Looks like yesterday’s auction at the old Indianapolis International Airport terminal was a big success.

According to this article, about 2,5000 people showed up and snatched up most all the “furniture, furnishings and fixtures” put on the auction block.

(Photo courtesy Daniel Incandela)

Evan Strange, who’s just finishing up his Communications & Marketing Internship at the airport, attended the auction and sent along some notes:

I have been to auctions before, but nothing quite like this.  Not only were there thousands of items, but they were all being sold in an abandoned airport, which added a sense of eerie nostalgia that is hard to explain…. One of the best parts of the auction was seeing all the people that came out… People from all walks of life, locals and internationals, serious bidders, and souvenir searchers were all there looking for their “piece” of the old IND.

The people I talked to at the auction seemed to be surprised about all of the different items being auctioned, from aerial photographs of the old terminal, to water coolers and refrigerators.

Wish you’d been there?   Dan Incandela was and he was kind enough to post some of his photos from the event on Flickr.

Here are my favorites:

(Photos courtesy Daniel Incandela)

If you attended the auction, please let us know what you saw – and if you bought anything!

Categories: Deals, Events
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If you’re in the market for some concrete outdoor planters, aluminum and glass pedestrian shelters, a steel mezzanine, Shaker style seating areas, air compressors, pay phone or remote parking stations, and anything else that may have been used at an airport, then you’re in luck.

All this and more, much more, is being auctioned off today at old Indianapolis International Airport starting at 10 am.  Doors open at 8:30 am.

You can study many of the items up for auction in this brochure, but it unfortunately does not include the lost-and-found property such as watches, luggage, laptop computers, and jewelry, which will also be auctioned.

I sort of had my heart set on an escalator, or those Shaker style benches, but I’m sure those items will find good homes elsewhere.

If you attend the auction and go home with anything fun, please let us know!

Categories: Deals
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I’m not a big fan of spending a lot of money while traveling and certainly not a big fan of overpaying for things just because I’m away from home.  So it’s always bugged me that any deals offered by “real-world” Starbucks never seem to be available in airports, where prices for even a cup of drip coffee can be quite a bit higher than out on the street.

So I’m pleased to see that from now through September 29^th, 2009 airport Starbucks branches (which are operated by HMS Host) will be offering what they say is an airport-only deal:

If you buy a Starbucks drink at one airport in the morning – keep your receipt.  When you arrive at another airport, you can use that receipt after 2 PM to buy any iced Grande drink for $2.

The offer is geared at promoting the Vivanno smoothies Starbucks is rolling out mid-July that will surely cost way more than $2, but you can use that receipt to knock down the price of other iced Grande drinks as well.

(I saved quite a few bucks when they were offering a similar deal last summer at neighborhood Starbucks by channeling the Five Easy Pieces Jack Nicholson and asking for an iced coffee, “but just hold the ice. And use hot coffee. Please.”

Now, what would go well with an afternoon coffee at an airport? The Chicago Airports have an idea:

The Taste of Chicago is in full swing now at Grant Park and runs through July 5^th.  If you don’t have the time or the inclination to join the crowds there, you can still get a taste of both the food and the music at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports.

From now through Sunday, July 5, restaurants at both airports are offering specially-priced “Taste” portions.   Both airports will also have live music in the terminals on July 2 and 5 from 2pm until 5 pm.

Performances at O’Hare will take place beyond the security checkpoints in each domestic terminal and in the Arrivals Level of International Terminal 5. Live music at Midway will take place in the Baggage Claim area.

Categories: Deals, Food
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Beginning on August 1, 2009, fares go up for the popular LAX FlyAway bus service from Van Nuys and Union Station to Los Angeles International Airport.

The new one-way fare for these two routes will go from $6 to $7.  The Westwood to LAX fare will remain unchanged at $5.

It’s never good news when fares for anything go up, but at $7 the fare to get to LAX is a still a great deal. Especially when  compared to fares for shared-ride shuttle vans and limousines, which can cost from four to seven times as much.

Interested in trying this out? Bus schedules, parking information and maps for all LAX FlyAway locations are available at www.lawa.aero/flyaway.

(Photo: Flickr user Sean Yoda Rouse)

Categories: Deals
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Many shops  and restaurant chains don’t extend their special sales and offers to their airport branches.

But the T.G.I. Friday’s chain does.  And through June 22, the chain is offering a buy-one-entrée-get-one-free coupon offer that’s good at all 18 of its airport branches.

You’ll need to print out the coupon and bring it with you, but you can keep printing out coupons each time you go.

Here are the T.G.I Friday’s airport locations: Ontario, CA, Detroit, DFW – 6 locations, San Francisco, San Antonio, MSP, ATL, Tampa, Newark, Indianapolis, Islip, Tulsa, Pittsburgh

Categories: Deals, Food, Restaurants
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