On a tour of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport – my home-base airport – on Friday, I spotted a few new amenities, including this handy water bottle refilling station, that can fill up to three bottles at a time:
And this sign, at the airport’s Quiet Gate, reminding travelers that they can download free books.
Passing through Denver International Airport earlier this week I noticed a restaurant in the B Gate area that had an under-construction storefront but was full of people. On closer inspection, it turned out to be the new airport venue: Crú A Wine Bar and, while they were waiting for the liquor license to come through, they were inviting passersby in for complimentary meals off menu.
We tasted the oatmeal and the breakfast tortilla and took a look at menus that include a wide variety of appetizers, individual-sized pizzas, cheese plates, sandwiches and desserts designed to accompany wine they’ll be serving by the glass, the bottle and in tasting flights.
The manager welcoming travelers in for the complimentary meals told me that he hoped they’d have the official opening – and the license – by December 26th, but Denver International Airport sent out a release saying Crú A Wine Bar was open, so it seems like the paperwork is now in order.
Smoking lounges, children’s play areas, an aviation museum and 1600 slot machines are among the popular passenger amenities at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.
This week there’s a brand new amenity for arriving passengers who are ready to party: a liquor store in the baggage claim area in Terminal 1.
Called the Liquor Library, the store is the first packaged liquor store located within the baggage claim area of any airport in the country.
On the shelves: beer, wine, spirits, cigars, cigarettes, small packaged snacks, mixers, travel cups and glasses. The store also stocks wine and beer openers, wine and beer insulated bags and ice.
According to Liquor Library spokeswoman Diane Boyle, there will be product tasting most days of week and, to go with the library-inspired decor of dark hardwood floors and shelves reached by library ladders, there are “librarians” on duty who wear “charcoal grey pencil skirts, white button down shirts, black stockings, and very cute spectacles” while working on the sales floor.
To help travelers relax, many airports offer some form of summertime entertainment. For example, San Francisco International Airport has a You Are Hear summer concert series, Dulles International Airport hosts a Jazz Series and Vancouver International Airport offers DJs, live entertainment, free samples of treats and sweets, and $10 lunch specials all summer long during its popular, pre-security Take-Off Fridays celebrations.
Philadelphia International Airport’s summer-long Just Plane Fun program has been treating travelers to everything from free makeovers to live music and a chance to chill out and relax in one of the airport’s two Chillin’ Zones, which are outfitted with sofas, tables and plants.
Now Philadelphia International Airport is going a step further and offering complimentary cool beverages, serving 600 to 700 passengers daily.
“We were thinking of what we could do for people before they get to the security checkpoint, because there’s not much retail before security and all our entertainment is post-security,” said airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica.
“It’s been a very warm summer and we know that people waiting in line can’t take a beverage with them through the security line,” said Lupica, “So we decided to offer passengers a refreshing complimentary glass of lemonade or iced tea. They can sip that in line and then dump the cup before going through the checkpoint.”
Lupica says the airport staff is monitoring the checkpoint lines, noting the busiest times in each terminal and dispatching the five rolling carts to areas where lines are longest.
“This isn’t something we’re going to stop doing when summer is over,” said Lupica. “When the weather turns cool, we plan to offer travelers hot chocolate to keep them warm and toasty.”
(My story about Philadelphia International Airport’s complimentary lemonade program first appeared on NBC News Travel.)
(Photo courtesy Philadelphia International Airport)
It may not be so bad to get stuck at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) this summer.
The airport has kicked off its summer-long “Just Plane Fun” program, which includes a full-schedule of special events, live entertainment, food and beverage samplings, artist demonstrations and children’s activities.
Coming up next week: instant giveaways, art demonstrations, beauty makeovers, a sushi-making class and more. See the full list on the PHL website.
There are also two locations of the popular “Chillin’ Room” – areas with sofas and tables where travelers can hang out, get work done and wait for their flights.
Look for the Chillin’ Room now in Terminal A-East, across from the Information Counter and in the Terminal D/E Connector, between the Life is Good and Mindworks stores, but keep in mind that plans are for the Chillin’ Room to be moved to various locations around the airport throughout the summer.
You’ll also find a spot where you can chill out – quietly – at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The airport has turned an empty gate area – B4 – into an official Quiet Zone where overhead announcements and TV monitors are turned off
Quiet Zone at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
There are signs asking passengers to keep the area as a quiet zone for working, reading and relaxing and soon there may be water features and other amenities added, but for now
“cellphones are not banned,” said SEA spokesperson Perry Cooper, “and we expect a natural self-policing and sense of respect for the area.”
Airports around the country are rolling out the red carpet for Mother’s Day with special events, free gifts and shopping discounts. Here’s a round-up:
Keeping with their tradition, Volunteer Airport Ambassadors at Florida’s Jacksonville International Airport will have about 1000 carnations to hand out to moms passing through the airport on Mother’s Day.
At Miami International Airport they’re celebrating Mother’s Day Friday through Sunday with discounts, gifts-with-purchase and freebies in the shops, foil-wrapped chocolate roses for moms and events that include live music, a pick-a-pearl game with real oysters and a chance to make last-minute Mother’s Day cards and photo postcards.
(Find the coupons and event locations here.)
At Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway Airports, food and retail concessions posting the sign above will be handing out free flower seed packets (zinnias) to moms from Friday, May 11 through Sunday, May 13, 2012. (While supplies last).
There are also special Mother’s Day sales and gift-with-purchase offers going on at Philadelphia International Airport , at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, at the Swatch stores in JFK International Airport, Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and at Boston’s Logan Airport.
Frontier Airlines, which adopted Midwest Airline’s sweet-smelling tradition of serving complimentary warm chocolate chip cookies to all passengers, has decided to nix that amenity at the end of April. The reason: “offering a free perishable snack did not align with our low-cost business model,” said an airline spokesperson.
What will be served instead? Elite frequent fliers – and anyone who has paid a fare above economy class – will get complimentary packaged goldfish crackers or animal crackers. Hungry economy class passengers can snack on those items as well – if they’re willing to pay $1 a package.
Another change in the pipeline: Allegiant Air – which already charges a per-segment website booking fee and adds charges for seat assignments, beverages, priority boarding, and other services – plans to begin charging $35 for each carry-on bag as of Wednesday. The new fee hadn’t been added to this long list of fees as of early Tuesday morning, but airline spokespeople have confirmed the new fee to various news outlets.
Going to New Orleans?
If your trip begins on a Friday, you’re in luck.
Since September, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport has been hosting “Throw me something, Fridays” and offering free Mardi Gras beads to arriving passengers.
250-300 pounds of beads are handed out on an average Friday and on the Friday before Mardi Gras airport staff handed out 1100 pounds of beads – along with stuffed animals, balsa wood airplanes, luggage tags and other “Welcome to New Orleans” treats.
Reed Barnes, the airport’s customer service manager, told me that the purple, green and gold beads are handed, not thrown, to travelers from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. each Friday and that “No one has to lift their shirts” in order to get some beads. “Although,” said Barnes, “a lot of guys offer.”
As airport amenities go, free Mardi Gras beads are a nice touch. Especially because the airport buys recycled beads that have been cleaned and bundled by employees from a local charitable organization.
If you’re passing through Reagan Washington National Airport on Monday morning, February 27, 2012, around 10 a.m. then make your way to the historic lobby of Terminal A for a poetry slam.
The event is part of the airport’s Black History Month celebration and the local high school students competing will be judged by a panel that includes Nikki Giovanni, a well-known poet and a New York Times Bestsellers List author; Amy Young, poet laureate from Alexandria, Va.; and Vincent Young, published author, artist and Airports Authority employee.
Following the Poetry Slam, Nikki Giovanni will read selections from her works and answer questions from the audience. A real treat!
Here’s a great idea: on Wednesday, Pennsylvania’s Harrisburg International Airport (MDT) introduced a free eBook Library for travelers.
Airport marketing manager Stephanie Gehman browsed through the more than 30,000 free titles offered by Project Gutenburg and picked out 15 ebooks for the MDT library. Passengers – or anybody – can download the books, which include classics and aviation-related titles, at www.flyHIA.com/ebooks.
What’s on the shelf? The Adventures of Huck Finn, Aeroplanes, Andersen’s Fairy Tales, Around the World in 80 Days, Gulliver’s Travels, Little Women, Mother Goose, Oliver Twist, Opportunities in Aviation, Pride and Prejudice, Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson, The Early History of the Airplane, The First Airplane Diesel Engine, and Wuthering Heights.
The ebooks are available for multiple formats directly from the website or by scanning any of the 15 different signs posted in gate areas and in a few other locations in the MDT terminal.
“The signs have a QR code that links directly to one of the fifteen titles in the ebook library,” said Gehman. “Passengers can wander around the terminal, scan all of the signs and collect all fifteen titles.”
And what about the shops that sell books at the airports?
MDT has two Hudson News locations that sell books, “But we selected ebook titles that aren’t for sale at the booksellers in the terminal,” said Gehman.
