It’s been a while since I gave up my membership in the United Red Carpet Club. But very frequent traveler Joel Horn insists the price of admission is worth it if only because there are sights like this to be seen out the window of the Red Carpet Club room on Concourse C at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
What do you think? I do have a birthday coming up….
If you’re in Los Angeles anytime soon, make your way over to the Autry National Center to see Skydreamers, a truly wonderful exhibition of photographs from the collection of Stephen White that documents the history of flight. I put together a History of Flight slide show with some of the images from the show for msnbc.com; here’s a short preview.
As in this 1871 photo of a balloon ascending over Ferndale, CA, some of the earliest attempts to conquer space were in free floating hot-air balloons. Next came heavier than air machines and, ultimately, rocket ships that can elude gravity and soar into space. Lucky for us photographers and artists were often on hand to document and imagine these journeys.
In his now classic aviation book, Birdflight as the basis for aviation, published in 1889, Otto Lilienthal outlined his theories on flying based on his study of bird wing structure and the aerodynamics of bird flight. He built and famously experimented with a series of 18 bird-inspired gliders and served as an inspiration for Wright Brothers, who studied his gliding techniques.
Stunt pilot Art Smith became well known for aerobatic flying and for using flares to do skywriting at night, a talent he exhibited on the closing night of San Francisco’s Pan Pacific International Exposition in 1915. Smith later went on to work for the US post office as one the first air mail pilots.
Famed aviator Charles Lindbergh stands in front of his airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, shortly after completing the first solo, non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in May, 1927. The plane is now in Washington, D.C. at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.
In 1934, the Griffith Park Observatory was getting ready to open in Los Angeles. This photograph shows the artist, Roger Haywood, sculpting a section of an exact replica of the moon, reduced to 38 feet.
I’ll post more photos from the Skydreamers exhibition tomorrow, but if you want to start planning a trip to Los Angeles to see the full show, you have until September 4, 2011 to see it at the Autry National Center.
May is coming right up and to celebrate American Airlines is bringing back its 5@5 Happy Hour.
(Courtesy UW Digital Collections via Flickr Commons)
Throughout the month of May, American, American Eagle, and American Connection passengers will be able to purchase cocktails, wine, beer and margaritas for $5 (instead of $6-$7) on domestic, Canada, Caribbean and Mexico flights departing between 5 p.m. and 5:59 p.m.
Those prices last the entire flight, so if you’re planning on having an in-flight drink (or two), here’s to an on-time departure.
Here’s some free stuff, a few contests and two travel discounts you may want to take advantage of.
If you’re in the Washington, D.C. area this week or in New York City next week, keep an eye out for folks from Austrian Airlines. As part of their Café in the Clouds promotion the airline will be serving complimentary Meinl coffee – the coffee served onboard Austrian flights – in a different Washington neighborhood each day through Sunday, May 1st. Check here for the Café in the Clouds DC schedule.
In New York, the plan is to have chefs on bikes out delivering Austrian bundt cakes. The schedule for the NY Café in the Sky event will post on May 1st.
Coffee and cake is nice, but what about travel? If you’re not in New York or D.C., you can skip the cake the coffee and go directly to the entry form to enter a contest to win two round trip tickets from Washington, D.C. or New York to Vienna on Austrian Airlines. (Contest ends May 20, 2011)
File these under “Every bit helps:”
Through April 30th, anyone with a Visa card that has “Visa Signature” printed on it (very common) may be eligible for a 15% discount on Southwest Airlines.
Virgin America will give you a promo code good for 20% off a flight if you vote for your favorite photo or video in a contest the airline is having in connection with new service to Chicago. Deadline to vote is May 11.
And you have until May 27, 2011 to enter the American Airlines anniversary miles giveaway sweepstakes. The prizes: they’re giving away 30,000 miles a day.
We’ll be getting more details today, but Friday night, April 22nd, an apparent tornado ripped through the St. Louis area and caused so much damage at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport that the airport is now closed indefinitely while they figure out what to do.
Here’s a story from the local TV news station KMOV:
Airport spokespeople say at least four people were transported to area hospitals with minor injuries and that:
“At this time, it appears that Terminal 1 and Concourse C suffered the most damage from the storm with high winds that blew out up to 50 percent of windows and caused roof damage as well. There is also considerable storm damage at the entrances of the airport and along roadways.”
KMOV has also posted a gallery of photos showing what the area looked like after the tornado:
See the rest of the KMOV STL airport tornado damage photo gallery.
The damage is heartbreaking. Especially for those who have been looking forward to all the new features and amenities that were being put in place for a major restoration project.
Let’s hope the Lindbergh 1934 Monocoupe D-145 is safe. Charles Lindbergh’s personal plane hovered over the STL Concourse C checkpoint for 30 years and just last month was lowered and moved to the Mt. Vernon Municipal Airport to make way for a concourse relocation project. The plane is owned by the Missouri History Museum and is scheduled to return to STL when renovations there are complete.
[Photo: Brian Losito/Courtesy Air Canada]
Next time you’re at the airport, keep a close eye on the pilots heading to work. Like the Air Canada pilots pictured above, they all look pretty snappy in their uniforms.
But are they wearing their caps?
It could depend on whether or not that pilot is worrying about hat hair. Or looking dorky.
Or whether or not their employer still makes that hat an optional uniform accessory.
Here’s the Capless Captains story I wrote about the topic for msbnc.com.
Airlines to airline pilots: You can leave your hat on. Or not.
Last month, American Airlines changed its operations manual to let pilots know it’s OK to go hatless. The carrier is just the latest among North American airlines that have made the hat an optional part of airline captains’ and first officers’ uniforms.
“The reason we made it optional is because it got to be too hard to police,” said George Tucker, American’s chief pilot at San Francisco International Airport. “Hats just seem to be slowly fading away.”
The rule about wearing a hat “is determined airline by airline,” said Doug Baj, spokesperson for the Air Line Pilots Association, International. “However, there are some uniform manual policies that still technically require it.”
For several years now, wearing hats has been optional for flights crews on Alaska, Southwest and several other airlines.
United Airlines changed its hat policy about four years ago. “Hats are part of our pilot uniforms, but are not required,” said spokesperson Megan McCarthy.
Hat hair and mistaken identity
Pilots have a range of opinions about hats, with some saying it makes them look more professional and others saying that they are frequently mistaken for skycaps.
Mike Cingari, a San Francisco-based pilot for American, is delighted that after 27 years, he’s now free to leave his hat at home.
“I’m against hats. They mess up your hair, promote baldness and it looks really stupid to be walking around with a hat on,” said Cingari. “Plus you have to remember it.”
Cingari has found that sometimes his hat causes confusion inside the airport or out on the curb. “Passengers ask you directions to the bathroom or think you’re a skycap and ask you to take their bags,” he said.
Karsten Stadler, an assistant chief pilot at Southwest Airlines, has also been mistaken for someone else when wearing his pilot’s hat. “I once had a man get very angry with me for not bringing the van around in time. But as many pilots say they’ve been confused for someone else, there are others who say the hat helps them get recognized,” said Stadler.
Although his employer now allows pilots to forgo their hats, Kent Wien says he’ll probably continue to wear his pilot cap to and through airports.
Wien, who writes the “Cockpit Chronicles” column for the Gadling.com travel blog, said: “It kind of finishes off the uniform and gives a more professional appearance. I think passengers want to see that. Otherwise, you don’t look much different than the ticket agent or a crew member.”
There’s also the issue of safety. American Airlines’ Tucker makes sure his hat is always with him. “Because if, God forbid, I have that day when I have to do an emergency evacuation on my airplane, part of my responsibility is to get passengers together and move them away from the plane. The hat is a visible symbol, and we know customers respond to authority,” said Tucker.
Hatted vs. hatless
“It’s like the white coat on the doctor,” said Janet Bednarek, a history professor specializing in aviation history at the University of Dayton in Ohio. “You want to be able to tell the captain from anyone else.”
While some airlines are just now ditching the pilot hats, others, such as JetBlue and Virgin America, never had hats as part of the official uniform. “Our pilots’ all black uniforms are functional yet hip,” said Virgin America spokesperson Abby Lunardini. “We do not require caps … but we have found that our pilots do prefer a uniform shirt that has epaulettes or markings that differentiate them from in-flight and guest service teammates.”
At least two North American airlines still require a pilot to wear a full uniform, including a hat, whenever they’re in the public’s view: Air Canada and Delta Air Lines.
“The hat helps identify the pilots and makes them stand out from other crew members, passengers and business people,” said Captain Jay Musselman, director of flight standards and quality for Air Canada.
Hats reflect “leadership and professionalism,” said Delta Air Lines spokesperson Gina Laughlin. “The hat and double-breasted blazer give Delta pilots a sharp, professional appearance.”
Frank Abagnale thinks the airline pilot hat can also be a test of authenticity.
He should know. In the 1960s, Abagnale gained notoriety for forging more than $2 million in bad checks and for adopting a variety of fake identities, including a doctor, a lawyer and, most famously, a Pan American World Airways pilot. Abagnale, whose exploits were depicted in the movie “Catch Me If You Can,” is now a fraud prevention consultant for corporations and the FBI and explained, via e-mail, why he thinks pilots should keep their hats:
“The emblems on their hats, as well as their wings, are actually two of the most difficult things for someone to obtain … removing the requirement of the hat makes it one step easier to assume the role of a pilot.”
On StuckatTheAirport.com, I often make note of an inspiring museum-quality exhibition that has made its way to an airport.
Today, I’m pleased to point you to a museum exhibition that has been inspired by an airport.
Ian Monroe's Arc
The Saint Louis Art Museum is showing an exhibition of work by Ian Monroe that takes its cue from the architecture and history of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport terminal. The building was designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki, who designed the World Trade Center and the Twin Towers.
Currents 105: Ian Monroe will be on view in Gallery 338 at the Saint Louis Art Museum through July 31, 2011. Even better: admission to the Saint Louis Art Museum is free.
(Images courtesy Haunch of Venison and Ian Monroe © Ian Monroe)
It’s Souvenir Sunday; the day we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive and local souvenirs for sale at airports.
This week’s treats come from Zurich Airport, where there are plenty of things made of chocolate.
And plenty of other souvenirs that a similarly Swiss, but less likely to be nibbled on during the long flight home.
Souvenir Sunday is a regular feature here on StuckatTheAirport.com. So if you find a great airport souvenir that’s inexpensive (around $10), “of” the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along. If your photo is featured on Souvenir Sunday I’ll send you a special aviation-related souvenir.
When I walked into this bright playroom at Zurich Airport, it was hard to tell who was happier:
Two-year old Mattia, who was happily playing with the toys and stuffed animals in the room, or his dad, Stefano Schiavon, who was sitting quietly watching his son play.
“We flew in from Washington and have a long layover before our flight to Venice,” said Shiavon, “When I found the airport had this play area, I almost cried.”
Who could blame him?
Lots of airports have small play areas for children. In the United States, these spaces range from a corner with an activity table or two to larger spaces, such as O’Hare’s Kids on the Fly center, with aviation-themed climbing structures.
Zurich Airport not only has special play areas for children, the free facilities have lockers, lots of toys and dolls, books, computer games, painting supplies and building sets.
A separate room is a nursery, with diaper-changing tables, baby care products, cribs and rooms for breastfeeding. There’s also a kitchenette with a hotplate, microwave oven and cutlery so parents can fix a snack for their kids.
The staff on duty is multilingual and there to make sure to make sure everyone is playing safely and to help out with flight information and assist with minor problems.
“Parents must stay with their children. It’s not a daycare,” my airport guide told me, “People can’t leave their kids here and go off shopping or on a 10-day trip.”
Although you can see how they may be tempted….
Zurich Airport has two Family Service areas:
In the Transit A area, between the entrance to gates 60-69. Hours: daily, 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m;
and on Pier E, level 3, above gate E45. Hours: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This month my At the Airport column on USATODAY.com features a round-up of fresh art at airports around the country. I posted a few examples here yesterday. Here are some more.
(Photo by Rodney Cammauf)
Travelers can get a dose of the Everglades the only place where alligators and crocodiles co-exist in the wild at Miami International Airport, which is displaying 26 large-format photographs featuring the reserve’s wildlife and lush landscapes. The photos were taken by a half-dozen photographers who had the opportunity to live and work in the park’s subtropical environment for a month as part of the Everglades National Park’s Artist-in-Residence program.n You’ll find these in the international arrivals corridor in the North Terminal through December, 2011.
Lauren Adams: Coverlet Abstraction
Plenty of site-specific art will be part of the $50 million in renovations taking place at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport’s historic Terminal 1. Among the first commissioned pieces to be installed will be art glass screens with work by nine local artists featuring images that include eagles, soaring clouds, historic quilt patterns, local river paths and other images. Four art glass screens are being installed this month; five more screens will be installed this summer in Terminal 1.
"Spice Monkey"
Robert Brubaker’s ceramic, anthropomorphic animals are featured in a current exhibit at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Terminal 3. Although the local weather rarely calls for such warm clothing, the birds, ram, monkey and other animals featured in Big Coats are wrapped in ceramic versions of brightly colored, woolen Western-style blanket coats.