We nibbled our way through the research for a story you’ll find on the Runway Way Girl Network about how Seattle Chocolate and Alaska Airlines worked together to develop an exclusive chocolate bar flavor for upper tier flyers as an in-flight perk. And how that bar is now available to the rest of us. Take a look.
If you like aviation history and anything related to airlines, airplanes or airports then, like me, you’ll enjoy visiting the rebooted website called The Airchive, which I profiled for The Points Guy site. Take a look at that story here.
Bonus miles for vaccine access rides
Getting an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination is hard enough. But many people also have a hard time getting to and from the vaccination centers. So it is nice to see Delta Air Lines offering some bonus miles as a reward for those who donate cash to make rides available. Details that offer here.
The contactless mobile platform lets travelers browse menus, order, and pay for their meals before picking up the order.
The program is put together by MIA, concessionaire Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Airports (URW) and Grab, and is available on MIA’s mobile-friendly website or mobile app. Food venues are searchable by food type and airport terminal. And orders are scheduled for pick-up at pre-set times, so customers don’t have to wait in line.
At Denver International Airport (DEN), the new Eats Delivered program works with At Your Gate. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, passengers can order meals from seven participating restaurants (so far) and have the meals delivered to them anywhere in the terminal, including baggage claim.
Eats Delivered food delivery service now at DEN! 🍔Download the AtYourGate app (coming soon to Google Play) 🥗Order from 1 of 7 participating restaurants 🥞 Pay over the app 🍕Food will be delivered in approx 30 mins or less 🍜Enjoy your mealhttps://t.co/1XRXFQ6nSV. #DENeatspic.twitter.com/Ta0FpL1tQe
And this week American Airlines, British Airways, and oneworld announced the launch of an optional coronavirus (COVID-19) testing trial on select flights from U.S. cities to London Heathrow (LHR).
The tests will be free. They’ll be available to customers on American Airlines Flight AA50 from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to LHR; on British Airways Flight BA114 departing New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to LHR; on BA Flight BA268 from Los Angeles (LAX) to LHR.
This part of the program starts on November 25.
The testing includes:
An initial at-home test to be taken 72 hours before departure from the US
A second test upon arrival at LHR
A third test to be taken three days after arrival in the UK
The testing program will then be expanded to American Airlines Flight AA106 from JFK to LHR, on a date yet to be announced.
TSA Talks Turkey. And pie.
And in case you are flying somewhere this Thanksgiving holiday, keep in mind that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has a list of foods you may and may not bring as carry-on.
The “yes you may” list includes baked goods, meats (frozen, cooked, or uncooked), stuffing, casseroles, Mac ‘n Cheese, fresh vegetables and fruit, candy, and spices.
The “pack in carry-on” or “have someone else bring it” list includes dishes such as cranberry sauce, gravy, wine, canned fruit or vegetables (the cans have liquid), jams and jellies, and maple syrup.
But we say it is a ‘this makes perfect sense’ amenity that is one part convenience and two parts sign of the social distance times.
Grab, the e-commerce platform for pre-ordering meals for pick-up from airport food outlets is partnering with AtYourGate, the in-airport food delivery service.
Passengers can order food through the Grab app, a special section of the PHL website, or scan Grab QR codes in the terminals. Merchants are searchable by food type and terminal. And orders can be delivered to wherever you are in the terminal.
Convenient, right?
Participating restaurants at PHL include Auntie Anne’s, Bar Symon, Bud & Marilyn’s, California Pizza Kitchen, Chickie’s & Pete’s, Dunkin’, Gachi, Geno’s Steaks, Jack Duggan’s, Jamba, Piattino Pizza, Smashburger, and Vino Volo.
More merchants will be added soon.
There is a small charge for delivery. But first-time users can use the promo code ‘RUSH’ to save 20% – up to $5 – off their first order.
Roving robots at PIT cuter than ever
In May 2020, Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) introduced its team of autonomous cleaning robots with ultraviolet (UV) light technology.
Since then, other U.S. airports have rolled out cleaning robots. But PIT was the first.
Now PIT is making the hard-working robots even more endearing by giving them eyes.
The robots also have names:
Amelia is named for Amelia Earhart, the famed pilot and female aviation trailblazer.
Orville and Wilbur are named after the Wright brothers.
And the fourth PIT robot is named Rosa. She’s named after Rosa Mae Willis Alford, the sole female mechanic to work on the planes of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.
Travel to a scary galaxy
In the spirit of the Halloween season and the scary, bizarro times, we’re printing out frameable copies of these science-inspired Galaxy of Horrors “travel” posters from NASA’s Exoplanet Travel Bureau.
The posters look like vintage horror movie advertisements, but they are really out of this world.
Gamma -Ray-Ghouls features a “dead” galaxy. Galactic Graveyard is inspired by an explosive gamma-ray burst caused by colliding stellar corpses. And the third, Dark Matter, is a voyage to the unknown via ever-elusive dark matter.
The posters are free to download and are produced by NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Office, which is located at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
Planted in 2011, ORD’s blissful garden is tucked into the mezzanine level of the Terminal 3 Rotunda Building, over the Concourse G corridor. The ORD Yoga Room is nearby. ‘
The garden uses no soil or fertilizer. And it looks nothing like your home garden.
Here, the plant roots are suspended in 26 towers that house over 1,100 planting spots. A solution of nutrients is cycled through the towers to feed the plants.
Getting hungry? You’re in luck. Super fresh vegetables and herbs picked from the ORD garden are used in dishes served at a variety of airport restaurants.
ATW now has its own Flex Farm hydroponic farming system to grow fresh greens for sandwiches and burgers served in the airport’s restaurant, the Fox Cities Eatery.
ATW expects to grow up to 300 pounds of fresh produce each year on its indoor farm.
Like the system at ORD, the hydroponic unit at Appleton International Airport uses only water, air, nutrients, and LED lighting to grow plants. No soil, pesticides or herbicides are used.
ATW’s farming project is a collaboration with Green Bay-based Fork Farms, an indoor agriculture technology company that partners with communities to make the process of producing healthy food accessible to the world.
We think this is a great airport amenity and hope other airports give this a try as well.
