Fun Stuff

At airports: cupcake vending + free Spring Training care kit

Fun Stuff, , , , ,

Here at Stuck at The Airport we love two things: cool treats that come out of airport vending machines (looking at you SouveNEAR and Farmer’s Fridge) and free stuff handed out in the terminals.

Today we have both:

For cupcake fans and those in need of something sweet at any hour of the day or night in the airport, Las Vegas, McCarran International has a Sprinkles vending machine that dispenses cupcakes 24 hours a day.

And, through March 31, passengers traveling through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on their way to Spring Training baseball games can pick up a free care pack filled with sunscreen, lip balm, sunflower seeds and other items that might be useful to have on hand during a baseball game.

The free AZ Care Packs are being offered at the US CareWays Airport Urgent Care center inside Drugs & More (Terminal 4/Pre-Security, near the C gates) to anyone showing an electronic or printed Spring Training ticket.

Inside the kit you’ll find sunscreen, lip balm, tissues, bug repellant, sunflower seeds, Big League Chew gum and a luggage tag.  

And for those who treat Spring Training season like Spring Break from college, the urgent care center is also offering discounts for passengers heading to or from Spring Training on services such as an IV Nutrient “Cocktail” Infusion with an immunity boost to prevent maladies such as dehydration, headaches and illness.

You can own artwork honoring the famed PDX carpet

Fun Stuff, ,

Remember the ‘celebrity’ carpet at Portland International Airport?

Portlanders loved the PDX carpet. But it was old and worn and had to be replaced.

Now a large scale artwork celebrating that carpet is up for auction.

 

People loved taking pictures of their feet on that carpet.

The pattern showed up on caps, cups, neck pillows, jam, beer and all sorts of other items.

And, in 2015, not long after the Port of Portland announced it would be replacing all the carpeting in the airport, the carpet (yes the carpet) was named the Grand Marshal of Portland’s Rose Parade.

Now the large-scale carpet-centric artwork titled “Carpet Diem” by local artist Nancy Wilkins  that was commissioned by the airport and which has hung on Concourse ‘D’ at PDX since 2014 is being replaced as well.

The artwork is being surplused and is now up for auction.

Last we looked the highest bid was only $110!

Take a look and see if you’d like to own this homage to a quirky carpet,  and if you’ve got room for it in your home, office, bowling alley or airplane hangar.

 

 

 

 

A craft beer airline? Brewdog has a special flight planned

Fun Stuff,

Fun Friday? How about a ride BrewDog’s beer flight?

The folks at BrewDog – a wild Scottish beer company with a brewery in Columbus, Ohio (of all places) – have chartered a Boeing 767 to fly a special beer-themed flight for its supporters and investors (called Equity Punks) from the London’s Stansted Airport to Columbus,Ohio in February 2019.

Check out this cheeky video for the flight:

Interested?

There will a be a special food and beer pairing menu served during the flight and plenty of BrewDog beers to sample, including a special limited-edition brew designed to adapt to the challenges high altitudes present to taste and smell sensitivity.

The round-trip adventure includes a four-night stay in Columbus, a tour BrewDog’s Columbus brewery, a visit to the The DogHouse Hotel, time at BrewDog’s beer museum, and tours of breweries in Columbus and Cincinnati.

Tickets are only being sold to BrewDog’s community of “Equity Punks” – but they’re also going to offer five plus-one tickets to contest winners via social media.  Find details on how to enter via BrewDog’s presence on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

KLM’s Delft Blue House #99: The White Ox

Fun Stuff, , , , ,

It is KLM’s 99th anniversary and the carrier is celebrating with 99 hours of special flight offers (deals end October 9) and a new miniature Delft Blue house in the airline’s series of collectible miniature houses.

This year’s Delftware miniature house represents the first store of Douwe Egberts in Joure, Holland.

The house was chosen, in part, becase at the end of October, 2018 KLM will begin serving Douwe Egberts’ sustainable UTZ-certified coffee on all its European and intercontinental flights.

The shop is now part of a museum and was where grocer Egbert Douwe laid the foundation for the well-known Douwe Egberts brand of today.

“Choosing the first store of Douwe Egberts in beautiful Joure serves to highlight the excellent cooperative relationship shared by our two established brands,” said KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers. “Good coffee is important to our customers,” he added, “And KLM also considers it crucial to serve sustainable coffee. Two typically Dutch brands with a rich history, both placing quality first, can only serve to strengthen one another.”

KLM’s tradition of presenting Delftware miniatures to passengers traveling in the business class cabin on intercontinental flights began in the 1950s. The houses are replicas of notable buildings in the Netherlands and the number of houses in the collection has corresponded with KLM’s age since 1994.

The carrier now adds a new house to the collection each year on or around October 7.

So we’re already anxious to see which house will be honored on October 7, 2019 when KLM celebrates its 100th anniversary.

While we wait, take a look at this short video that tells the story of KLM’s Delft Blue House #99:

 

You can also read my stories about being on hand for the festivities surrounding the reveal of KLM’s Delft Blue miniature houses #98 and #97.

House #98 depicts the family home of aviation pioneer Antony Fokker in Haarlem  (near Amsterdam) and was presented at an event in Haarlem’s historic St. Bavo Church.

 

 

KLM’s mininature Delft House #97 depicts the Hotel New York in Rotterdam, which occupies the grand structure built in 1901 to house the headquarters of the Holland America line.

Do you have a collection of KLM’s Delft Blue miniature houses (gin-filled or not)? Feel free to boast about it in the comments section below.

A marvelous mascot at Japan’s Centrair Airport

Fun Stuff, Uncategorized, ,

It’s not unusual for airports to have mascots, but I’m especially charmed by mascot at Chubu Centrair International Airport near Nagoya, Japan.

 

Centrair Airport mascot

The mascot appears at the information desk, in signs, posters and in airport advertising. But to my delight, the mascot also appeares in many forms of souvenirs for sale in the aviation-themed shop in the pre-security Sky Town shopping mall on the top floor of the airport.

centrair airport mascot

Centrair Airport

Of course, now I need to make a list of airport mascots. Please help me get started by sharing any that you know about in the comments section below.