Holidays

12 Days of Gratitude at PHX Airport + PHL’s Socks

Phoenix Sky Harbor Interational Airport (PHX) is bringing back its 12 Days of Gratitude campaign.

Beginning December 4, there will be activities taking place both pre- and post-security in both terminals. Passengers will have the opportunity to win prizes, take their photos with the Airport’s mascot, Amelia the Airplane and with the Navigator Buddies, participate in art activities, write notes of gratitude, and show off their airport trivia knowledge for prizes.

Keep an eye out for the PHX Polar Prize Patrol. They’ll be handing out PHX travel items and goodies to lucky passengers. And, throughout the 12-day event, airport staff and the PHX Navigators will be handing out chocolate coins and thank you cards to passengers.

Here’s a link to the day-by-day rundown of scheduled events for the 12 Days of Gratitude at PHX Airport.

PHL Airport has a Treat for Your Feet

The shopping team at Stuck at The Airport does a lot of its holiday gift buying at airports.

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is doing its part this year by offering complimentary professional gift-wrapping service through December 24 and by offering a free pair of Philly skyline socks to anyone who presents same-day shopping receipts totalling $75 or more. Take advantage of both offers at the gift wrapping botoh in the connector between Terminals B and C.


 

More Travel Deals for Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Pretty much every hotel and hotel brand is offering a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal and we, of course, can’t list them all. Airlines, cruise lines, Amtrak (we bet…), luggage companies, and travel doo-dad purveyors are in on the fun as well.

We listed some Black Friday/Cyber Monday travel deals that caught our eye in a previous post. Here are few more.

Virgin Voyages is floating a deal offering 30% off all voyages until the end of 2024 AND credit towards a Bar Tab of $600 for sailings 7+ nights; $300 for sailings 4-6 nights, or $125 for sailings 3 nights or less. Book now through November 30 for sailing through December, 2024. More details here.

You might win a free flight by using the waiting lot a RNO Airport

Curbside traffic at airports is awful this time of year.

Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) has come with a fun way to get motorists waiting for friends and family to use the free waiting lot to help ease the congestions.

From now through December 31, motorists who use the RNP’s Free Waiting Lot can enter a sweepstateks to win free airfare.

Here are their instructions to enter:

  • Go to the Free Waiting Lot before your party is ready to be picked up along the front curb
  • Scan the CR code on the signs inside the Free Waiting Lot
  • Fill out the entry form

MORE AIRLINE DEALS

American Airlines has a Black Friday Flight Deals page with a list of flights to various places, on specific days for less than $100. Air Canada has a Black Friday sale on through November 26, 2023 for travel between November 27, 2023, and June 30, 2024.

Scandinavian Airlines is offering its SAS Black Friday Deals now through November 28, 2023. For select flights from January 15, 2024 through April 30, 2024, they’re offering round-trip flight to select European destinations from major U.S. starting at $375.

And Icelandair is also promoting a set of sale fares to Europe and Iceland available now through November 28.

Let us know if you spot a great deal too.

Shop for Black Friday/Cyber Monday Travel Deals

(Courtesy Provincial Archives of Alberta, via Flickr Commons)

It’s that time of year again.

Thanksgiving, with all the food and travel that’s associated with it. And Black Friday/Cyber Monday/Buy Stuff ads galore.

Here at Stuck at The Airport, the shopping team is a bit overwhelmed with all the travel deals and alleged travel deals in our inbox. But we’ve pulled out some offers that look enticing and a few we’re going to try to nab ourselves.

Here are a few to get you started. And here’s to a safe Thanksgiving travel week. Let us know what you spot in the airports along your journey.

DEAL TO CHECK OUT

HOTELS

Red Roof is once again offering a week-long Black Friday flash sale, starting on Monday, November 20. 

Travelers who make a reservation at any Red Roof Inn®, Red Roof PLUS+, HomeTowne Studios by Red Roof, or The Red Collection property from November 20 through November 28, 2023, and stay between November 20, 2023, through February 29, 2024, will save 20% off their stay. Sale details on www.redroof.com now.

Aqua-Aston Hospitality, which manages 25+ hotels and resorts across the Hawaiian Islands is offering 20% off at Aqua-Aston Hospitality’s properties on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Island. Sale dates: November 21 — 28, 2023. Stay dates: November 21, 2023 — December 20, 2024. Book online at aquaaston.com during the booking window, use code CYBERSALE

For Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will be offering a 30% off best available rate promotion valid for bookings made from Friday, November 24 at 12:01 a.m. EST through Tuesday, November 28th at 11:59 p.m. EST for stays through June 30th, 2024. The promo code will be: CYBER23. 

Heading to Portland, Oregon?  One our favorite hotels, The Nines, is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a $299 deal. Each Sunday from now through January 2024, the Nines will offer $299 bookings: $99 for the room and $200 Food and Beverage credit to be used at the hotel’s, on-site restaurants, Urban Farmer and Departure. (They’ll also add a $30  ‘destination fee,’ but it’s still a great deal). Book here.

Most of the YOTEL properties around the world are participating in a Black Friday sales that offers 40% off stays booked by December 3 for stays through September 2024. Book here.  YOTELS not participating: YOTEL San Francisco, YOTELIAR London Gatwick, YOTELAIR Istanbul Airport (airside), YOTELAIR Paris Charles de Gaulle, and YOTEL AIR Amsterdam Schiphol. Blackout dates apply.

CARS, CARS, CARS

As we head into one of the busiest travel seasons, Hertz, Thrifty and Dollar are promising discounts on all vehicles for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (Details: Hertz (30%), Dollar (20%), Thrifty (15%).

AIRLINES

Air Tahiti Nui is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month and offering its first-ever Tiare Pass. 250 passes that cost $1525 each will be available during a 25-hour flash, November 25 from 9 a.m. PST to November 26 at 10 a.m. PST.

The $1,525 price includes a round-trip from the US to each destination the airline serves and is valid for travel between December 1, 2023, and December 1, 2024 (included: one checked bag, onboard meal, and all taxes and fees.) The airline has flights that depart from Los Angeles (LAX) and Seattle (SEA) and flies Paris, Tahiti, Tokyo, and New Zealand.

NOTE: The Air Tahiti Nui sale is only bookable by calling the airline’s reservation team directly during the sale period. Find that phone # here.

LUGGAGE

ROAM is offering $100 off its fun, customizable hard-side luggage from now through November 27. Build your discounted ROAM luggage deal here.

We’ll keep sifting the emails for more travel deals for Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

What to expect for holiday travel

(This is a shortened version of a story we first wrote for NBC News)

This year’s post-pandemic travel boom is continuing into the holidays.

Nearly half (48%) of Americans plan to travel between Thanksgiving and mid-January, up from 31% last winter, a recent Deloitte survey found.

AAA expects 55.4 million travelers to venture at least 50 miles from home during the Thanksgiving period alone, a 2.3% increase from last year.

That means if you’re hitting the roads or the slopes this season, you’ll have lots of company. Here’s what to expect as you pack your bags for a winter getaway.

More affordable airfare

Airline ticket prices are falling even as more Americans intend to fly.

Deloitte found that 33% of holiday travelers plan to take a domestic flight, up from 29% last year. Despite the strong demand, airfares were more than 13% cheaper last month than at the same time a year ago, federal inflation data shows.

Smoother flights?

Airlines and aviation officials sound confident about handling the holiday crush. While major U.S. carriers — including AmericanDelta, and United — expect record passenger numbers this Thanksgiving, many are touting their readiness for the season.

Track records for flight cancellations and missing luggage have improved ahead of the holidays. About 1.7% of flights were canceled during the first eight months of this year. That’s much better than the 3.0% rate for the same eight-month period last year and 2.3% in the comparable stretch of 2019, the Department of Transportation reported.

And in August, the latest month with available data, the mishandled baggage rate dropped to 0.61% from 0.75% the month before.

A broader push to streamline and automate operations “will continue to help curb mishandling as we approach the holiday season,” said Nicole Hogg, head of baggage for SITA, an air transport IT company. But travel experts still suggest adding an AirTag or other digital tracking device to your luggage, especially during busy travel periods.

“Mother Nature will cause some number of cancellations, guaranteed,” said Scott Keyes, the founder of the airfare tracking site Going. But he noted that “cancellations caused by the airlines — the most galling for travelers — are at multiyear lows” and added that many carriers have bulked up on pilots, planes, and staff.

“The entire industry was snakebit from last year’s debacle,” Keyes said, “and airlines have adjusted their operations accordingly.”

Pricier hotel rooms

More holiday travelers plan to stay in hotels this holiday season instead of bunking with friends or family. Deloitte found that 56% plan to stay in hotels, a sharp jump from 35% in 2022.

That could push up room rates, which were already 0.8% pricier in October than the year before.

Jan Freitag, director of hospitality analytics at the commercial real-estate research company CoStar, said this season’s strong travel numbers will likely nudge Christmastime room rates above last year’s levels. In the first full week of November, they were up 4% in the U.S. from the same week a year ago, averaging $156 per night, CoStar said.

Price-conscious Christmas travelers might want to “book early to lock in lower rates, shorten their trips or trade down to a different class of service,” said Freitag, or else take their chances with last-minute reservations. Inventories will be slimmer in the eleventh hour, but hotels may still cut prices on unsold rooms.