Airports

Airports offer fresh art for travelers

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If you enjoy spending your leisure time visiting art galleries, but instead end up wasting time in airports, you’re in luck. This season, many airports around the country are hosting intriguing temporary exhibitions and unveiling new permanent public artwork that can turn a long layover into a cultural adventure. Or at least keep you from getting bored.

Here are a few highlights of fresh airport art from my current “At the Airport” column on USATODAY.com.

Included in the story is the  “Environmental Steward-ess” outfit Nancy Judd of Recycle Runway made out of old leather seat covers from Delta Air Lines.

 

There’s also a new exhibit at New York’s Albany International Airport. In Keeping Time, seven artists explore nostalgia with “an eye for its intimate, humorous and often bittersweet nature,” says Sharon Bates, director of the airport’s art and culture program. Included in the show are paintings, several large site-specific installations and collages made from old paint-by-number paintings.

It's in the Book - by Ken Ragsdale

 

And, at Florida’s Jacksonsville International Airport, there’s a fun exhibition titled Kites and Flights with work by Melanie Walker and George Peters.

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Souvenir Sunday at JFK

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New York City Souvenirs at JFK

It’s Souvenir Sunday at StuckatTheAirport.com. That’s the day we take a look at the fun, inexpensive and “of” the city souvenirs you can pick up when you’ve got time to spend at an airport.

This week’s finds were spotted in the shops at Delta Air Lines’ Terminal 3 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport – JFK.

New York City souvenirs

And, while they’re not “of” New York City, these cute kitty-bunnies caught my eye.

Hello Kitty at JFK

If you find a great souvenir next time you’re Stuck at the Airport, please take a moment to snap a photo, jot down some notes (price, why you love it, etc.) and send it along.

If your souvenir is featured on Souvenir Sunday, I’ll send you a special travel souvenir.

Finished shopping? If you’re in Terminal 3 at JFK, be sure to visit the iPad village.

Fish valet and other posh airport amenities

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Spas, saunas, swimming pools, giant slides and sunflowers. That could be a list of swanky amenities to look for at upscale resorts or hotels. But it’s actually a sampling of some of the Posh Airport Amenities I featured in a slide show for Bing Travel.

Here’s a sample.

Fairmont Vancouver Airport fish valet

Travelers at Vancouver International Airport can take care of dry cleaning, shoe-repair and medical/dental services during a layover in the terminal. But those heading home from a fishing trip with a 100 pound halibut in tow can seek out the services of the Fish Valet and the special “visiting fish” freezer at the on-site Fairmont Vancouver Hotel.

Hong Kong airport gold course

There’s a putting green in the terminal at Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport, but the USGA-approved, nine-hole Sky City Nine Eagles Golf Course adjacent to Hong Kong International Airport’s Terminal 2 out-poshes that. Nine Eagles has a Thai restaurant, club house, putting greens, and plenty of night golfing opportunities. Soon Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport will have a golf course next door too.

LAX Theme Building

When it comes to posh airport bars, GateGuru data analyst Zachary Einzig gives high marks to the Encounter Restaurant, perched on top of the recently-restored Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Inside, the Encounter’s space-age décor is something the Jetsons would appreciate. Outside, the views of the airfield are out of this world.

There are more… check back to find out which airports offer libraries, saunas, exotic gardens, bike rentals, museums, breweries, make-your-own sundae machines, and weekly tributes to Frank Sinatra.

Have a favorite posh airport amenity? Please add your comment below.

SFO shows off renovated T2

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Look what showed up for official unveiling of the newly renovated Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport:

White Knight 2 /Spaceship 2

A new Virgin America A320 with White Knight 2 carrying Spaceship 2

StuckatTheAirport.com readers have gotten a sneak peek of many of the features of T2 over the past two weeks (see here and here and here) but the completed facility was officially shown off today to dignitaries and media folks.

Passengers flying on American Airlines and Virgin America will be the only ones who get to enjoy the new terminal, but in addition to the art, amenities and services described here earlier (see the links above), here are a few more photos of what’s inside.

Many works of art that were in the original Terminal 2 have been reinstalled, including this piece from 1983 by Dan Snyder:

SFO T2 reinstalled artwork

Welcome North, Welcome South, Welcome East, Welcome West

(Photo by Bruce Damonte, courtesy San Francisco Arts Commission)

The terminal has a ‘recompose’ area just past the security checkpoint:

Restrooms with Ann Sacks tiles, Dyson hand dryers and, space to put down your stuff.
SFO T2 Women's restroom

Plenty of “Egg” chairs and other comfortable seating areas, work spaces, free Wi-Fi and (yes they counted them) 341 duplex outlets in the main hold room at at the communal tables:

Seating at SFO T2

There are also outlets on each column in the terminal and on some of the walls.

An audio tour of T2 has been commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission and will be available shortly.

SFO’s new Terminal 2: preview part 3

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San Francisco International Airport will re-open its newly renovated Terminal 2 to the flying public on April 14, but first there will be a media day (April 6th) and a community open house (April 9th.)

For those who can’t attend the open house or who won’t be flying to or from San Francisco on American Airlines or Virgin America – the two airlines that will be using T2 – anytime soon, StuckatTheAirport.com has been offering previews of the terminal.

Part one was about the artwork in SFO’s T2.

That artwork includes a fun piece by Charles Sowers that includes mechanical butterflies.

Elsewhere in the terminal, sound artist Walter Kitundu has installed interactive benches that double as musical instruments.

SFO bench doubles as musical instrument

The wings in one of the birds in Kitundu’s mural can also be played.

SFO mural

Part two of our SFO T2 preview focused on some of the special touches, such as live plants, living-room style furniture, work areas, generous restrooms and those handy water bottle refill stations.

SFO T2 Refill station

There’s more…

The dining options – which were still under construction when I toured the building – will include: Andale – made-to-order Mexican food
Burger Joint
A restaurant/lounge by Cat Cora, one of the Food Network’s Iron Chef judges
Lark Creek Grill
Napa Farms Market
Vino Volo
Peets Coffee & Tea and Starbucks
Wakaba Sushi & Noodle
and The Plant Organic and Pinkberry frozen yogurt

Shops will include:
Compass Books
Greetings from San Francisco
I-Tech X-perience
Kiehl’s (skin and hair products)
Mango (clothing)
Mosaic Gallery
Natalie’s Candy Jar
Pacific Outfitters
Sunset News
and a branch of XpresSpa

Here a few more photos of what you’ll see in T2:

Artwork that was been stored away during renovation:

Fun seating – even in the baggage claim area:
Baggage claim seating

And plenty of places to plug in and get to work.

Souvenir Sunday: showers and sundries at SFO

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Every Sunday here at  StuckatTheAirport.com is Souvenir Sunday: a day to unpack our carry-on and take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive goodies you can find for sale at airports.

This week’s souvenirs come from San Francisco International Airport, which is getting to ready to open the new and very much improved Terminal 2 to the flying public.  They will be a grand opening celebration for T2 on April 9th (anyone can go, but you’ll need to sign up for a free ticket). Virgin America and American Airlines begin using the terminal for regular flights on April 14th.

I’ve already posted a sneak preview of the terminal. See SFO T2 sneak peek -Part 1 and SFO T2 sneak peek part 2 – and check back later for more.

When I visited the new T2, the shops were not yet open, so I wandered over to the SFO International Terminal to see what I could find.  Sadly, the Sephora store is gone, but Freshen Up! is still there.

SFO showers

Located right next door to the Airport Travel Agency (on the Departures/Ticketing Level of the International Terminal, near the entrance to Gates G91-G102) and open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., this no-frills spot offers shower rooms, massage chairs, a place to iron your clothes and a wide variety of travel-sized items at surprisingly reasonable prices. 

SFO Freshen Up sundries

In addition to things like toothpaste, diapers, shaving cream and other sundries they also stock underwear, socks, shirts, pantyhose and other items travelers might find useful when they’re stuck at the airport on a long layover or while waiting for that delayed flight.

SFO FRESHEN UP -underwear for sale

A 20 minute shower at Freshen Up! will cost you $11. A 30-minute “deluxe” shower is $15 and includes shampoo, lotion, shower shoes a towel and nice soap. Store your bags at the travel agency next door and they’ll give you a coupon good for an upgrade from the standard to the deluxe shower.

Now that you’re clean – go shopping!

And if you see a great airport souvenir that’s inexpensive, ‘of’ the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along. If your souvenir is featured on Souvenir Sunday, I’ll send you a special travel souvenir.

TSA confirms: space aliens visit airports

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One of my mother’s favorite sayings was “It could happen.” Not an otherwise woo-woo person, she’d say that whenever the topic of aliens came up, wait a beat and then change the subject.

So she would have been very interested to read the story about aliens and airports that I wrote for my USATODAY.com At the Airport column a while back.

Crop circle at Indiana's Huntington Airport, courtesy Travis McQueen

 

And she would have been VERY interested in reading the post on the TSA Blog yesterday. The one about TSA Space Alien Detection Officers (ADOs).

Alien being screened. Courtesy TSA

 

According to Blogger Bob (a real person or an …alien?):

….New intelligence suggests that space aliens with invisibility cloaks have been going through our checkpoints for years. We know they’ve been observing flight operations at some of our busiest airports, but we had no idea they were coming in.

It’s not entirely clear what their intentions are, but they need to be screened just like anybody else. We don’t mind space aliens visiting our airports. In fact we think it’s kind of cool. However, they need to go through security just like everybody else…

Whatever their motivation is, rest assured that  a new layer of security has been developed that will allow us to detect and screen these unique passengers. This new layer is our TSA Alien Detection Officer (ADO). ADOs are an elite new type of officer who has undergone unique training to use specially developed detection tools. You may have already seen some of these tools in use at airports and just not known what they were.

 

Yes, it was an April Fools’ Day joke. But you know what my mom would say. “It could happen.”

Fresh art at Jacksonville International Airport

Airports, Art,

There’s a new aerial sculpture at Jacksonville International Airport (JAX).

Sky Bridges, by artists Melanie Walker and George Peters of Airworks Studio, hangs from the ceiling of JAX’s newly renovated connector bridge.

Kites and Flights, also by Walker and Peters, is on display in the airport’s Haskell Art Gallery through June 2011.

The exhibit uses kites to depict a variety of flying objects including birds, insects, leaves in the wind, clouds, airplanes, balloons and rockets.

 

Pirates at Denver International Airport

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Mineta San Jose International Airport has a Space Observer

SJC Space Observer

Now Denver International Airport has pirates.

Pirates at Denver International Airport

Ten life-size pirate mannequins have taken up residence on the level 5 baggage claim and Level 6 ticketing areas and will be there through August to entertain passengers and promote a new exhibition at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Real Pirates: the Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship explores the Golden Age of Piracy and features cannons, swords, coins, gold, jewelry and other artifacts recovered off the coast of Cape Cod from the first authenticated pirate ship discovered in U.S. waters.

(If the pirates are there tomorrow, we’ll know it’s not an April Fools’ Day joke.)

 

 

Sneak peek at SFO T2 – part 2

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Little things add up. And in renovating and rebuilding Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport, they’ve been paying attention to a lot of the little things.

SFO T2

In a open house for the community on April 9th (It’s free, but you’ll need a ticket) and when it opens to the flying public on April 14th, travelers flying in or out of SFO’s Terminal 2 will see live plants, loads of living room style furniture and lots of inviting, outlet-enhanced surfaces for getting work done.

SFO T2 Seating

SFO T2 work tables

There are some nice touches in the restrooms as well.

SFO T2 restroom

Stalls are deep (so there’s room for you and your carry-on in there) and out at the sinks, you’ll find outlets and those fast-working, Dyson hand-drying machines.

SFO Restroom T2

And for those who travel with their own water bottles, SFO T2 provides these easy-to-access refill stations.

SFO T2 Refill station

The sneak preview continues tomorrow….

In the meantime, take a look at the StuckatThe Airport.com preview of the artwork at SFO’s T2.