Airport shops

Souvenir Sunday: travel-themed gear at PHL & SEA Airport

June 8, 2014Harriet BaskasAirport shops, Airports, Aviation history, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirsouvenir Sunday, PHL airport, Sea-Tac Airport, travel, travel-themed

A new shop at Philadelphia International Airport – called Pilot & Captain – is the first brick & mortar effort from the design studio The Heads of State – and is filled with travel-themed items related to what the creators call “the good old days of planes, trains & discovery”

The shop offers city-specific t-shirts, mugs, posters, notebooks and more and can be found in Terminal 3.

There’s also a new travel-themed store at Sea-Tac Airport on Concourse C called Planewear – Style is in the Air , filled with items created for the Enumclaw, Washington-based Planewear company

Inventory includes the sassy SkyBelts, (belts made out of airplane seatbelts, which might be problematic for flight when you have to clip on the real airplane seatbelt…), Pan Am “vintage inspired” t-shirts, passport covers, luggage tags, those nostalgic Pan Am bags and kid-sized apparel.

Big things you won’t see at Heathrow’s new T2

May 30, 2014Harriet BaskasAirport guides, Airport shops, Airports, Fun StuffHeathrow Airport. airport architecture, travel

There are plenty of fresh, new things you will see when Heathrow Airport opens its new Terminal 2 on June 4th, but you won’t see the giant passport and the behemoth gift bag pictured below.

These two giant-sized props were used during some of user trials that have been taking place in the terminal during the past few weeks.

But although they seem like they’d be fun, photo-friendly objects for real passengers to encounter, during my recent pre-opening tour of the terminal a Heathrow staff member told me the props were about to be removed and discarded.

Too bad!

Countdown to opening of Heathrow T2

May 28, 2014Harriet BaskasAir Travel, Airport shops, Architectureairport amenities, Heathrow Airport, Luis Vidal, The Queen's Termional

London’s Heathrow Airport is putting finishing touches on T2 – The Queen’s Terminal – which is set for a soft opening on June 4th with the arrival of the first United Airlines flight.

Her Majesty the Queen will be on hand to cut the ribbon and officially open the terminal on June 23rd and by November all 23 of the Star Alliance airlines, as well as Aer Lingus,Virgin Atlantic Little Red and Germanwings carriers, will be operating out of this building.

As you might imagine, Star Alliance officials are tickled about the project and on Wednesday they led a group of journalists through the terminal. And, as a treat, building architect Luis Vidal, who suggests the building be considered a “destination” rather than a “terminal,” was on hand to share some of his thinking behind the design focused on an improved passenger experience and point out some of his favorite features.

“The building and the roof guide you towards the plane and encompass three defined spaces, the last of which is the idea of the plaza,” said Vidal. There, “the roof seems to vanish as you look up and see what the weather is outside and you are free to rest, read, shop, dine, work – whatever you want to do.”

The last time I passed through the building, just about a month ago, the spaces for the shops, restaurants and amenities were empty. But now inventory is being put on store shelves, severs are being put through their paces in the restaurants and amenities, such as banks of terminals offering free internet, are being installed.

Maps for sale at Seattle-Tacoma Int’l Airport

May 23, 2014Harriet BaskasAirport shops, MapsMaps, Seattle-Tacoma Int'l Airport, travel

This delights me to no end. And not just because it is at my home airport.

On Friday – just in time for the long holiday weekend – a new store selling maps, globes and other fun travel-related items opened at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Metsker Maps has cartography roots in Seattle dating back to 1880 and a popular store in downtown Seattle at the Pike Place Market. The shop sells maps of all kinds, globes, books, guides, travel accessories and children’s items.

Modern-day map apps are useful and all that, but “maps tell us where we are, remind us of where we have been and inspire new adventures,” said Metsker Maps president Jay Brown.

I’ve got a trip coming up in a few days and I’m already planning on heading to the airport extra early so I can visit the store. One map I hope they have in stock is a scratch off world map .

“No need for map pins here – just scratch the country you have been to and the colorful underlying layer is revealed!”

I want to buy this map, unfold it at the gate for my international flight and see if between me and my fellow travelers we’ve got the whole world ‘scratched.’

O’Hare Airport Terminal 5 gets a makeover

April 4, 2014Harriet BaskasAirport shops, Bathrooms, Foodairport amenities, Airport food, Airport shopping, O'Hare Airport, travel

This week Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is celebrating the completion of a two-year, much-needed, $26 million project to renovate and update International Terminal 5.

Here’s a splashy video about the terminal put together by Westfield, the terminal developer, followed by a story I put together about the completion of the terminal renovations that posted first on the Runway Girl Network.

Before the terminal upgrade began, just about all of the dining and retail options in T5 were located pre-security, which made it hard for travelers to feel at ease taking advantage of any dining and shopping option before passing through the security checkpoint and heading for their flights.

Now it’s a completely different story:

The Goddess & Grocer, a locally-owned and operated gourmet deli working in partnership with Metropolis Coffee Company, a local, small batch coffee roaster, is now the main pre-security dining venue. On the menu: deli sandwiches, ready-made salads, handmade chocolates, cookies and other desserts that can be eaten there – with friends or family members who have come to the airport to see you off – or packed to take with you on the plane.

There a completely reconfigured TSA checkpoint that’s “more streamlined and easier to get through,” said Karen Pride of the Chicago Department of Aviation and, just beyond that, a 10,000 square-foot, pass-through duty free shop like those that now seem standard in many European airports.

Inside the terminal, travelers will find a wide variety of new restaurants and retail shops, including many Chicago brands. There are also redesigned public spaces and many welcome new amenities.

The airport’s branch of XpresSpa is here offering massages, manicures, pedicures, facials and hot shaves. A wide variety of bath and body care products are also available for purchase and include Chicago-based Abbey Brown Soaps and the Beelove line of lip balm and skin care products, which are made with some of the honey from an apiary on airport property.

The restrooms pre and post-security have all been updated and there is now plenty of lounge-style seating throughout the common areas equipped with power outlets and USB ports for charging devices.

Expanded dining options include a food court, or “dining lounge,” with three quick-serve outlets: Wow Bao (Asian dishes with modern flair), Urban Olive (fresh salads) and R.J. Grunts Burger & Fries, and, for sit-down meals, a branch of the popular downtown Chicago restaurant, Hub 51.

Other food outlets in the terminal now include Big Bowl (potstickers, noodle and stir fry dishes, salads, etc. with an emphasis on locally-sourced ingredients), Tocco (a wine bar and Italian eatery), a branch of Tortas Frontera by Chicago chef Rick Bayless (popular elsewhere in the airport) and Kofe powered by Intelligentsia (gourmet coffee and tea, light fare).

Shoppers will be able to browse the offerings from Salvatore Ferragamo, Michael Kors, Vosge Haut-Chocolate, I Love Chicago, Swatch, Emporio Armani, Hudson (newsstand and travel essentials) and others.

The new shops, retail outlets and fresh amenities at Chicago’s International Terminal 5 have been gently rolling out during the past two years. But now that the final pieces are in place, there does seem like there’s plenty to celebrate and enjoy.

(My story about O’Hare Airport’s Terminal 5 upgrade first appeared on the Runway Girl Network.)

Fresh new amenities at SFO Airport

January 25, 2014Harriet BaskasAirport shops, Design, Foodairport amenities, pop-up shops, SFO airport, yoga room

Boarding Are E at San Francisco International Airport’ Terminal 3 re-opens to passengers on Tuesday.

With the $138 million renovation comes a long list of fresh new amenities travelers will definitely notice and enjoy, including lounge seating that includes the iconic Fritz Hansen “egg” chairs, the airport’s second yoga room (with loaner mats), 375 power outlets, nine work stations and an interactive “infotainment” center with information about SFO and the city.

The new boarding area, which has 10 gates for United Airlines, has a 23-foot-tall window wall offering views of the airfield and the Bay Area, changing areas (with doors, full-length mirrors, sinks/counters, hooks and benches) in the restrooms and private areas with loungers where mothers can nurse their children.

The artwork includes the re-installation of five paintings from SFO’s art collection, “Sky” (above), which is a suspended light sculpture and “Spirogyrate,” an interactive art installation by Bay Area artist Eric Staller

There are two pop-up stores mixed in with the dining and retail outlets:
Collector offers art from Bay Area artists and McEvoy Ranch presents locally-sourced olive oils and body care products.

Boarding Area E is connected post-security to the rest of Terminal 3, which is also connected to Concourse G of the International Terminal. So if you’re flying on United or any Star Alliance partner, you should be able to access these amenities.

Stuck at the airport? Lucky you!

January 22, 2014Harriet BaskasAirport guides, Airport shops, Airports, Foodflight delays, stuck at the airport

As the person who wrote a book about being Stuck at the Airport (it was published eight weeks before 9/11 and, as you might imagine, was not a big seller) and who now writes this Stuck at The Airport blog, it was a delight to be asked to round-up advice about the best airports for stranded travelers for this month’s At the Airport column on USA TODAY.

Feel free to add notes in the comment section below about which airports you’d be happily stranded in….

Traveler by Duane Hanson_at Orlando Intl

Traveler – by Duane Hanson, at Orlando International Airport

Earlier this month a tsunami of snowstorms and bitter cold air (the so-called “polar vortex”) forced the pre-emptive and day-of cancellation of tens of thousands of flights and hours-long delays for thousands of others.

That wacky weather also left plenty of passengers stuck at airports large and small.

No traveler (well, except me … ) enjoys spending more time in airport terminals than they have to, but weather, mechanical issues and other snafus are simply a fact of modern-day flying.

In some airports the wait can be more than pleasant than in others. So we asked frequent travelers to help us make a list of the best airports to be stranded in.

Dana Freeman of Burlington, Vt., said she never minds spending a few extra hours at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. “It has great local food, free Wi-Fi, clean spaces, and they got the architecture just right; the main space is voluminous and gets in plenty of light, making it feel really big for a medium-sized airport.”

With 23 concerts at various venues throughout the terminal each week, AUS also leads the list of airports that keep delayed travelers entertained with live performances that help time fly by.

Amanda Castleman is happy to wait out a delay at her hometown airport, Seattle-Tacoma International, “Thanks to the free Wi-Fi, good restaurants, Vino Volo, Butter London nail salon, the Massage Bar, etc.”

Here are some of the other airports – and airport amenities – that help travelers find the upside of being stranded.

Stress-busting amenities

Francine Cohen, a New York-based hospitality industry consultant, is keen on Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) for the rocking chairs, a stress-busting amenity found also at airports in Boston, Seattle, Philadelphia, Houston, Sacramento and other cities.

“They provide a great sense of calm when you’re stuck” said Cohen, “Not only because rocking is soothing,” but because the chairs offer a great perch for watching planes take off and land and people stream by.

CLT also got the nod from frequent travelers for the Terminal Getaway Spa, which will be opening three new branches at Chicago’s O’Hare airport and one at Orlando International Airport in the next few weeks.

The massages, manicures, pedicures and other services offered by XpresSpa, Massage Bar and other companies with multiple or one-off airport locations also factor into which airport many travelers are willing to wait out a delay. But whenever Stephanie Caro of Houston has extra hours to spend at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, she heads straight for Minute Suites on Concourse B. The small rooms for napping or working rent by the hour and are also available at Philadelphia International and DFW airports.

Yoga rooms also scored high on the list of amenities that helped make airport delays bearable and these are currently available at DFW Airport, Chicago O’Hare, Vermont’s Burlington International Airport and at San Francisco International, which is opening its second space devoted to yoga on Jan. 28, in United Airlines’ renovated Boarding Area E.

Kid-friendly spaces

Sally Farhat Kassab loves “the huge selection of shops and the interesting people from around the world that I meet every time” she’s at London’s Heathrow Airport and appreciates the “Stay & Play” areas staffed by “play coordinators” who host craft activities and storytelling sessions and help parents keep an eye on their kids.

I haven’t found any U.S. airports with play attendants on duty, but the kids’ activity centers offered by airports in cities such as Dallas/Fort Worth, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, Cincinnati and Las Vegas got raves from parents who have needed to entertain children during a delay. The new beach-themed play area in the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at Los Angeles International Airport is gathering fans as well.

Best for eating and drinking

When you’re dashing between flights, a grab-n-go sandwich will often do. But when you’re hanging around an airport for hours, there’s time to focus on where to dine.

USA TODAY readers weighed in via a USA TODAY/10Best.com poll that gave high marks to Vino Volo (with branches in more than 20 airports), the Salt Lick Bar-B-Que at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the healthy seasonal Southern California comfort food at Lemonade in LAX and all things crab at Obrycki’s at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

One Flew South, serving “Southernational” cuisine (and great sushi) is a perennial favorite at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, but flight attendant Heather Poole said she’s always happy to wait out a delay at Miami International Airport because then she can visit her favorite restaurant there, La Carreta, for Cuban food. “I’d skip any first-class meal for that,” she said.

The “best” airport food and beverage outlets have also been sliced and diced by everyone from the Moodie Report to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, The Daily Meal, and GQ.

Art, culture and history

Passengers can kill time during a delay reading books, watching movies or catching up on e-mail, of course, but those willing to venture from their gates will be rewarded with intriguing art and/or history exhibits at many airports. Miami, San Diego, Phoenix, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Seattle, and New York’s Albany International Airport are among the airports with great art programs or in-house museums, as are the airports that made it onto this USA TODAY/10Best.com best U.S. airports for art list.

Escape planning

When a delay stretches from minutes to hours, a canceled flight can’t be far behind. That’s when an airport that can be easily escaped from has its charms.

Miami International, Chicago O’Hare, DFW, Orlando, Tampa, Detroit and Houston’s George Bush International are among the airports with hotels connected to the terminals, making that fresh start in the morning a bit easier to imagine. And Seattle, Portland, Ore., Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Chicago and Washington, D.C., are among the cities offering easy and inexpensive public transit to and from town.

Did I miss your favorite? If you “had” to get stranded at an airport, which would you choose, and why? Feel free to add your comments below.

We’ve already heard from Andrew Smith – the Chief Funster for New South Wales (and winner of the NSW Best Job in the World promotion). He’s fine with hanging out for hours at the Sydney Airport because there are pubs serving Aussie beer, a Lonely Planet concept store and a mini-museum of uniforms, navigational equipment and other memorabilia from Qantas.

In progress: wish list of airport amenities for 2014

December 28, 2013Harriet BaskasAirport shops, Airports, Seating, Stuck at the Airport, Wi-Fiairport amenities, Airport power outlets

2014 will arrive in just a few days and here at Stuck at the Airport we’re making a wish list of amenities we’d like to see touch down at airports in the new year.

Here’s a list of some of the “wants” that have been sent to me so far. Feel free to add your own…

“More outlets”

“More massage places”

“Free basic Wi-Fi in all airports”

“CVS-type stores”

“Wireless recharging spots”

“More relaxation areas like those at Helsinki and Taiwan airports”

“More 10-minute manicures and Minute Suites”

“Working electrical outlets”

“More work desks”

We’re got a few more days to add to the list, so please let me know what fresh amenities you’d like to see in airports in 2014.

Greetings from Worcester Regional Airport

October 20, 2013Harriet BaskasAirport shops, Airportsairport upgrades, Smiley Face, Worcester Regional Airport

I attended a community radio reunion in Worcester, MA this weekend and was told by several folks that I just had to take a ride out the Worcester Regional Airport.

“It’s eerie,” an old friend said, “The airport has this giant new building. But when you go there, the doors open but nothing is there.”

He was right.

Worcester Regional Airport (ORH) is advertised as having four jetway gates, two ramp level gates, a baggage carousel and other amenities.

But things don’t quite look finished, even though the first commercial air service in quite some time is scheduled to begin on November 7th, when Jet Blue begins daily service between Worcester and Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.

And while it looks like there may be a news/snack shop opening, beyond the advertised free Wi-Fi, the only amenities I saw on-site were a vending machine (Pop Tarts were one option), two video game machines and a display case with some items representing Worcester history, including this coffee mug celebrating Worcester as the birthplace of the Smiley Face – an honor claimed by Seattle and one or two other cities.

Free coffee, snacks, massages at LAX TBIT

September 24, 2013Harriet BaskasAirport shops, Food, LoungesFree food, LAX TBIT, STAR ALLIANCE LOUNGE

I had the great fortune to visit the newly expanded Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) this week for the opening of the swanky Star Alliance lounge.

The lounge is lovely – with lots of Southern California touches and a wonderful outdoor terrace, complete with fire pits, a water wall and views of airfield and the hills beyond.

The terminal is mighty impressive as well, especially the giant electronic clock tower and story screens, which offer an ever-changing array of images and short films, and the interactive columns, which offer colorful vignettes of the destinations airplanes currently loading are jetting off to.

While the Duty Free shops and several other retail outlets are open, many are still under construction and not scheduled to open until sometime in October. So for now, travelers will find tables set up at various spots throughout the new terminal offering complimentary snacks, soft drinks, coffee and chair massages.