airline lounges

A look at Alaska Airline’s new lounge at SFO

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We stopped by the new Alaska Airlines lounge in Terminal 2 at San Fransico International Airport (SFO) to see for ourselves what the space was like.

Sadly, the sourdough toast cart wasn’t open for business during our visit. Instead, we indulged in a made-for-us Americano and treats from the serve-yourself candy bar. There are jars filled with Ghirardelli chocolate, Jelly Belly beans, and fortune cookies from the Oakland Fortune Cookie Factory. We tried them all.   

Besides the great airfield views, the best part of this lounge may be the San Francisco Giants-themed children’s play area. This space has adorable, kid-sized baseball-inspired furniture. There’s a wall of baseball bobbleheads. And an interactive display of different types of pitches.

Travel Tidbits from Airports Near You

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Flooding at EWR Airport

Awful flooding images from the Northeast Wednesday evening. This one shows flooding inside Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

More airports getting robots to help deliver meals

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) now has a two-wheeled, semiautonomous robot named NomNom helping to deliver food and beverage ordered online as part of the www.LAXOrderNow.com program.

NomNom is a cargo robot that can carry up to 40 pounds of food at a time. It follows behind delivery staff from AtYourGate, which delivers food ordered via LAX Order Now. The robot can move at speeds up to 6 mph and uses a series of cameras and sensors to recognize and follow its handler throughout the airport.

Alaska Airlines’ New Lounge at SFO

The new Alaska Airlines lounge in Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has some amenities we’re very anxious to see in person. In addition to serving Bay Area brews and wines from local vineyards, the lounge has a sourdough toast cart (!), a candy bar that includes Ghirardelli chocolate, Jelly Belly beans, and custom fortune cookies from Oakland Fortune Cookie Factory. There’s even a San Francisco Giants-themed children’s play area. The photos below are from Alaska Airlines; we’re going to have to visit in person to get our own.

British Airways testing robot bartenders in two lounges

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More airport robots are coming to serve you.

A Briggo robotic barista serves up specialty coffee drinks from two automated Coffee Haus spots in Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and from one located in San Francisco International Airport (SFO) adjacent to the security entrance inside Terminal 3.

Now comes word that throughout February, a robot bartender will be serving drinks at the British Airways lounges at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

BA has installed the Barsys 2.0, a smart automated cocktail-making machine. Customers order a drink by clicking a button on a screen. Then they place a glass on a small conveyor belt and the robot bartending machine does the rest.

No doubt, without the witty bartender banter.

British Airways’ First and Club World customers traveling from San Francisco and Newark will be able to sidle up to the robotic bar and choose from 30 cocktails and a variety of customizable drinks. Two special cocktails are on the menu: one called Silicon Galley; the other Echo-Whiskey-Romeo.

Not visiting either of these British Airways lounges this month? Looks like you can buy your own robot bartender for under $1000.

Here’s how it works.