsburgh) to Paris – courtesy of Pittsburgh’s WHIRL Magazine, Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and Delta Air Lines, Entries will be accepted through May 7, 2010. But why wait?

Lufthansa Airlines isn’t giving away tickets to Paris, but if you suggest the winning name of the airline’s new A380 airplane, you’ll win a million miles and can go where you want.

The names I entered? Spot. Pookie. Stripe.

Think you can do better?  Then enter Lufthansa’s contest here.

[And keep in mind: Lufthsansa pilots are planning  a strike from February 22-25, 2010. So if you already have a trip scheduled during those days, be sure to check with the airline on the status of your flight.]

It’s still flu season and there are still lots of airports where you can get a seasonal or H1N1 flu vaccine.

If you’re heading to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) you can get an H1N1 flu shot (or mist ) for free.

For the fourth year in a row the airport is partnering with local health organizations to offer free flu vaccines to passengers.  The vaccines will be available Monday, February 22 through Friday, February 26 – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – at Sky Harbor’s Terminal 4 on level 3 before the security checkpoints on both the east and west ends

And, when you’re shopping at an airport in the next few weeks, consider dropping some bills into one of the collection boxes  the Hudson Group has placed in each of its airport stores, including Hudson News, Hudson Booksellers, cafes and specialty retail shops.  The company is matching customer donations and will forward all contributions to the American Red Cross for the relief efforts in Haiti.

Categories: Air Travel, Airport shops, Contests, Health
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Two fun contests that reward travelers with travel popped up today:

Share a story or photo about a visit to San Diego North to enter the “Don’t Be Left Without a Story – Write Yours in San Diego North” contest.

The prize includes a three-night trip to La Jolla, surfing lessons (remember Gidget?) and tickets to Birch Aquarium.  You have until June 30, 2010 to enter.

Also, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is hosting the Original Memories Photo Contest.  Prizes include hotel nights and airfare credit, a swanky digital camera, and Flip camcorder.

Of course, Valentine’s Day weekend is just around the corner and some airports around the country are planning special treats for travelers.  Here are just a few examples of what you’ll find:

On Friday, February 12^th, The Food & Shops in the Central Terminal at New York’s LaGuardia Airport will be handing out free chocolates kisses from 11 am – 4 pm.

At Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, there will be a chocolate-covered strawberries sale in the baggage claim area February 12-14.  Last year, 300 dozen of these decadent treats were sold; this year they anticipate selling more than 360 dozen.

And in past years, volunteers in at least two airports were on duty to give passengers single red or yellow roses.  I’m waiting to hear if the tradition will continue this year and will let you know about that tomorrow – along with some other special Valentine’s Day events taking place at other airports.

In the meantime, if you know of any special Valentine’s Day events at an airport, please send the information along.

Categories: Airport shops, Contests, Events, Food, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Holidays
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We want Wi-Fi

Slowly but surely airports large and small are getting with the program and making free wireless Internet access available in the terminals.

The latest major airport to join the party: Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).

Hooray!

Packing tips from Olympic athletes

Curious about what some Olympic athletes do when they’re traveling – or getting ready to travel? Them you may in interested in the video clips the folks at VISA (a 2010 Olympics sponsor) have posted of athletes talking about what they pack, how they prep for a trip, how skier Ryan St. Onge just had to have an airport burrito, and what Olympic Hockey player Angela Ruggiero packs in her carry-on.

Just as interesting, is the fact that the credit card company is giving away a trip to the Olympics – for life. To enter, you just need to charge something on a VISA card.

Seat tax on Air France for Seatmates of Size

And, just a day after announcing that it was introducing “the lightest and most comfortable short-haul seat in the world,” on some of its planes, Air France announced that passengers who cannot fit into a single seat (on any Air France flight) will have to pay for a second seat – at 75% of the cost of the first seat.

The new policy applies to tickets purchased beginning February 1^st for flights April 1^st and beyond.

Think the new rules may apply to you? Here’s the policy for Passengers with High Body Mass.

What do you think? Should seatmates of size be asked to pay for more than one seat?

Categories: Air Travel, Baggage, Carry-ons, Charge by weight, Contests, Events, Fees, Food, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Obesity, Seatmates of Size, Sports, Wi-Fi
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