Happy First Flight Day!
Today’s history moment is brought to you by the Library of Congress, which reminds us that: In the morning of December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright took turns piloting and monitoring their flying machine in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Orville piloted the first flight that lasted just twelve seconds. On the fourth and […]
Alaska Airlines snacks donated to food banks
File under: every bit helps. So far this year, Seattle-based Alaska Airlines has donated more than 80,000 pounds of unused first-class snacks to food banks in Seattle and Portland. According to an airline spokesperson, the donated food is collected from the snack baskets offered to first class passengers and from meals provided for flight attendants […]
Free (filtered) Wi-Fi on some Delta flights through Dec 31
Starting today, December 16, Delta Air L ines will be offering Aircell’s “Gogo” in-flight Wi-Fi service on one Boeing 757 flying the airline’s domestic routes and on five MD-88 aircraft flying shuttle routes between New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Boston’s Logan International Airport and Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. The cost: $9.95 for flights three […]
Plane ticket? Check. Parking spot? Oops…
I’m a terrible liar; so I don’t often try it. I can’t even get away with fibbing very often. But after getting turned away from several near-the-airport parking lots one Christmas holiday I figured out the answer to “Do you have a reservation?” was “Of course!” Even though the thought of making a parking lot […]
Want a quiet hotel room? Try an airport hotel.
(Image from column courtesy John Brecher / msnbc.com) What’s the use of battling the crowds at the airport and on the airplane if you end up checking into a hotel where the hallways are noisy and the walls are so thin that it sounds as if the guests next door are having that private conservation […]
Even more airport art worth a look
My USA TODAY roundup column about some great art exhibits at airports right now generated lots of mail about artwork on display at other airports. At the Tucson International Airport, five new art installations were part of a recent concourse renovation project. One piece, Another Way To Fly, by glass artist Tom Philabaum, is suspended […]
Airport art: definitely worth a look
Next time you’re at the airport, take a moment to look around. Not just at all the shops, restaurants and harried holiday travelers, but at all the really great art. (Photo: From Inside Track exhibit; courtesy San Francisco International Airport) In addition to some truly wonderful – and valuable – collections of permanent and site-specific […]
Packing tips from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Last week, custom agents, or rather a Customs and Border protection dog, at Washington Dulles International Airport smelled something fishy in the suitcase belonging to a man arriving from Africa. As reported in the Washington Business Journal and loads of other places, it wasn’t fish inside that suitcase. The man had three dead monkeys, 10 […]
Airport art inspires marriage proposal
Here are some images from a cool site-specific art installation currently at New York’s Albany International Airport. Joy Taylor’s Dream of Flight fills three soaring ceiling wells and is made from 240 shimmering, oversized, blue, gold and green foil leaves that give the illusion of falling According to Sharon Bates, the Director of the Art […]