ground transporation

How to cut the checkpoint line at Boston Logan AIrport

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Want to skip to the front of the airport security checkpoint line?

We all do.

To get the courtesy, you can pay for TSA Pre-Check. You could pay for a CLEAR membership.

Or, if you’re flying out of Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), you could take a boat to the airport.

Boat service has been offered for quite a while. But in a new program, passengers who take water transportation to Boston Logan International Airport will now get complimentary priority access at the airport security line.

Under the plan, passengers who take the MBTA ferry or water taxi service to the Logan Airport Boat Dock (Fare: $15) will get a “Ticket to Skip” pass when they get off the boats and board the free Logan Airport shuttle to the terminals.

The orange ticket can then be presented to security checkpoint staff in exchange for preferred lane access.

In good weather, taking the water taxi from Boston waterfront is a great adventure and can be quite convenient.

The small boats leave from Long Wharf, which is right by the New England Aquarium, the North End, Faneuil Hall and other popular Boston landmarks you might be visiting on your way out of town anyway.

So the ride to the airport can be part of your vacation.

Find more information about getting to and from Boston Logan International Airport (Bos).

Two cool things at airports

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Thanks for visting Stuck at The Airport today.

Here are two cool things we’ve spotted at airports around the world.

This cute little autonomous shuttle van is being tested at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).

Passengers can hop on the airport’s Easy Mile EZ10 driverless shuttle for a ride between the airport’s main Barbara Jordan Terminal and the Rental Car/ground transportation facility.

The vehicle is electric, driverless and ADA-compliant. And it is running on the upper level of Garage 1 as a part of a test to offer another way to get travelers and meeters and greeters around the airport campus.

The shuttle has seats six and additional room for standing passengers. It also has a built-in automated electric access ramp for wheelchair accessibility.

Nervous about riding in an driverless vehicle? Don’t worry: while the vehicle itself operates autonomously, an attendant is riding along to assist travelers and for safety purposes during this pilot program.

Meet the Beatles

Johh Lennon Statue liverpool Airport

And how fun is this? We’ve visited several airports with arcades and game rooms, but at the Liverpool John Lennon Airport The Beatles get their own pinball machine.

Travel Tidbits from an airport near you

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Boston Logan Airport – and others – are reminding travelers that Uber & Lyft driver are planning a strike today, which might make getting to and from this and other airports a bit more complicated.

Delta Air Lines announces a “Reclaim My Status” loyalty benefit for its customers. Nice.

And the newest exhibit at St. Louis Lambert International Airport is curated by the Griot Museum of Black History.

Batik Story Quilts: Yoruba and Other Cultural Proverbs, displays Batik tapestry quilts made by artist Tunde Odulande.  

The exhibit includes seven quilts:

“The Fairytale of the Blue Ghosts and Their Magical Spree,” Musicians Make Music While the Audience Makes Orchestration,” “Has Man Finally Arrived?,” “If you Don’t Know Where You Are Going, Any Road Will Do,” and “Our Heritage” are on display across from carousel 1 in the Terminal 1 Baggage Claim area.

“Sweet Mother” and “Mask of Peace” are on display near the A Concourse entrance. Batik Story Quilts: Yoruba and Other Cultural Proverbs is on display at STL through October 23, 2019 

Travel Tidbits from Denver and Los Angeles airports

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Ending the week with some travel tidbits from airports for you.

Were you hoping that Norbert the Turtle really was joining the pet therapy program at Denver International Airport? That turned out to be an April Fool’s Day joke, but DEN did add their 101st member to their team.

Not a joke was the announcement that Los Angeles International Airport had installed Tooshlights in one set of bathrooms in the American Airlines Terminal 4 to guide lav users – via overhead red and green lights – to stalls that are open.

LAX also announced that $4.9 billion contract had been approved by the Los World Airports (LAWA) Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC) to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Automated People Mover (APM) system at the airport.

The system promises driverless trains that will arrive at every station every two minutes, and light-filled stations with escalators, elevators, and moving walkways. Bonus amenities include a viewing platform of the iconic Theme Building.

When will we be able to take the train to LAX? Sometime in 2023.

EWR or JFK? Cabs in NY know which is faster.

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United Airlines recently spent $120 million renovating Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Now the airline is using New York taxis in a creative ad campaign designed to convince New Yorkers to fly out of Newark instead of JFK.

And to prove that Newark Liberty airport (EWR) is closer to New York City than John F. Kennedy International Airport, United fitted 125 New York City taxis with GPS software that shows a real-time comparison of the travel times between the city and both JFK and EWR airports on a digital display on top of the cab.

“The digital displays are synced with data from the Curb application and update in real time with every change in a taxi’s position and evolving traffic patterns,” United Maggie Schmerin explained, “It represents the first time live traffic data has ever been used to dynamically display messaging on top of a taxi.”

Convincing?

Airport Amenity of the Week: Sauna-themed transfer bus

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Finland is celebrating 100 years of independence this year and Helsinki airport is part of the party.

In January, the airport opened the Arctic World of Santa Claus space, where visitors can see see and experience Finland in fifteen minutes. In April, a photo exhibition highlighting Finish nature photography was opened.

Now the airport transfer buses are getting make-overs to celebrate Finnish themes.

They’ve started with a sauna-themed bus, a bus dedicated to Finnish national composer Jean Sibelius and one dedicated to Formula 1 car racing, which is evidently also dear to the Finns.

At least two more themed buses are promised.

We’re declaring this the Airport Amenity of the Week.

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Airport amenities coming – and going – soon

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Airports – good ones –  do their best to offer service and amenities that will make your time in the terminal bearable and, increasingly, enjoyable.

What amenities are offered most?

What amenities are airports poised to add?

And what amenities are disappearing from airports?

 

The folks at Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) did a survey of their members to find out and are sharing the results today of the 2017 ACI-NA Guest Experience Management and Passenger Amenities Survey.

The top 10 most commonly offered airport amenities and services in 2017 are:

  1. ATM Services
  2. Gift Shops / News Stands
  3. Airport Websites
  4. Electrical Charging Stations
  5. Restaurants and Bars
  6. Lost and Found
  7. Parking / Taxi and Limousine Services
  8. Free Wi-Fi
  9. Pre-Security Pet Relief Facilities
  10. Food and Beverage Vending Machines

No big surprises there, but ACI-NA found out that over the next three to five years, passengers can expect new and expanded airport amenities and services such as:

  1. Nursing mothers’ rooms and pods
  2. Post-security pet relief facilities
  3. Children’s play areas
  4. Airfield observation areas
  5. Adult changing and washroom facilities.

And, as passenger needs change, ACI-NA notes, airports are beginning to phase out unnecessary or redundant amenities and services.

So, get ready to say bye-bye over the next three to five years to: payphones, banking services, and smoking rooms at airports.

Why no more pay phones?

“Pay phones take up a lot of valuable real estate considering their low usage now in the smart phone age,” said ACI-NA spokesman Scott Elmore, “They are being replaced with electrical charging stations and free Wi-Fi to keep people connected.”

But what about kids or people who don’t have cell phones. Or have cell phones that are out of power?

“Airports are very cognizant of the need to remain accessible,” said Elmore, “So we expect to see the deployment of more courtesy phones with free local and international calling or calling cards for passengers in need.”

Ride review: ReachNow car share to the airport

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ReachNow

Seattle, like many hip cities, has a variety of car-share and ride-on-demand services – including Uber, Lyft, Zipcar and car2go.

Back in April, we got another – BMW Groups’ ReachNow, which set up its North American headquarters here and announced plans to expand this car sharing program to three other cities by the end of 2016 and, eventually to 10 North American cities.

The fleet of cars caught my eye, and includes the BMW i3, the BMW 3 Series and the MINI Cooper, but my main question was: Will I be able to drive one of the cars to or from the airport?

Back then, I couldn’t.

But starting August 10, nicely coinciding with a week-long summer trip out of town, ReachNow started its airport service, which allows members to pick up a car anywhere within the Home Area, drive to Sea-Tac Airport and park at the Wally Park Premier Garage in one of the 30 spots dedicated for ReachNow cars. From there, it’s a quick shuttle van ride to the terminal.

It works the other way too – from the airport, back into the city – and, thankfully, the cars are accessible at 2 a.m., which is when my flight home to Seattle from Boston landed and I decided to take my test drive.

Finding the car in the garage and exiting the lot was a snap and I felt safe on the 18 mile ride home in a Mini Clubman, which I could park near my front door.

I had promotional credit to cover the ride and the bill ($0.41 per minute) came to considerably less than my other options at that time of night, which were a taxi, a shared van, an Uber ride, or calling in a favor from a friend.

Want to try it out – now or later? ReachNow is offering free lifetime membership as well as that $0.41 per minute introductory rate through the end of August and they’re landing in Portland, Oregon in mid-September.

Heading to the airport? Hold onto that rental car.

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Courtesy State Library of New South Wales , via Flickr Commons.

Courtesy State Library of New South Wales , via Flickr Commons.


Disclosure: National Car Rental sponsored this project.

You finished your meetings, filed that report and now there’s not much else to do but take another pass at the breakfast buffet, check out of your hotel and head to the airport to hang out before your flight.

But don’t return that rental car just yet.

If you plan it right and do a little homework, you can squeeze in a leisure adventure on the way to the airport.

Here’s are some great attractions nearby 5 major airports:

San Francisco International Airport: Burlingame sits on San Francisco Bay, and is home to the Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia. Nearby is the Coyote Point Recreation Area, which offers a beach promenade, marina and great viewing spots for watching planes take off and land.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is just seven miles from the sprawling Museum of Flight, with more than 160 air and spacecraft, flight simulators and a brand new, 3-acre Aviation Pavilion that features many of the large commercial aircraft in the collection.

New York’s LaGuardia Airport is less than 2 miles from the Louis Armstrong House and Museum in Corona. The world famous jazz musician and his wife, Lucille, lived in a modest house in Queens and guided tours of the home are offered every hour.

Los Angeles International Airport – The Flight Path Learning Center and Museum is on the south side of the airport in the LAX Imperial Terminal and features airplane models, uniforms, photographs and a wide variety of historic artifacts relating to the aviation industry and the history of Southern California. In-N-Out Burger, a favorite among plane spotters, has a branch in nearby Westchester, less than 2 miles away.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport: Founders’ Plaza, on airport property (but almost two miles from the terminal), has an observation area offering great views of airplanes landing and taking off, telescopes, picnic tables and a radio broadcasting air traffic control communications. Historic downtown Grapevine, with wine tasting rooms, public art, shops, restaurants and an entertaining glockenspiel clock tower, is just 7 miles away.

The easiest and most time-efficient way to reach most of these near-the-airport locations is by car. A good option: National Car Rental, where some of the time-saving benefits offered to Emerald Club members make it easy to squeeze in leisure time on a business trip.

At these busy airports and many others, Emerald Club members get to bypass the lines at the check-in counter, pick out any midsize (or above) car from the Emerald Aisle and, when they return to the airport, skip the paperwork and get an email receipt after dropping off the car.

I’ve got a work trip planned to Denver and I’m planning now to squeeze in a drive out to Golden to see the Buffalo Bill Memorial Museum and grave before heading back to Denver International Airport, returning my rental car and heading home.

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Don’t give that rental car back just yet. Take a fun side trip before heading back to the airport.

Free Uber rides for some Chicago travelers

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UBER ST PETE

Ride-hailing service, Uber, and Visit St. Pete/Clearwater have teamed up to offer some travelers free rides in Chicago.

On Wednesday mornings during February, starting at 6 a.m., Chicago Uber users will see a “Warm Up Wednesday” message in the app and a promotional code to unlock a way to request a free ride.

It should work at the airport because Uber is now authorized to serve both O’Hare and Midway Airports.

In addition to the offer for a free ride, every Uber rider who unlocks the promotional view is automatically entered to win one of four 4-night getaways for two, including airfare, to St. Pete/Clearwater.

And as a bonus: a handful of specially wrapped Uber cars will have virtual reality goggles on board, offering riders a chance to tour St. Pete/Clearwater’s Gulf beaches during their Chicago rides.