Airports

Airport codes explained in 300 seconds

November 2, 2010Harriet BaskasAir Travel, Airport guides, Airports, Fun StuffAirport city codes

SUX post card from Sioux Gateway Airport

Greetings from SUX

Kevin Maxwell found StuckatTheAirport.com and my Souvenir Sunday post about offbeat souvenirs at the Sioux City Airport (Fly SUX t-shirts, mugs and more) while putting together his presentation on airport codes for Ignite Phoenix, one of those events where people give really short presentations on a wide variety of topics you didn’t know you’d be interested in.

The event is over and Maxwell was kind enough to send a link to the very funny and informative video version of his presentation.

Give it a listen. It’s just 300 seconds and you might learn something. I did!

Souvenir Sunday at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport

October 24, 2010Harriet BaskasAir Travel, Airport shops, Airports, Fun Stuff, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirsairport souvenirs, Hello Kitty, Kit Kat, Sirotan, stuck at the airport, Tokyo Haneda Airport

During an opening-day tour of the brand new International Terminal at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (officially: Tokyo International Airport) last week, I spent a good amount of time searching for souvenirs on the pre-security shopping street designed to evoke a very early style Japanese village.

And because Souvenir Sunday was coming up, I of course looked for inexpensive “of” the city or region items to share with you.

First up: Green Tea and wasabi-flavored Japanese Kit Kat bars, available by the single bar, the 12-bar box and in much larger mini-multi-pack versions.

Other Kit Kat flavors being offered at the airport included strawberry cheese cake, blueberry chese cake, and Intense Roasted Soybean Flavor.

It turns out that’s just a small selection of the wild and wacky Kit Kat flavors available elsewhere in Japan – and around the world. Here’s a link to Fried Toast’s Flickr set of more than 100 types of Kit Kat ‘flavors.’)

I stocked up on Kit Kats and hit the Hello Kitty Store:

I contemplated buying these Super Hero-shaped water bottles, but realized I’d have to give them up at the security checkpoint.

Instead I bought these cookies, which depict the airline of Sirotan, a white seal character popular in Japan –

And, just because they looked fun and colorful, some paper souvenirs.

After a morning poking around the shops in the International Terminal, I headed back to my hotel – which was conveniently located inside one of the airport’s two domestic terminals. And there, at the Starbucks in the mall attached to Terminal 2, I found these special Starbucks mugs, made especially as an airport souvenir.

Tibits for travelers: Free Wi-Fi at Nashville Airport; new exhibits at John Wayne and Atlanta airports

October 22, 2010Harriet BaskasAirports, Art, free Wi-FiAirport art, free airport Wi-Fi, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, John Wayne Airport, Nashville International Airport

Free Wi-Fi at Nashville International Airport

Someday there will be free Wi-Fi at all airports.

In the meantime, we keep score and take what we can get.

Here’s one to add to the list: “Soon,” says the October 2010 newsletter from Nashville International Airport, passengers will be able to get 20 minutes of free Wi-Fi access in the food courts, meeter-greeter waiting areas and in some restaurants. The airport is also planning to add charging stations for electronic devices. If you’re a member of BNA’s Frequent Parker Program or a valet parking customer, however, you can get free Wi-Fi anywhere in the terminal – for 15 minutes.

Add that to the 20 minutes of free Wi-Fi everyone gets and you’re getting somewhere…

New photography exhibits at Hartsfield Atlanta and John Wayne airports

A new exhibit at John Wayne airport on display through January 2011 features images of classic architecture around Orange County, California. The images are taken from architect Richard Dodd’s book “Architectural Styles – Orange County”, and display historical homes and buildings from Mission San Juan Capistrano to the famed Witches House in Laguna Beach, which is pictured above.

For more photos from the exhibit, see the slide show on the John Wayne Airport‘s website.

The Airport Show at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

In honor of Atlanta Celebrates Photography Month, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s Art Program has teamed up with the Atlanta Photography Group for The Airport Art Show, an exhibit of traditional, documentary-style and modern photographs in the airport atrium.

Want to see more photos? In addition to the exhibit at the airport, there are more than 150 photographic exhibitions and events showcasing the work of more than 400 photographers taking place this October throughout metro Atlanta.

“The Airport Show” is in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atrium Gallery through November 17.

See airport guides for these airports and 47 others on StuckatTheAirport.com.

Coming soon – if you’re lucky – to an airport near you

October 14, 2010Harriet BaskasAir Travel, Airport shops, Airports, Entertainment, Food, free Wi-Fi, Layover, Lounges, Pets, Sleeping, Wi-FiAirport food, amenities, Sleeping at airports, smoking at airports, smoking lounges, vending

My At the Airport column for USAToday.com this month, Coming soon – if you’re lucky – to an airport near you, features some of the new amenities I saw on exhibit in Philadelphia at the recent conference of Airports Council International – North America, or ACI-NA.

During the conference, workshops were offered on everything from saving energy to dealing with security threats and how to get more passengers to “follow” airports on Twitter. But the real fun was on the exhibition hall floor. There, vendors displayed everything from the latest in airport seating (cup holders and USB plugs, thankfully, seem to be the next big thing) to new, high-tech machinery for shooing wildlife off runways. But here are the amenities I found most intriguing.

Napping nooks

Last year, Minute Suites debuted “sleep rooms” at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Concourse B, next to Gate B15). Each room has a day bed, work desk, complimentary Wi-Fi, a 32” HDTV, and sound masking system tools. The company is opening another branch at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) in March 2011, and is in talks with at least three other airports for more.

Minute Suites airport sleep room

Unique Retreat, another company making napping nooks, should be opening its first branch at San Francisco International Airport before the end of the year in the International Terminal, Boarding Area A.

Cigar lounges

Bahamas-based Graycliff cigars opened boutiques with specially-ventilated cigar lounges attached at Nassau International Airport last November and at Nashville International Airport in March.

Each lounge has an admission fee ($10 in Nassau; $4 in Nashville) and Graycliff reps say they’re exploring setting up this type of smoking lounge at other airports as well.

Eat, buy, play

The Food Network is bidding on several airport locations for themed restaurants that will be called Food Network Kitchens. And ZoomSystems, which makes those oversized airport vending machines (officially: “automated shops”) to sell products from Best Buy, The Body Shop, Sephora and other retailers will soon be installing airport ZoomShops to dispense apparel associated with a major sport.

Skip the cellphone lot; park at the plaza

“Cell phone lots on steroids” is how the folks at Airport Plazas are marketing the service centers they’re planning to build on airport properties but separate from the terminals. Patterned after highway plazas offering fuel and food, these 24-hour service centers might have amenities ranging from a gas station, a food court, a car wash and a convenience store to free Wi-Fi, a pet hotel, a pharmacy and a bank.

The company opened its first airport plaza recently at Newark Liberty International Airport. There, amenities include an environmentally-friendly gas station, a dual-bay car wash, a service station bay and a 7-Eleven convenience store.

Future airport plazas are planned for New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport (Fort Myers) and Utah’s, St. George Municipal Airport.

Sound promising? What should they work on next?

Museum Monday: 75 years at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

October 10, 2010Harriet BaskasAir Travel, Airports, Aviation history, Exhibits, History, Museum Monday, Museums, WeddingsExhibits, Phoenix Sky Habor International Airport, weddings

There are more than 700 aviation and space-related museums in this country. Each Monday we try to profile one of them. Eventually we’ll visit them all.

This week, we’re stopping at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which has an exhibit of photos, videos and historic memorabilia celebrating its 75^th anniversary.

According to airport history notes, the city of Phoenix purchased Sky Harbor Airport on July 16, 1935 for $100,000. That November, a dedication event took place that included speeches, an aerial circus performance and a dinner dance.

The original terminal building, hangar and tower were located on the north side of today’s airport property and at one time a chapel with a bell stood at the entrance of the airport.

Arizona didn’t require a three-day waiting period for couples wanting to get married, so the airport hoped to generate business by having an on-site wedding chapel for couples wanting to tie the knot as soon as possible.

Interested in learning more about the history of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport?

75 Years of Nonstop Service will be on exhibit until March 13, 2011 in the pre-security area of Terminal 3. You can also go online, to Sky Harbor’s History section to watch video clips and read excerpts from research done for the airport’s 50th anniversary.

Souvenir Sunday: Bellingham International Airport

October 10, 2010Harriet BaskasAirport shops, Airports, Art, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, SouvenirsBellingham, Bellingham International Airport, Wa.

Each Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com is Souvenir Sunday, the day we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive and local items for sale at airports.

This week’s souvenirs come from Washington’s Bellingham International Airport, a tiny airport just south of the Canadian border and 90 miles north of Seattle.

Allegiant, Alaska and Horizon airlines have been adding flights to and from this airport at prices that make it worthwhile for many people to skip larger airports in Vancouver and Seattle.

A terminal expansion is about to get underway to accommodate a passenger count that has skyrocketed from 70,000 passengers a year to more than 400,000 in just six years. In the meantime, though, travelers must make do with limited services.

And that means shopping for souvenirs in the tiny all-purpose lobby snack/gift shop.

There’s not much room for much stock over there in the corner, but I found neck pillows sewn by the shop manager’s sister, plenty of souvenir shot glasses, some mugs with northwest Native American designs and, in the under $10 range, hazelnuts and few other local food items.

I have high hopes for the shopping options I might find when the airport completes its expansion.

During this past weekend’s annual Whatcom Artist Studio Tour, I visited some of the great glassworkers, jewelers, painters, carvers, potters, weavers and other artists working in Bellingham and Whatcom County and it would be a great treat to see some of this work on display at the airport.

To find out more know about Bellingham, the “City of Subdued Excitement”, check out this popular video, also made by local artists.

Site visit: Bellingham International Airport (BLI)

October 8, 2010Harriet BaskasAir Travel, Airport shops, Airportsairport growth, Alaska Airlines, Allegant Air, Bellingham International Airport, runways

Bellingham International Airport (BLI) is a tiny little airport just south of Vancouver, B.C. and about 90 miles north of Seattle.

In 2004, about 70,000 passengers boarded planes at this airport.

But then Alaska/Horizon Airlines and Allegiant Air began expanding their flight schedules here.

Now service is offered to cool places such as Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles and, soon, Honolulu – at prices that are competitive with big city airports in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.

So now this three-gate airport is serving closer to 400,000 passengers a year.

And it’s bursting at the seams.

Good thing there’s a major expansion project in the works.

In September, the airport closed down entirely while the runway was upgraded.

By March, Phase I of a major terminal expansion will be completed.

And that will bring the total number of gates to 5.

Art Choat, the airport’s director of aviation, says the airport has no choice but to grow.

But he promises the changes won’t alter the sense of community at this airport, where there’s a collection box for the local food bank at the security checkpoint and a rack of used books for sale at the concession stand.

Museum Monday: Liverpool John Lennon Airport

October 4, 2010Harriet BaskasAirports, Exhibits, Layover, Museum Monday, MuseumsExhibits, John Lennon, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Museum, The Beatles

On Saturday, October 9th, fans around the world will mark what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday.

One place they remember Lennon year-round is at the Liverpool John Lennon Airport:

Outside the airport, they’ve got this Yellow Submarine:

Inside the airport, there’s a statue of John Lennon

Song lyrics written by John Lennon

And even some of this suits:

Souvenir Sunday at Pittsburgh International Airport

October 3, 2010Harriet BaskasAirport shops, Airports, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirshockey puck, Pittsburgh International Airport

Each Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com is Souvenir Sunday – when we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive (under $10) items you can buy at airports.

I found this week’s treats at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT):

This chocolate hockey puck was cute and tasty, but these Steelers stickers – for sale at the airport Rite Aid for just $2.19 – were by far the best deal.

But my favorite item for this week’s Souvenir Sunday has got to be these jars of “Pittsburgh Penguin Poop” candy – another entry in our growing list of “poop” candy sold at airports.

Have you spotted a great souvenir while you were stuck at the airport? If it cost less than $10, is “of” the city or region and is, ideally, a bit offbeat – please take a photo and send it along. Your souvenir may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

Las Vegas Airport contest; Phoenix Airport thank-you

October 2, 2010Harriet BaskasAir Travel, Airlines, Airport shops, Airports, Events, Free Stuff, Fun StuffContest, free flights, Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, mascots, Oakland International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Here’s another reason to pay attention to airports: you could win a free trip. Or at least some free popcorn

Oakland International Airport just announced the winning photos in its What You Do With The Extra Hour Is Up To You photo contest. Three winners won vacations just for sending in photos depicting how they’d spend the extra time they supposedly got by choosing OAK over other airports.

You missed that contest, but to celebrate four years of Korean Air service from McCarran International Airport to Incheon Airport in Seoul, Korea, there’s a contest to give away two sets of round-trip tickets from Las Vegas to Seoul.

First prize is a pair of business class tickets. Second prize: a pair of economy class tickets. Enter here. Deadline is December 8, 2010.

Next week is National Customer Service Week, so on Tuesday, October 5^th, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is having its 2^nd annual Customer Appreciation Day.

The airport’s mascot, Amelia the Airplane, and Paradise Bakery’s giant cookie mascot will be on hand to greet travelers and pose for photos. And many of the shops, restaurants and rental car outlets will be handing out small gifts ranging from stickers, magnets and beanie babies to food samples and bags of popcorn.