Shopping

Some last-minute Black Friday travel deals

Shopping for travel deals?

We listed a few highlights here and here over the past few days. Here are just a few more Black Friday travel deals we spotted in our inbox after our Thanksgiving meal.

Ryanair is offering a Buy One Get One Half Price offer.

Quick – sign up for The Club Airport Lounges newsletter. They’ve promised subscribers a code for a 25% Black Friday discount code good for three days.

British Airways is offering a Black Friday Vacation Sale.

Tips for traveling with gifts

Getting your gifts through airport security

Flying this week?

Stay safe, stay sane, and pay attention to the gifts you put in your carry-on bags.

TSA officers may ask you to unwrap a package if they need to get a look at what’s inside. That can be slow you down, of course, but it could also spoil a holiday surprise if the gift you’ve carefully wrapped is for one of your traveling companions.

One suggestion – offered in the TSA Travel Talk below – is to pack presents in gift bags so that checkpoint staff can look at the contents without ruining a great wrapping job.

But Alton DuLaney, who happens to be both a world-famous gift wrap artist and Houston Airports’ public art curator, isn’t a fan of gift bags.

“I feel like gift bags are a little lazy when you’ve gone to all the trouble to find the perfect gift for someone,” he told us in a pre-holiday interview. He offered a few more creative, TSA-friendly, wrapping alternatives.

One idea is to use a box with a lid and wrap the bottom of the box and the lid of the box separately.

“That way you can open the box to show TSA what’s inside. And when you get to where you going just tie on a ribbon and you’re ready to give the gift,” said DuLaney.

Another option is to put gifts in decorated tins or containers that can be easily opened and reclosed at the security checkpoint.

“You can also wrap gifts in clear colored or printed cellophane. And that way TSA can still see what’s inside as well.”

On Monday, December 20 from 9 am to 3 pm, both Hobby Airport (HOU) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston will be hosting free gift-wrapping stations. DuLaney will be at Hobby Airport but says he’s carefully trained the teams that will be staffing the tables at both airports.

Many other airports around the country will be offering free gift wrap stations during this busy travel week as well. Some will be collecting donations for local charities, so tip generously and take the opportunity to do some last-minute shopping at your airport. Those stores could really use your business this year.

Shopping at Alaska Airlines’ Company Store

The newest location of Alaska Airlines’ Company Store is in “The Hub,” a 6-story office building the carrier opened near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) in July 2020, just as the world was going into lockdown due to the pandemic.

That’s why there’s been little publicity about this great avgeek shopping destination.

Until now.

The store is filled with all manner of branded gear for fans of Alaska Airlines and its sister regional carrier, Horizon Air.

During our visit before Thanksgiving, we found lots of great gifts at very reasonable prices.

Here are some snaps of just some of our purchases, which are also available online.

Shopping for someone who’s a fan of another airline? America Airlines, Frontier Airlines,  Southwest, JetBlue, Hawaiian Airlines, and United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines also have branded online shops.

(Read more about our visit to Alaska Airlines’ company store in a piece we wrote for The Points Guy.)

Miss airports? How about airport shopping?

Airport retailers hope returning passengers are ready to shop

(This is a slightly different version of a story we wrote for NBC News)

Airline passenger traffic is still running far below pre-pandemic numbers. But U.S. airlines and airports are getting ready for what promises to be a busy, near-normal summer.

Vaccinated travelers will be flying to more places – perhaps even Europe. And more people in airport terminals means more customers for airport shops and restaurants still reeling from pandemic traumas.   

“During the pandemic, many restaurants and stores had to be closed, while others were drastically scaled back to minimal hours,” says Rob Wigington, executive director of Airport Restaurant and Retail Association. With the return of travelers, many airport concessions are reopening. But ARRA projects these businesses will show a loss of at least $3.4 billion between summer 2020 and the end of 2021.

When they do return to airports, passengers will notice changes in retail operations ranging from shops permanently or temporarily shuttered to stores with reduced hours and limited stock.

At Denver International Airport, which reports seeing a major return to traffic, “Our retail program is doing very well, and concessions are fully open,” says airport spokeswoman Alex Renteria, although many shops are currently operating with reduced hours.

While many local brands are maintaining their presence at Oregon’s Portland International Airport (PDX), the airport lost iconic, long-time local tenants Powell’s Books and Real Mother Goose art and craft gallery during the pandemic. Now “concessionaires continue to adjust their operating hours so that they are open with the majority of the outbound flights,” says airport spokeswoman Kama Simonds.

After all but shutting down all concessions in the first phase of the pandemic, Philadelphia International Airport came up with a strategic plan for how and when to reopen its 185 retail, food, and beverage outlets. 40% of those concessions are local and minority-owned businesses, says PHL chief revenue office Jim Tyrell, “And if we closed them, they’d have a harder time coming back.” So, as travel demand began to pick up, PHL focused on opening those businesses first.

Today 85 of the airport’s 185 concessions are open. Although many are operating with reduced hours due to worker shortages (a national challenge) and limited airline schedules. “But we have not lost a single operator since the pandemic started,” says Tyrell.

Another upside, “We’re noticing that at PHL travelers who are shopping are buying high ticket, luxury items, including jewelry, high end handbags, sunglasses, and wallets. Things we wouldn’t expect pandemic passenger to buy,” says Tyrell. “It’s like you have people who have decided to travel and now they are all in. We hope that trend continues.”

A big challenge for Duty-Free Shops

At Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) no local retail shops have permanently closed, says airport spokesman Heath Montgomery. The schedule of international flights is still down, so only one duty-free shop, the main one in the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) is open. There, “sales are mirroring the slow rebound of international passengers. And the tasting area is still temporarily closed,” says Montgomery.

While 3Sixty Duty Free recently celebrated the grand reopening and expansion of its retail store in Terminal 4 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and announced plans to open additional outlets, “In general it has been a very difficult time for duty-free operators,” says Michael Payne President and CEO of the International Association of Airport Duty Free Stores, with sales down by as much as 80%.

In the few U.S. airports where duty free shops are open, there is uncertainty for travelers. “They’re flying for the first time in a year. They are in a rush to get to the gate. And they are more careful when shopping. Some things that they would touch, feel, taste, or try on, such as clothing, spirits, and cosmetics, they cannot do. And that changes the buying practice,” says Payne. Business travelers, a traditionally good source of revenue for duty free, are not flying yet either. “But I think things will eventually settle down and should get back to something normal.”

Bob Wigington of the Airport Restaurant and Retail Association agrees, “The industry will be in recovery mode for a long time, but with the continued help of our airport partners, and resumption of business and international travel, we will get to the other side of this unprecedented crisis”

Airport Amenity of the Week

Here at Stuck at The Airport, we’re always on the look-out for new, useful and cool airport amenities.

And this week’s Airport Amenity of the Week can be found at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

In a reflection of the times, the LAS airport now hosts a pair of PPE vending machines that dispense some of today’s most-wanted travel supplies, including gloves and hand sanitizer.

 LAS is the first to install these machines, which are located in T1 ticketing and near the T3 TSA checkpoint.

What’s in the machine? Hand sanitizer ($4.25-$6.50). 10-pack of alcohol wipes ($5.25) Tissues ($3.50) Reusable cloth mask ($14.50) 3-pack disposable masks ($7.50) KN95 mask ($8.25) 4-pack disposable gloves ($4.50).

The Las Vegas airport has many other airport amenities we love, including slot machines, an aviation museum, a baggage claim liquor store and some great art.

LAS is also home to vending machines that sell everything from Sprinkles cupcakes and Lego kits to souvenirs made by local artists, collected by the folks at SouveNEAR.