Like these guys, no one is traveling anywhere right now.
But there are still fun things to do.
Neon Museum Las Vegas – photo Harriet Baskas
The Neon Museum in Las Vegas has a colorful app on its website that will take you on a tour of its Neon Boneyard. (Password: Neon)
And while Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London is closed due to the Covid-19 crisis, the theater is rolling out a long list of free online performances.
We have some exciting news to bring you this Monday as we’ve been exploring even more ways to share digital joy and wonder with you, our extended Globe family ⭕ pic.twitter.com/Kcx6ZPXJBH
‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ (2013), from May 4-17;
‘The Winter’s Tale’ (2018), from May 18-31;
‘The Two Noble Kinsmen’ (2018), June 1-14 and;
‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ (2019), June 15-28
The free streamed performances will also include productions from the 2021 ‘Globe to Globe‘ series that included Shakespeare plays performed in a variety of languages.
What’s more, our 2012 #GlobetoGlobe Festival productions, which saw artists from all over the world explore Shakespeare’s works in their own language in our wooden O, will also be freely available on #GlobePlayer. pic.twitter.com/ruIoJLy7VV
Before spitting out real baggage, the bag carousel dispensed gift boxes with restaurant gift cards, socks, water tumblers, earbuds, holiday snacks, and more.
The party didn’t stop there.
Other travelers could visit the hot chocolate bar, snack on Graeter’s ice cream samples, and listen to carolers from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.
And check out this gift-delivering Grinch.
And it looks like other airports have the same idea this holiday season.
Here’s a tweet from the Krakow Airport, showing gift bags arriving for passengers at the bag claim as well.
Twitter won't translate this for me – but these look like gifts for travelers on the bag claim belt? https://t.co/bH11Sw2mqL
Gate pass program at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International
Airport
As promised,
the Louis Armstrong New Orleans
International Airport (MSY) is joining the list of airports that invite and
allow non-ticketed guests airside, past security to shop, dine, listen to live
music and spend more time with friends and family leaving for trips or coming
home.
The free MSY Guest Pass program kicks off December
4 and will be available seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. MSY officials say the airport will issue no more
than 50 passes on weekdays and no more than 100 passes each Saturday and Sunday.
Anyone seeking
an MSY Guest Pass will need to sign up 24 hours in advance and provide their
full name, date of birth and contact information. Visitors under 18 will need
to be accompanied by an adult.
Pass holders must
still pass through the security checkpoint and all pass holders will be limited
to one visit per month.
Leah’s Kitchen at MSY
MSY is justifiably proud of its shiny new terminal, which has branches of local shops such as Dirty Coast and Fleurty Girl and restaurants from award-winning chefs, including Emeril Lagasse, John Folse, Michael Gullotta, Susan Spicer, and the late Leah Chase and her family.
We expect more airports to join this trend, but for now just a few other airports offer gate passes to non-ticketed guests: Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) has the MyPITpass program and Tampa International Airport (TPA) offers an All Access gate pass program.
The rink opens will be open through January 20 and is in the pre-security area on the DEN Plaza between the airport terminal and the Westin hotel. Skate rentals will also be free.
Hours:
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily through January 20, 2020. As a bonus, on Friday
afternoons there will be hot chocolate, hot cider and a variety of winter
activities, including live entertainment.
More
airport ice-skating
The TWA Hotel, across the road from the
JetBlue terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport will also be setting
up an ice-skating rink.
This rink opens November 30 adjacent to the hotel’s 1958 Lockheed Constellation Connie airplane-turned-cocktail lounge and will stay open through February.
Free skating shows are planned, but if you want to get out on the ice admission will be $15 for adults and $10 for kids under 12. Skate rentals will be $10; $8 for kids under 12. Hours: Monday to Thursday 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Even more airport ice-skating
If you find yourself at Germany’s Munich International Airport this
holiday season, you’ll find free ice-skating (and a curling rink) too.
For the 21st year, the large roofed open space between Terminals 1 and 2 at Munich Airport has been transformed into a winter wonderland, with a winter market, more than 45 Christmas trees, live music, activities for kids and adults, a pine forest and a free ice-skating rink. Skates can be rented for a small fee.
Germany’s Dusseldorf Airport has ice-skating too.
“Airport on Ice“ offers passengers and visitors free ice-skating from November 30 until January 5. Skate rental is also free. Hours: Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays: 11 am to 7 pm.
Free short stories
The list of airports where hurried passengers can pick up a free short story is growing.
The dispensers, by French Company Short Edition, are slim kiosks that invite curious readers to push a button to request a short story that will take an estimated one minute, 3-minutes or 5-minutes to read. Stories print out on eco-friendly paper and there’s an option to request kid-friendly stories.
Colorado has a robust craft brewing scene and there are
plenty of places to order a local or regionally brewed beer at Denver
International Airport (DEN).
The airport even has a Beer Passport you can use to score a
free pint.
Here’s how it works:
Pick up a beer passport at an airport information booth or at
one of the four participating airport brewpubs, which include: the Tivoli
Brewery (pre-security inside Tom’s Urban); Breckenridge Brewery (Concourse A,
by Gate A71); New Belgium Brewery (Concourse B, by Gate B30); Great Divide
Brewing Co. (Concourse C; by Gate C32).
Order a beer at each of the four brewpubs and be sure to get
your passport stamped when you order.
Once you have all four stamps, swap the passport for a free pint at any of the participating breweries.
No need to drink all four beers in one airport visit: the free Beer Passport program runs through April 1, 2020.
At Nashville International Airport (BNA) your beer crawl can score you a free beer koozie.
Introducing the BNA Beer Crawl Here's how it works: 1. Visit all three beer kiosks at BNA 2. Take a photo of the finished card with a punch from each location 3. Post the photo on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and tag BNA. 4. We’ll mail you a free BNA koozie! pic.twitter.com/9QR7umbO1U
More than 70 airports around the country now have
programs that invite certified therapy animals and their owners into the
terminals to hang out with and help de-stress travelers.
Dogs make up the bulk of the animal team members but
there are a few exceptions, including Stiches, an 11-year-old, 13-pound
mixed-breed cat that recently joined the Animal Ambassador program at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
(MSP).
Boston Logan International (BOS) is serious about its
commitment to reduce congestion and encourage passengers not to drive to the
airport.
Their latest incentive is as creative as it is unusual and fun.
Passengers who take a ferry operated by the Massachusetts
Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) or commercial water taxi service to the
Logan Airport Boat dock are given an orange “Ticket
to Skip” pass when they board the free Logan Airport shuttle from the dock
to the terminals. Passengers can then
give that orange pass to a security checkpoint officer to get preferred lane
access and move ahead of the line.
The MBTA ferry and the water taxis run year-round and serve
the Boston waterfront as well as the nearby Hingham and Hull communities.
More airports add gate pass programs
At first it sounds counter-intuitive: why
would someone who is not flying want to go through the security checkpoint
hassles just to hang out inside an airport?
Especially during the holidays.
But it can be a real bonus if you want to have
a send-off meal or drink with a friend or family member, accompany them to
their gate or be there to greet them when they step off their flight.
Through the holiday season (until January 5,
2020) Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) is
testing the DTW Destination Pass program. The program invites non-flying guests
to apply for day passes to visit the airport. Passes are issued for both DTW terminals,
Tuesday through Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Two other airports, Pittsburg International Airport (PIT) and Tampa International airport (TPA) have permanent gate pass programs in place.
The number of passes issued each day is limited at each airport, but on December 7, Pittsburgh International is inviting the community to come by for a Holiday Open House, which will include dining and shopping specials, live music and other entertainment and, of course, visits with Santa.
And officials at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) promise that a 7-day a week gate pass program will be rolled out “in the coming weeks” for the brand new MSY terminal.
It’s only Monday, but we may already have a nomination for Airport Amenity of the Week.
Especially if you’re a fan of Star Wars and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Passengers traveling through Orlando International Airport (MCO) will find that some of the tram shuttle stations are now decorated to evoke Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the new 14-acre land inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
Arriving passengers getting ready to board the shuttles for the airport’s Main Terminal will see life-size depictions of characters and scenes from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
One scene creates a dimensional landscape that feels as if visitors are standing inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. They’ll see the iconic Millennium Falcon and other landmarks from the new amusement park land.
In another scene, it will appear to passengers as if First Order Stormtroopers are waiting to step off the shuttle as the train arrives in the station.
Make way…
There’s more.
At the Magic of Disney store located inside the main terminal in the pre-security West Hall, there’s now a fun new photo op location featuring droids from the Star Wars galaxy.
And when the airport’s second Magic of Disney store reopens on November 22 in the Main Terminal East Hall, an exterior wall will feature a 36-foot-long video screen showing scenes from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Should we just go ahead and make this the Airport Amenity of the Week?
Today, November 1, the airport is marking Dia de los Muertos (the “Day of the Dead”) by inviting the San Diego Guild of Puppetry and their larger-than-life, 10-foot-tall puppets back for a giant puppet parade.
The parade takes place today from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. in the pre-security baggage claim area of Terminal 2.
The San Diego Guild of Puppetry has been creating large-scale puppet parades in the community since 2004 and its Dia de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”) figurines are the creations of Felix Diaz, his family, and his students.
Puppets in the Day of the Dead parade at SAN will include versions of skulls, skeletons and butterflies, which represent the spirits of the departed returning to join their families for the celebration.
On Monday, a Burning Man art exhibition and therapy dogs dressed in costumes will welcome arriving burners.
Local volunteers and airport docents
(perhaps in costumes as well) will be on site to help with information about
and directions to the Playa.
And airport shops will be stocked with Burning Man essentials such as water, snacks, camping equipment and apparel.
The airport is also prepping for when the Burners leave.
Everything that comes back from the festival site will be covered with dust from the Playa that can ruin the baggage systems. So airlines are ready with rolls of large plastic bags to cover suitcases and anything else Burners will need to check in and take home.
Celebrations are
already underway to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon
landing and the first steps taken by humans on the moon.
July 20 is the official anniversary day, but United Airlines and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport are among the groups that have a planned more than a month’s worth of activities to mark the lunar milestone.
Win a seat on a
special United Airlines celebration flight
Top among the events
is a special flight from Newark to Houston on July 17, the anniversary of the day astronauts Neil
Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Buzz Aldrin made their first TV
transmission from Earth to space.
On that day, United Flight 355 from Newark Liberty International Airport to Houston will be a celebratory flight with space-themed entertainment, inflight gifts and special guests who have been to space.
Want to go along? United is hosting a social media contest on Twitter with a prize that includes seats on board the Apollo 11 celebration flight as well as a behind the scenes tour of NASA facilities in Houston. Deadline to enter is June 22, 2019 at 10:29 a.m. CT.
Mission: Space City is a go! Retweet for a chance to win 2 tickets on our special flight to Houston and a behind-the-scenes tour of @NASA_Johnson & @SpaceCenterHou in celebration of Apollo 11's 50th anniversary.
Beginning July 1, members of United’s Mileage Plus mileage program can bid miles on space-themed experiences such as VIP access to Space Center Houston’s Apollo 11 50thAnniversary Celebration featuring the band Walk the Moon. More information on that here.
Courtesy NASA
No contest entry needed
for these Apollo 11 activities:
There’s more: Starting
July 1, seatback and personal device entertainment on United flights will
include a channel with dedicated space-related program from NASA, including
action cam footage of astronaut spacewalks.
In United’s Terminal C and E at George Bush
Intercontinental Airport (IAH), there are lots of activities planned as well:
In Terminal C, gate lounges will display digital photographs from the Apollo 11 mission on the monitors.
From July 9-11 Space Center Houston will provide Apollo 11-themed pop-up science labs in the terminals. In the United Clubs, customers will have a chance to meet and take photos with retired Astronaut Ken Cameron.
During July, travelers
will also have a chance to eat like an astronaut at In United Airlines’ at two restaurants at
IAH, one in Terminal C and one in Terminal E.
What did the astronauts eat?
Courtesy National Air and Space Museum
Between liftoff and touchdown
back on earth, astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins were running
experiments, taking pictures, gathering samples and making history.
They also took time to
eat.
“More than 70 items
comprise the food selection list of freeze-dried rehydratable, wet-pack and
spoon-bowl foods,” NASA explains in the 250-page typewritten press
kit for the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Mission on July 6, 1969.
The press kit lists the day-by-day,
meal-by-meal menu for each crewman and explains how some of the meals were
prepared.
“After water has been injected into a food bag, it is kneaded for about three minutes. The bag neck is then cut off and the food squeezed into the crewman ‘s mouth,” the release explains.
Freeze-dried ice-cream isn’t
on the list, but powdered fruit-drinks (not Tang; NASA doesn’t use brand
names), along with bacon cubes, shrimp cocktail, beef stew, frankfurters, fruit
cocktail, tuna salad and many other familiar foods are.
“Familiar foods, or even just fresh
foods, are often hugely satisfying in space for the memories they trigger and
warm feelings they generate,” said Jennifer Levasseur,
Museum Curator, Department of Space
History at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, which has 13 packets
of food the Apollo 11 astronauts didn’t eat.
Like modern day travelers, food is one of the few
things astronauts can control during a journey far from home. “Food must have
had a very important role on Apollo 11 because they were doing things that had
never been done before,” said Vickie Kloeris, NASA Food Scientist Emeritus.
Dine like an astronaut
Many of the foods found
on those original Apollo 11 menus are featured during July on a special menu at
OTG’s Ember Tavern and Tanglewood Grille in United Airlines’ Terminal C and E
at IAH.
To ensure authenticity, OTG’s culinary team visited NASA’s Space Food
Systems Laboratory in Houston to learn about and taste food prepared by NASA’s
food scientists.
“We wanted to understand what food meant to astronauts having that
experience and what it means now,” said Dan O’Donnell, OTG’s Head of Culinary, “We
wanted to know the science and philosophy behind space food; where they were
then and where it is now.”
The biggest take-away, said O’Donnell was that
the astronauts could choose a lot of the foods they wanted to eat. “It wasn’t
just about sustenance. Much of it was food that reminded the astronauts of home;
like beef and potatoes, tuna salad and sugar cookies. Our menu is a play on
those items.”
Travelers who order from
the Apollo 11-inspired IAH menu won’t be served meals that need to be
reconstituted and squeezed into their mouths from bags. Nor will they find 1969
prices.
Instead they’ll find modern-day
versions of many menu items from the Apollo 11 mission.
“For instance, our take
on the Tuna Salad uses seared ahi instead of regular tuna, but we prepared it
in the same way with walnuts, grapes, celery, apple and some fresh yogurt,”
said O’Donnell, “The Beef & Potatoes is made with grilled ribeye, scalloped
potatoes and parsley pesto.
Although there was no alcohol on Apollo 11, there’s are cocktails on the IAH Apollo 11 anniversary menu.
“The original menus said, ‘orange drink,’ ‘grapefruit drink’ or ‘citrus drink.’ They were very flavor focused and on the sweeter side, because people taste things differently in space,” said Allison Kafalas, OTG Beverage Director, “I took those flavors and translated them to cocktails that are a bit more relevant and modern for today’s eater, including a peach bellini, a martini using an orange vodka from Texas and a pineapple margarita.”
Chattanooga Int’l Airport goes all solar. Virgin Atlantic’s bespoke coffee. And a DJ Drag Brunch at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Tennessee’s Chattanooga Airport (CHA) is celebrating the completion of its 2.64-megawatt solar farm project.
And reaping the rewards.
For now, CHA is the first and only airport in the U.S. generating enough renewable energy to offset all the airport’s energy needs.
Power generated by CHA’s solar farm is sold through a partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and EPB (the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga) and the airport then gets enough credit to cover its full electric bill.
“This project has immediate
benefits to our airport and community, and we’re proud to set an example in
renewable energy for other airports, businesses and our region,”said Terry
Hart, president and CEO of the Chattanooga Airport, “While generating a local
renewable resource, we are also increasing the economic efficiency of the
airport.”
Virgin Atlantic’s bespoke coffee helps the homeless
Virgin Atlantic is getting a bespoke coffee blend made by Change Please, an award-winning coffee company that provides support services for people who are homeless.
The new blend will be available on all Virgin Atlantic flights and clubhouses worldwide beginning in Fall 2019. Profits from the partnership will go towards Change Please’s efforts to help the homeless community reenter the workforce.
DJ Drag Brunch at Newark Liberty International
Airport
In support of Pride Month, airport restaurant operator OTG and United Airlines hosted a DJ Drag Brunch on Thursday, June 20 at Novella restaurant in the Terminal C Global Bazaar at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Proceeds from the brunch will support The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) young people that operates free and confidential crisis services including a 24/7 phone lifeline, text, and chat programs.
Before and after brunch, travelers got a treat and, no doubt, great pictures, as the brunch entertainers traveled throughout the terminal.
Miami International Airport now has a multi-sensory room just beyond the Concourse D TSA security checkpoint. The room provides a quiet area for young passengers with cognitive or developmental disabilities such as autism.
The dimly lit space includes sensory-soothing fixtures, including an aquatic bubble tub, wall puzzles, cushioned seats and a light projector. Hours: seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Party at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Look who's back in some shiny new digs! Renovations to @AmysIceCreams are complete, and the ice cream ready to go!
Now open Sunday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 pm. and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays across from Gate 21. pic.twitter.com/8TRAx79Nim
— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (@AUStinAirport) April 12, 2019
Amy’s Ice Cream is back at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and a good time to indulge is today during the kick-off party for the refreshed Asleep at the Wheel Stage in the center of the Barbara Jordan Terminal.
Located near Gate 19, there’s a 9-foot neon lighted guitar spinning above the area and seating for 190 patrons.
The party runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and includes a ribbon cutting ceremony and performances by Ray Benson, Heybale Band, and Love & Chaos.
NFL Hall of Famer Earl Campbell will be on hand to help celebrate the Heart of Austin area of the airport that includes the Saxon Pub Bar, Joe’s Coffee and Earl Campbell taco-themed food truck.
Fresh art at John Wayne Airport
A new photographic exhibit at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA by Jane Szabo’s is titled “Family Matters” and uses childhood posessions and simple objects to tell a complicated story of family dynamics.
After moving her 86-year-old father and 91-year-old mother into assisted living, Szabo began to organize the contents of their home of 36 years. “Family Matters” is a result of the final selection of treasures she kept before placing her parent’s home for sale.
Fiesta at San Antonio International Airport
San Antonio International Airport held its Second Annual Fiesta San Jacinto Day Parade recently, with mariachi music, parade floats, mascots and festive colors through both terminals of the airport.
