Entertainment

Holiday discounts & diversions at US airports

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Here’s my ‘bonus’ At the Airport column on USAToday.com this week: a round-up of some of the holiday entertainment and special offers at airports this holiday season.

Even if everything goes according to schedule, getting to and through the airport can be a real headache during the hectic holiday travel season.To ease the stress and help keep passengers in good spirits, many airports offer holiday entertainment, promotions and contests as well as discount offers at shops and restaurants throughout the terminals.

Here’s a taste of what’s on tap for this holiday season.

The LAX TSA choir - really!

 

For more, keep your smartphone handy when you travel: Many performances and special offers are still rolling out on airport websites and some events are being posted exclusively on airport Facebook pages and Twitter feeds.

Prizes and promotions

This year it may pay to save some cash – and room in your carry-on – for last-minute holiday shopping at the airport.

San Antonio International Airport’s (SAT) coupon campaign is available online and will be printed on boarding passes. Those with smartphones need only show the coupon on their phones to a participating vendor to use the offer. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is also offering discounts to travelers who use their smartphones to scan barcodes on signs throughout the airport.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport’s Holiday edition of the Eat, Shop, Relax guide runs through December 31 and includes more than 80 coupons for some of MSP’s most popular restaurants, shops and services.

At New York’s LaGuardia Airport, travelers can print out or download a coupon good through January 2, 2012 for 20% off an item in a participating store or restaurant in the Central Terminal Food & Shops program.

And, as part of one of the holiday promotions taking place at Boston Logan International Airport this season, travelers are invited to write and submit a letter to Santa in the St. Nick Send Me to St. Thomas contest, which has as first prize a trip for four to St. Thomas.

Decorations, music and more

Most airports have holiday decorations strung up, but Fresno Yosemite International Airport is once again hosting a display of eleven uniquely decorated Christmas trees. This year’s theme is “An Airport Christmas…non-stop adventure” and each tree will be decorated to highlight one of the airport’s non-stop destinations.

At the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, “the holiday decorations are up and the children will be singing and dancing,” reports airport spokesperson Allan Siegel. The airport is getting ready to host its 23nd Annual Winter Festival of Music. From December 12 through December 16th, more than 1,200 children from various Broward County elementary, middle and high schools will be performing throughout the airport terminals.

The seasonal Choral Concert Program is already underway at Pittsburgh International Airport. Performances take place on the pre-security ticketing level of the Landside Terminal and feature choirs and orchestras from local schools and community groups and runs through December 22nd. A series of early morning (6:30 am to 8:30 am) piano concerts continues through December 30th.

TSA spokesperson Nico Melendez confirms that at Los Angeles International Airport, the LAX TSA choir is scheduled to perform December 20th at Terminal 4 and December 22nd in the public area of the international terminal.

Appearances by Santa are expected at a several airports, including Philadelphia International Airport, where Santa will be strolling through the airport and stopping to pose for pictures through Christmas Eve. PHL also promises passengers Victorian carolers, visits from Philadelphia’s famous Mummers, music performances, dance troupes and other entertainment.

Karaoke at the Houston Airport

Nashville International Airport will fill five stages with holiday-themed performances by the Cremona Strings Ensemble, the Pattie Cossentino Jazz Quartet, The Nashtones, Freeplay, The Billie Gaines Band and others through December 22nd and, each Wednesday and Friday through December 23rd, San Francisco International Airport’s ‘You are Hear’ program will be offering holiday-entertainment at stages located post-security in Terminals 2 and 3 and pre-security in the International Terminal. On Friday, December 23rd, the Golden Gate Bell Ringers return for a performance in the International Terminal.

At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, a storybook-costumed character will read to children at the Red Balloon Bookshop (near Gate C12) December 22-23 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., on the hour and half-hour.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, which offers 15 live music performances each week throughout the year, has a holiday festival line-up (December 19 through 22) that includes Bishop Sterling Lands, the Judy Lee Dancers (tap-dancers 60 and older), the Austin Jazz Workshop and the Austin Square & Round Dancers.

Passengers (and some airport employees) will help provide the entertainment this year at two airports: Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport opens the mikes for airport karaoke on December 19th and Detroit Metro Airport’s karaoke event takes place December 19-22. “It’s been a big hit in past years, and we look forward to another great week of filling the concourse with the talent of travelers and airport team members while also collecting contributions for a great cause! [the Salvation Army],” said airport spokesperson Scott Wintner.

And, beginning at 6 am on December 23rd, travelers will be serenaded by the Full Measure Carolers and the Rockin’ Cranberries at the San Diego International Airport.

Musical help for Thanksgiving travel

Air Travel, Entertainment, , ,

Are you traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday?

You certainly won’t be alone.

And, at many airports, you won’t be bored.

That’s because a full schedule of holiday music, entertainment and special events is scheduled to take place in terminals and concourses around the country.

One example:

San Francisco International Airport’s You Are Hear series, kicks off Wednesday, November 23rd, with performances from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in three different spots in the airport: Bart Davenport, a pop & soul singer/songwriter, will be in Terminal 1; the Nice Guy Trio will perform jazz and world music in Terminal 2; and the Del Sol Quartet will offer new classical music in the International Terminal.

Not traveling to or though SFO? Many other airports are offering holiday entertainment, shopping promotions, free gift wrapping and other events as well. Check your airport’s website, or check back here for more listings throughout the week.

 

 

Disney World is 40; Orlando Int’l Airport is 30

Entertainment, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff,

Central Florida’s Walt Disney World turns 40 on October 1 and on the Disney blog there’s a cool infographic offering a timeline of Walt Disney World Resort and a list of the special events that will take place to mark the anniversary.

Here’s a clip from an early press conference announcing Walt Disney World.

There’s another party taking place in central Florida this weekend. On Sunday, October 2nd, Orlando International Airport is having a Community Day to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

There will be plenty of music and lots of character appearances, including Shamu from Sea World, Miss Kitty from Hello Kitty, Duffy the Bear from Disney, The Astronaut from the Kennedy Space Center and Woody and Winnie Woodpecker from Universal Studios.

A live Alligator from Gatorland will make an appearance as will the Kanani Nicdao Polynesian Dance Group.

Sound like fun? All events at the airport – including parking – are free.
Tickets to Disney World are definitely not free – but you can see the fireworks for free from the top level of the parking garage at the airport.

Travel: Does the “Pan Am” TV version reflect real life?

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If you watched the Sunday night premiere of “Pan Am,” you might be wondering if the idyllic version of 1960s air travel matches the reality of those who worked for the iconic airline.

Msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin wondered, too. So I asked two former Pan Am flight attendants to watch the show and tell me if their experiences were anything like those portrayed on-screen.


Bronwen Roberts in a 1958 Pan Am graduation photo.

Bronwen Roberts was hired at Pan Am in 1958 shortly after graduating England’s University of Leeds with a degree in French. She flew until 1989 and kept in a scrapbook the advertisement listing the 15 qualifications required of flight attendant applicants. “You had to have a pleasant personality and speaking voice, excellent health and you had to be single,” said Roberts. “Really single. Not widowed, divorced or separated.”

A weight between 110 and 135 pounds was another qualification. Roberts said the pre-flight weigh-ins and grooming inspections depicted on the show were true-to-life.

“When you checked in for a flight you’d go into the office and there’d be a grooming supervisor on duty all the time,” said Roberts. “She could say, ‘Your hair is too long’ or ‘You are overweight’ and send you home until you fixed it. Just like the TV show, you could get grounded for uniform violations.”

Helen Davey also found the on-screen grooming checks familiar. Now a psychotherapist in Los Angeles, she was hired as a Pan Am flight attendant in 1965 at age 21 and flew until 1986.


Helen Davey in an undated photo from her days as a Pan Am flight attendant.

“Yes, we had to wear girdles,” said Davey. “And if you were one minute late for a trip, they’d send you home.”

In the first episode, a child is escorted into the cockpit mid-flight to visit the pilots. Passengers are also offered ashtrays so they can smoke. Roberts and Davey both said that those in-flight activities were once very common.

“We definitely took children into the cockpit so they could sit in the pilot’s seat,” said Roberts. “And in terms of smoking, we’d have little packets of cigarettes and matches that we’d go around with.”

“Even flight attendants could smoke,” added Davey. “But when they did, they had to be sitting down.”

In the episode (spoiler alert), two of the flight attendants are shown doing work for the CIA. If this seems like the least plausible story line, Roberts and Davey both said it was realistic.

“That is definitely a true story,” said Roberts, who during her tenure heard rumors that at least one flight attendant was involved with the CIA. “At one point she just disappeared. No one knew what happened to her.”

In fact, Nancy Hult Ganis, an executive producer for the show and a former Pan Am flight attendant, told wired.com that her research turned up stories about the airline’s involvement with State Department operations on behind-the-scene missions in dangerous locations.

The TV program also shows flight attendants with plenty of time to chit-chat, and at least one crew member involved in an off-duty affair with a passenger.

“Some of those flights were quite long – 15 or 20 hours – and there were fewer people, so you could get to know them,” said Roberts. “People weren’t glued to their laptops like they are now. And some people did end up marrying passengers they met on flights.”

Roberts and Davey had only a few quibbles with the first episode. Both said their uniforms were a warmer, more subdued shade of blue than those worn by the TV actresses and that flight attendants in their day would never be allowed to have hair touching their shoulders.

But there’s one moment that Davey said was spot on. “I liked the scene when they were ready for take-off and one flight attendant says to the new hire, ‘Buckle up. Adventure calls.’ That’s how it was. We all thought we had lucked into the best job into the world.”

Will in-flight Wi-Fi kill seat-back entertainment?

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(From my post earlier this week for msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin)

 

On the ground, the Internet, Wi-Fi and portable mobile devices have completely transformed everything from shopping, working and dating to how we get our news and entertainment. But what about off the ground?

One of the last spaces yet to be completely changed by the Internet is the airline cabin, where in-flight entertainment systems with content controlled by the airline and delivered on seatback screens are still the norm.

But now that in-flight Wi-Fi is fast becoming ubiquitous and affordable — in some cases, free — and as an increasing number of people travel with their own mobile devices, many predict seatback systems will soon go the way of LPs, cassette tapes and film cameras.

“Connectivity will destroy the walled garden,” said Greg Dicum, co-founder and president of MondoWindo, a company that provides web-based, location-aware content to passengers traveling on Wi-Fi equipped planes. “I see no seatback systems on new planes in five years. Especially not on planes flying heavily traveled routes less than five hours in North America, Europe and Asia.

Dicum made his comments at the 2011 Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Expo in Seattle.

“It’s going to be harder to compete,” he said. People with their own devices who can get to a browser are going to be able to get much better content. And I, for one, would rather have the airline carry my bag or give me some legroom than buy me talking dog movies I have no intention of viewing.”

In an exhibition hall filled with scores  of companies selling the latest in in-flight entertainment equipment and content, few agreed with Dicum’s declarations.

“It may happen. It probably will happen, but so far it’s not happening,” said Adrian Lambert, the head of marketing for IFE Services, a provider of in-flight entertainment. “Airlines moves quite slowly.”

“Yes, more people will bring their own devices, but are my mom and dad going to take an iPod or iTouch with them on vacation?” said Christopher Mondragon, senior manager, design and brand development for Thales Avionics, a provider of in-flight entertainment and connectivity systems.

As he demonstrated one of the company’s latest products — a screen that can be operated by gestures instead of a touchpad — and shared details about the company’s experiments with 3-D programming, he added, “I think it’s going to be more about merging technologies, being innovative and providing a unique experience to any age group.”

What do you think?  WILL in-fight Wi-Fi made seat-back entertainment systems on airplanes obsolete?

 

Stuck at the airport? Smart Money banks on fun

Art, Entertainment, Exhibits, Fun Stuff, , , , , ,

In response to my At the Airport column in USATODAY.com last week: How the airport experience has changed since 9/11, I got a couple of calls from folks at Smart Money who were also pondering then and now changes.

Quentin Fottrell, one of Smart Money’s Pay Dirt bloggers, wanted to know if there was anything fun to do at airports.

I put down my coffee and rattled off some of my faves, starting with the Chinese, Japanese and Hawaiian gardens at Honolulu International Airport.

 

Based on our chat, here’s how Fottrell wrote up the five other airport diversions we talked about for his Pay Dirt post:

 

“Palm Beach International Airport: Practice Your Golf

Operated by hospitality firm HMS Host, the airport provides an indoor putting green and, for $3, you can walk away with a souvenir golf ball.

Boston Logan Airport: Make Your Own Sundae

The MooBella vending machine makes Sundaes in 30 seconds. You can choose from 12 flavors on the touch screen. They’re at Terminal C near the Back Bay Café and Lean & Green food store.

Chicago O’Hare International Airport: Workout at the Gym

For $15, take a workout in the Hilton Hotel gym, which is attached to the airport, or relax in the sauna and steam room, or have a dip in the pool. AirportGyms.com has details of similar offers.

San Francisco International Airport: Visit the Museum

On Level 3 of the International Terminal, there are free exhibitions on vintage televisions and a photography exhibition on the San Francisco Seals Baseball Team from 1903-1957.

Portland International Airport: Take Your Bike Apart

After you’ve taken the cycle track to this airport, you can use the tools and facilities at this area near the Lower Terminal roadway to take apart your bike so you can bring it on the airplane.”

Thanks, Quentin!

Amsterdam Airport gets a 6D theater

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Amsterdam Schiphol Airport already has a casino, a library, an indoor/outdoor park, a museum and plenty of great shopping and dining options. A floating bus tour  – the Floating Dutchman – recently began offering a city tour beginning at the airport as well.

Now the airport has opened the first 6D XD theater in an airport.

Located in the pre-security Schiphol Plaza, across from the Meeting Point, the XD theater puts visitors in special motion-based seats that offer “rides” that includes sound, wind and lighting effects.

The journey is pretty short, just four or five minutes per film, but there are currently three films to choose from:  Canyon Coaster, which goes through canyons and mines of the Wild West, Jett & Jinn, which features a little boy and his cat flying through the city and Snowride, a thrill ride across snow-covered ski slopes.

The XD Theatre, is located at Schiphol Plaza across from the Meeting Point. You must be age five or over to ride. Admission: 6 EURO – about $8.

Here’s a sample.

Painting dancer at San Diego Airport

Art, Entertainment, Events, , ,

If you’re near San Diego International Airport mid-day on Friday, September 2, 2011, make your way to the pre-security area of International arrivals in Terminal 2 east.

From 12:45 –1:45pm there will be a live painting and dance performance called The Traveler by Silfredo La O.

Here’s a short video that shows how he does indeed create a painting with dance.

The performance includes narration by T. Ford of Black Storytellers of San Diego and accompaniment by percussionist Yiriba of Teye Sa Thiosanne of African Drum and Dance Co.

The event celebrates Arts Month San Diego and the ART SAN DIEGO Contemporary Art Fair, which begins on September 1.

Free WiFi – and more – at Spokane Int’l Airport

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Well, here’s an airport moving in the right direction.

Washington’s Spokane International Airport, which serves about 3 million passengers a year, is now offering travelers free Wi-Fi (well, for 20 minutes..) inside the Terminal Building and, starting in September, will be providing baggage carts at no charge.

“In today’s climate, people are unhappy with the pricing models of air travel companies and are suffering from declines in customer service,” said airport director Lawrence Krauter.
“This is just the beginning of our commitment to explore new ways to provide greater customer satisfaction at Spokane International Airport.”

Just the beginning? Wonder what will come next? Maybe a circus, like the one offered each year at Dusseldorf International Airport. Or a miniature golf course, like they have at Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport.

After all, this is the airport that serves as the gateway for the Spokane Fantasy Flight to the North Pole each December for 60 kids and their elf escorts – so you know they know how to have a good time.

Floating bus tours now operating at Schiphol Airport

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In July, StuckatTheAirport.com and many other outlets shared news of the Floating Dutchman tours being offered at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

Well, we all jumped the gun. The service was supposed to kick off in July, but was delayed for about a month waiting for paperwork to fall into place for marine and road licenses.

Now everything seems to be in order and this week the first paying customers were able to climb on board.

Here’s my Floating Dutchman story from msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin:

If you’ve got a long layover between flights, your choices at most airports are to eat, drink, shop or attempt to nap while sitting up − and without drooling.

But passengers with at least five hours to wait at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport now have a new, entertaining and amphibious option.

On Wednesday, after a month-long delay, the Floating Dutchman welcomed aboard its first paying customers. The service is a cross between a bus and a boat and drives tourists from the airport to the city, enters the water at a specially-built ‘Splash Zone’ to give passengers a floating canal tour and then returns, via the highway, to the airport.

Speaking to Overhead Bin during the canal tour portion of the tour on Thursday, Annette Fatael of Toronto, Canada, said: “We have a nine-hour layover on our way from Toronto to Tel Aviv and chose this from several tours offered at the airport. It’s a huge tour bus and it was hard to believe that it was going to go into the water.”

Floating Dutchman Amsterdam

The amphibious bus carries 48 passengers, cruises the canals on battery power and is a partnership between the airport, the city of Amsterdam and a local cruise company.

The swimming boat concept is much like the Duck Tours offered in many U.S. cities. “But our floating is different because it is a luxury touring car and a fully equipped boat,” said Freek Vermeulen, managing director of Great Amsterdam Excursions. “We have a license plate and a marine certificate, so we can go everywhere. Duck Tours often use old army vehicles, are very noisy and only have permission to operate on a certain route.”

Tours last two hours and 45 minutes and are offered three times a day. Tickets cost about $56 (39 Euros) for adults and about $28 (19.50 Euros) for children. Booking online offers a 10 percent discount.

“It may prove to be one of the best ways to explore Amsterdam during a connection,” Cristian Petre of Romania wrote in the Flying Dutchman guestbook after the first day of tours on Wednesday. “We’ve now got an idea what the city is about and would return for more exploring,” noted the Kireta family of Australia.

It’s not as if Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is such a terrible place to spend a long layover. To serve the 40 percent of passengers making connections through Schiphol, the airport offers amenities that include a casino, in-terminal hotels, a library, more than 100 shops and restaurants and an outdoor observation deck. There’s also a park (with trees) inside the terminal and a branch of the Rijksmuseum.

A few other airports, including Incheon in Seoul, South Korea, and Hong Kong International Airport also offer transit passengers organized city tours. Singapore’s Changi Airport offers complimentary tours of the city. Turkish Airlines passengers stopping over at Istanbul Airport also receive free tours.