New artwork to greet passengers at Salt Lake City Int’l Airport
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) already has several large-scale artworks by artist Gordon Huether, including the 400-foot Canyon (above).
Coming soon: the completion of his 90-foot outdoor art piece echoing the mountain peaks for which Utah is famous.
SFO Airport is celebrating Dia de Los Muertos
San Fransisco International Airport (SFO) is celebrating Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) with an altar, a mural, and live cultural performances through November 7 in Harvey Milk Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
In Harvey Milk Terminal 1, look for the “Tree of Life” altar created in partnership with the Mission Center for Cultural Arts, and feel free to add the names of your loved ones to the altar.
In Terminal 2, artist Adrian Arias will paint a mural titled “Ancestral Hummingbird with Moon,” influenced by his Peruvian background.
Celebrating Dia de los Muertos in Harvey Milk Terminal 1 with a beautiful altar created by the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. Honor your loved ones – write their name on the notes and place it on the altar. #SFOCelebrates#DiaDeLosMuertos#FlySFOpic.twitter.com/Yc03HxdZ9Z
— San Francisco International Airport (SFO) ✈️ (@flySFO) October 18, 2023
Pittsburgh International Airport’s new terminal progressing nicely
We were proud to have @ACE_Fitzgerald make the first official drive up the Departures curb at our new terminal this morning. Along with PIT CEO Christina Cassotis, he gave the media a tour so everyone could see our incredible progress. See for yourself ⬇️ #airport#aviationnewspic.twitter.com/rACLzdrwZa
— Pittsburgh International Airport (@PITairport) October 16, 2023
Here’s some background on this art form, courtesy of the SFO Museum:
Discarded steel oil drums have historically served as the base material for Haitian metal artists. The drums are flattened into sheets and designs are chalked on; pieces are then cut and sculpted using only hand tools and further enhanced by hammering, embossing, cutting holes, and bending the metal. Sculptures reflect everyday life portraits, imaginative themes, and motifs of Haitian Vodou, an African Diasporic religion. Some of the many forms that appear include angels and winged creatures, mermaids and other aquatic figures, musical bands, animals, and earthly, paradisiacal scenes.
Entwined figures by Georges Liautaud. Courtesy SFO Museum
When you buy an Amtrak ticket, you sometimes end up riding a diesel-powered bus instead of a train pulled by an diesel-fueled, dual-powered (electric and diesel) or electric (in the Northeast) locomotive.
Now at least one of the diesel-powered buses in the Amtrak network is being replaced by an electric-powered bus.
Passengers traveling mid-day on the Amtrak Cascades route in the Pacific Northwest through Oregon and Washington to Vancouver, B.C. will now get to ride on an electric-powered bus between between Seattle and Bellingham, WA instead of on the diesel-powered bus that has been serving this trip segment.
The bus is the first electric vehicle (EV) in the Amtrak National Network and can make the nearly 200-mile roundtrip on one single charge
A ride in the right direction.
SFO Airport will help save energy in an emergency
It’s another very hot summer. And airports around the country are doing their part to reduce their draw on the elecricity grid during times when air conditioners and other appliances are in heavy use.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO), which earned an award in 2019 for being the world’s first Zero Net Energy (ZNE) facility at an airport, has a large rooftop solar farm. But SFO still gets some of its electricty from the city’s hydroelectric grid.
So to do its part for added energy conservation during the city’s Flex Alerts, which the cities issues when extremely hot weather drives up electricity use, the airport is committing to a variety of measures which may have a slight impact on passengers. The airport expects it will get 24-hour notice on these Flex Alerts which usually run from 4 pm to 9pm. So if anything on the list below alarms you, be sure to check the SFO website before you travel.
The AirTrain people mover may reduce the frequency of service from every 4 minutes to every 8 minutes.
Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers in all SFO Parking Garages may be temporary deactivated.
Airport cooling may be adjusted to reduce electricity usage, allowing terminals to be just a bit warmer than usual.
Airport lighting may be reduced throughout terminals.
Located on LAX property, a short drive or taxi ride from the terminals, the museum includes one of the largest airline uniform collections, as well as space exploration memorabilia, a great research library, and a wide range of commercial aviation artifacts.
Right now is an especially good time to visit because the museum has Barbiemania. In honor of the new Barbie movie, the museum is showing an exhibit of aviation-themed Barbies and Barbie accessories, including Barbie dolls inspired by famous aviators, including Bessie Coleman and Amelia Earhart.
Unconventional enamels at SFO Airport
The SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) oversees twenty-five sites throughout the airport terminals. So if you’ve got a long walk to your gate or a long layover at SFO, it’s a good bet something will catch your eye.
One of the newest exhibitions at SFO features the unconventional enameled art of June Schwarcz (1918–2015) on view in the Harvey Milk Terminal 1, Departures Level 2, Galley 1 E now through early May 2024.
Here’s an intro to Schwarcz’s work from the SFO Museum;
Inspired by nature and fashion, as well as abstract, African, and Asian art, Schwarcz developed unique metalworking techniques, always experimenting and embracing complex technical challenges. She initially worked with copper panels and spun-copper bowls, infusing them with her own interpretation of traditional enameling. During the 1960s, Schwarcz pioneered electroforming, an innovative method that involved electroplating pieces made from thin copper foil. Schwarcz focused on sculptural vessels and when asked about her abstract forms, she explained, “They simply don’t hold water.”
(Images of June Schwarcz’s artwork courtesy of SFO Museum and the collection of Forrest L. Merrill)
The Memorial Day weekend is traditionally one of the busiest travel times. And this year is no exception.
AAA projects 42.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Memorial Day weekend, a 7% increase over 2022.
Many people will be driving to their destinations this weekend, but AAA says nearly 3.4 million travelers are expected to fly.
That’s an increase of 11% over last year and 5.4% more than in 2019.
“This Memorial Day weekend could be the busiest at airports since 2005,” says AAA.
So if you’re flying somewhere, pack your patience – and some snacks.
Therapy Cat at SFO Airport
San Francisco International Airport’s team of certified stress-relief animals, the Wag Brigade, includes dogs, a Flemish giant rabbit named Alex, and a Juliana-breed pig named Lilou.
Now the team has a new member: Duke Ellington Morris, known around town as ‘Duke the Cat.’
Duke is certified as a therapy cat by the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and has been visiting area hospitals and other sites for many years.
Look for Duke and other SFO stress-relief animals wearing their “pet me” vests.
Air New Zealand’s amenity kits feature products inspired by Māori knowledge
Air New Zealand’s new onboard amenity kits now feature skincare products made by Aotea on Aotea/ Great Barrier Island that inspiration by traditional Māori herbal practices.
The products include native New Zealand ingredients, such as Kawakawa, Harakeke, and Mānuka, and are available to customers traveling in business premier and premium economy cabins.
“My grandmother was a Rongoā Māori (Māori medicine) practitioner,” says Aotea founder Tama Toki, “She would treat us kids with what we found in the bush and the Aotea range is an expression of that upbringing. It’s a privilege to be able to see this part of our culture onboard Air New Zealand flights.”
