Celebrities

Souvenir Sunday: Amelia Earhart luggage

Air Travel, aviation, Aviation history, Baggage, Celebrities, Exhibits, History, Museums, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs, , ,

Earlier this week, while waiting for Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger’s presentation at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, I spent some time in the Amelia Earhart exhibit.  And while I don’t think I’ll take up flying my own plane anytime soon, I keep thinking about getting some new luggage.

Amelia Earhart endorsed a long list of products ranging from cars, cigarettes and clothing to what one press release described as nothing less than “the first truly practical and genuine airplane luggage.”

Earhart may have disappeared in 1937, but it appears a line of luggage bearing her name was produced well into the 1990’s.   And while I haven’t come upon anything from that line in the thrift stores near me, I did poke around the Museum of Flight gift shop to see if I could find something under $10 and “Amelia” for today’s Souvenir Sunday feature.

The only items that fit the bill were a few young adults books, including this one from the National Geographic Children’s Books series that includes photos, quotes from Earhart’s writings, theories about how she vanished, and maps of the route she followed on her last flight.

Capt. Sullenberger and Amelia Earhart at the Museum of Flight

Air traffic control, Air Travel, aviation, Aviation history, Celebrities, Exhibits, History, , ,

Monday evening I was fortunate to be in the audience at Seattle’s Museum of Flight for a  presentation by the recently retired Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the now-legendary pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 who was able to successfully land a plane in New York City’s Hudson River.

He began the evening by showing the NTSB’s animated version of the US Airways 1549 flight path (below) and then went on to talk a bit about his family, his upbringing, his training as a pilot, the importance of preparation and teamwork, and his philosophy of work and life. After he was done, some of the kids in the audience got to ask a few questions as did some of the aviation geeks from our high-tech community.

(Here’s a link to a more detailed report on the evening by SeattlePI.com aerospace reporter Aubrey Cohen)

Before Captain Sullenberger’s speech, I spent some time in the Amelia Earhart exhibit, which will be at the museum until May, 2010. In addition to photo panels and film clips telling Ms. Earhart’s life story, there’s a section showing some of the products she endorsed to help pay the bills, including Amelia Earhart luggage and Lucky Strike cigarettes.

All in all, quite an inspiring evening.

Connection conundrum: SFO or LAX?

Celebrities, Entertainment, , , , , , , ,

If you’re traveling to or from New Zealand or Australia, you’ll have a make a connection in California at either LAX or SFO.

San Francisco would like you to make your connection through San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and has kicked off the “I Wanna Go Through SFO” campaign to urge folks to consciously make the choice to connect through SFO rather than LAX. The campaign includes this sort of cute video, which includes cameos by Mayor Gavin Newsom and the iconic SF Twins and lines like “…there’s the bad airport and then there’s San Franscisco International Airport.”

OK, LA. Let’s see what’s you’ve got!

Alaska Airlines unveils an Apolo Ohno plane

Air Travel, Celebrities, Fun Stuff, Sports, , ,

Alaska Air Apolo Ono

Seattle is pretty proud of Apolo Anton Ohno, who began his speed-skating career here when he was just 14 and went on to win numerous world and national championships and five Olympic medals.  (Oh yeah, he was also on the Dancing with the Stars TV show.)

Now he’s getting ready for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics games.

To cheer him on, Alaska Airlines has painted one of its Boeing 737-800 with a giant image of Ohno and, during the unveiling yesterday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, handed out Ohno trading card, copies of Ohno’s signature bandana, and press-on faux facial hair (in honor of Ohno’s infamous “soul patch.”) .

Sadly, I missed that gala event, but like everyone else I can now “Follow Apolo” on a special web site that will track his progress.

Alaska Airlines big OHNO

Tidbits for Travelers: Music at MIA, Power at SAN, celebrities at ORH

Celebrities, Music, Wi-Fi, , , ,

MUSIC AT MIA

MIA

If you’re traveling through Miami International Airport (MIA) between now and September 21 and have some time to hang around, head on over to the South Terminal.  Afternoons, between 1 and 4 pm, there will be a steel drum band on Concourse H and piano music in the food court between Concourses H and J.

Power at SAN

SAN SOCKET

At San Diego International Airport (SAN), where there’s free Wi-Fi all the time,  there are now some new chairs with built-in electrical sockets in the Southwest Airlines boarding areas of Terminal 1 and upstairs, in Terminal 2 West.

Star power at ORH

And, according to this article, the mostly unused airport in Worcester, Massachusetts is going to be used to film some scenes for a movie starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.  A great use for an empty airport!

Tom Cruise

Pussycat Dolls visit Changi Airport

Celebrities, Music,

Not a big Pussycat Dolls fan myself, but this was probably a scene:

The Pussycat Dolls (PCD to their fans…), in Singapore as part of their current tour, did a meet-and-greet event at Changi Airport on Wednesday, greeting fans and taking pictures with them.

changi-pcd-ears

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport apparently host these sorts of events fairly often. Previous celebrity sessions have featured Air Supply, Mötley Crüe, Jay Chou, Backstreet Boys, Bollywood superstars and top golfer Annika Sorenstam.

Montreal celebrates 40th anniversary of John and Yoko’s bed-in for peace

Celebrities, Events, Museums, Music, , , , ,

Officially, I went to Montréal to report on what airport representatives are talking about at their annual marketing and communications conference.  And I will.

But today, I’m hanging out at the hotel called Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, which hosted John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s bed-in for peace forty years ago.

lennon3

“JoYoko,” as the concierge up on the 19th floor calls them, checked in to suite 1742 on May 26th, 1969 and checked out on June 2nd, a week later.  Their bed-in grabbed worldwide attention and culminated with the recording of the now iconic song Give Peace A Chance on June 1st.

John Lennon wrote the song on the spur of the moment and the suite was turned into a makeshift recording studio with 50 or so people crowded in for the recording,  including celebrities such as Tommy Smothers and Petula Clark.

lennon-lyrics1

Guests can still rent the John Lennon Suite and although the furniture has been replaced several times, hotel officials say those who stay in the room often insist there’s still “a mystical aura” in the room.  Maybe that’s because the walls of the living room and the bedroom are covered with all sorts of memorabilia from the event, including newspaper articles, framed gold records of Give Peace A Chance with music and lyrics, and pictures of JoYoko.

I didn’t get a chance to visit the suite on this trip (it was booked long ago) but I did go see the memorabilia-laden Imagine exhibition documenting the week-long peace protest that’s on view at the nearby Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (admission is free through June 21st, 2009) and  housekeeping notes from John and Yoko’s stay at The Queen Elizabeth.

lennon-housekeeping-notes1

Penn & Teller take on the TSA

Celebrities, Security,

Like many travelers, the infamous, eccentric, libertarian-leaning magicians known as Penn & Teller have a gripe with airport security. Not with the people who work for the TSA, but with the idea OF the TSA.

And while the average traveler can just complain about the security checkpoint experience, Penn & Teller make it part of their Las Vegas show.

penn-teller-red1

In my recent USATODAY.com column, Penn & Teller put airport security to the test, learn how they use magic and a TSA-style metal detector, fire, a shovel, and a showgirl to make a point about the Fourth Amendment, the section of the Bill of Rights that addresses unreasonable searches and seizures.

According Penn Jillette, the taller, more talkative (on stage) member of the team, “The bit is essentially comparing magicians, who earn their living by doing things that are sneaky and disingenuous, with bad people who do things that are sneaky and disingenuous…and if two goofball magicians can  slip this stuff by… then what could a really bad person do?”

Alanis Morissette clips toenails on airplane

Celebrities, Energy, Environment, Etiquette,

Celebrities are joining in to promote Earth Hour, March 28th, and Alanis Morissette – and her toenails – star in this PSA about the event.

I include it here on the Stuck at the Airport blog because, to promote the big “turn off” day, Morissette is shown clipping her toenails in her airplane seat – to the shock and dismay of her seatmate.

Earth Hour: The Huge Turn Off- Alanis Morissette PSA

Celebrate sweater day at Pittsburgh Int’l Airport

Art, Celebrities, ,

Today, March 20th, is the birthday of the late Fred Rogers, the much beloved main character of the long running public TV show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

pit-mr-rogers-update

Rogers was as well-known for his button down sweater as he was for his neighborliness, and so on March 20th the new tradition is for neighborly folks everywhere to wear a sweater in his honor.

A great place to show off your sweater is at the Pittsburgh International Airport, where the recently refurbished exhibit about Mr. Rogers and the characters from the neighborhood are on display.