Passing through the International Terminal (TBIT) at Los Angeles International Airport last week I noticed signs at the Asiana Airlines check-in lines for something called Happy Mom Service.
I got in line and found out that Happy Mom Service gives moms traveling with babies an expedited check-in line, complimentary breastfeeding covers and infant slings, and cabin baby seat installation and rental. The service also offers express boarding and express baggage delivery for moms with infants.
Asiana tested the service at Incheon International Airport and at airports in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Frankurt, Paris, and Sydney and last year expanded the service to all airports it serves.
RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) and US Airways are working together on the third annual “Fly with US. Read with Kids” program and there are just a few weeks left to help them reach their goal of getting people to read to kids for 10 million minutes.
Getting involved is easy: find a book and a kid and read the book to the kid.
Then go to the program website before October 31st and log in the minutes you’ve spent reading.
There are prizes: a grand prize drawing of a Walt Disney World Resort vacation package from US Airways Vacations, US Airways gift cards, and other giveaways.
US Airways will also reward you for donating money to RIF.
Contribute $50 or more and the airline will give you 5,000 Dividend Miles. Donate at leat $25 and you can get a special edition of Maisy Takes a Trip, by Lucy Cousins.
Whether you participate in the program or not, take a peek at the Read with Kids Challenge website, which has more than a dozen games.
Yesterday, I posted a version of my current USAToday.com column about some new airport amenities you might be seeing at an airport near you. Things like short-stay sleep/work rooms, cigar lounges and machines that dispense sports apparel.
Here’s one more amenity to add to the list: a Nanny Caddy.
These are vending machines filled with diapers, formula, pacifiers, bottles and other doodads parents might need when they’re on the road with a baby. Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) has two of these machines – Terminal B (Gate B5) and Terminal C (Gate C19) – and I bet we’ll see more of these popping up at other airports soon.
First prize: 2 business class tickets from the US to Sydney, Australia. (Leaving by November 5, 2010), four nights in a swanky hotel and, get this, a flight around Sydney on John Travolta’s very own B707 airplane – with John Travolta as your pilot!
And, in keeping with my recent post about Air New Zealand’s zany, saucy commercials starring Rico, a sexy, silly, furry brown thing, here’s s sample from JetBlue’s latest campaign.
October 1st is Children’s Day in Singapore and to celebrate Changi Airport is offering everyone – kids and adults – free rides on the world’s tallest slide in an airport.
Rides on the one-and-a-half story preview, or kiddie, slide are always free.
But tokens for rides on the four-story Slide @T3 usually require a receipt showing you’ve spent at least $30 in a single airport shop.
From October 1st through 3rd, though, no proof of purchase will be required: all rides will be free.
Hooray!
And here’s some good news: the rules for sliding will change once the Children’s Day free ride promotion is over.
Beginning on October 4, 2010, tokens for rides on the big slide will be handed out to anyone spending just $10 at the airport.
You’ll find the entrance to the big slide in Terminal 3, Arrival Hall (Level 1), in the public area.
The entrance to the preview, 1½-story slide is in the Basement 2 area of the airport.
Both slides are open daily from noon until 10:30pm.
Except for that year when my husband bought me a United Airlines Red Carpet Club membership as a birthday present, I’m not a regular in airline club lounges.
Although I’d certainly like to be.
Especially after spending a few hours at Air New Zealand’s Koru Club Lounge at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Located upstairs in Terminal 2, this large, bright club room has two walls of windows, great views out onto the airfield and several zones conducive for reading, working, watching news or grabbing a bite to eat.
Amenity-wise, the lounge offers complimentary wireless Internet access, phone booths, work stations with computers, showers, a copy machine and, in among the refreshments, wines and vodkas from New Zealand.
I don’t travel with kids, but I bet families – and other passengers – really appreciate the kids play area equipped with books, games, coloring projects and a flat screen for showing videos.
If you’re traveling Business Premier on Air New Zealand your ticket gets you into the Koru Lounge. But you can also gain access if you’re a Star Alliance Gold Member traveling internationally on other airlines (i.e. Air Canada) in Terminal 2 or if you buy a $55 day pass.
At first that $55 sounds sort of steep. But considering what you’d pay for internet access, lunch and a drink or two at the airport, this pencils out to a great deal.
And how did I find my way into the lounge? I was on my way to London with Air New Zealand as part of a Visit London media tour. My goal: inspect the Air New Zealand airport lounges and find cheap and offbeat places in London to write about.
And of course, to spend some time stuck at Heathrow Airport.
Now, to celebrate the 2010 Singapore Formula 1 Night Race, which takes place in the streets of Singapore from September 24-26th, Changi Airport is having its own Grand Prix Festival.
From now through September 30, 2010 both airport visitors and travelers can participate in racing-themed activities that include remote-controlled race cars, racing game consoles and prizes.
Could it be possible to have too much fun at an airport?
In my msnbc.com column this week –Fresh airport amenities make the wait fly by – I offered a run-down of some of the programs and services air travelers can take advantage of this summer.
Using a touchscreen, customers choose a flavor (12 are available) and a mix-in. The machine then prepares and delivers the dessert. Boston Logan Airport has two MooBella machines installed: one is at Terminal C at the Back Bay Café (Gates 11-21); the other is at Lean & Green (Gates 40-42).
If you test it out, please send a report – and a photo.
What else is fresh and new at airports this summer?
Mimes among the entertainment at PHL this summer
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) now has free wireless and a Passenger Chillin’ Zone with sofas, tables, chairs, ottomans and foliage (Gate D-3). Throughout the summer, PHL is also hosting a Just Plane Fun program with live music, appearances by mascots from local sports teams, contests and other activities.
From now through the end of August, Miami International Airportis throwing weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) parties with a different theme each week. This weekend’s theme is Havana Nights, with domino tables, mojito demonstrations, a DJ, rumba dancing and cigar rolling. August 20-23 you’ll find a flamenco dance show, Latin food sampling and more.
Observation Deck at LAX now open on weekends
AtLos Angeles International Airport, theoutdoor observation deck on top of the Theme Building in the center of the airport is finally open. Closed since 9/11, and during the building’s $12.3 million renovation and earthquake retrofit, the deck is open weekends, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free telescopes offering great views of arriving and departing aircraft, the airport grounds and the surrounding area. Pink’s, an iconic Hollywood hot dog stand, has also opened a branch in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
AtOutagamie County Regional Airport (ATW) in Appleton, Wisconsin, they’re still lining up to get candy from the giant purple machine with flashing lights.
Located pre-security, the Willy Wonka candy machine is one of 25 such machines in the country (there’s one at the Mall of America) and is currently the only one at an airport.
Passengers had so much fun during the special events held at Vancouver International Airport during the 2010 Winter Olympics games that the airport decided to host Take-off Fridays festivals all summer, complete with face painting, DJs spinning music, prize drawings, meal specials and frees samples from a variety of airport shops.
And San Francisco International Airport is presenting You are Hear concerts again this summer. Performances take place every Friday through August 28th between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at three different stages in the airport. This week the line-up includes Quinteto Latino in the International Terminal, Lavay Smith & The Red Hot Skillet Lickers in the United hub and, in Terminal 1, Threeocracy. See the SFO website for the full season schedule.
Some airports are pulling out the stops this summer and throwing parties for travelers.
One example: Miami International Airportis hosting themed weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) events from noon to 3 pm through the end of August.
Havana-themed party at MIA to feature dominoes tables
This weekend’s theme is Havana Nights and will include domino tables, mojito demonstrations, a DJ, rumba dancing and cigar rolling.
MIA Havana-themed party to feature cigar rolling
August 6-9 it will be a Miami-themed Kids Weekend. August 13-16 will focus on music. And from August 20-23 get ready for a flamenco dance show, Latin food sampling, photo opportunities, games and more.
Flamenco dancing coming to Miami Airport
Photo courtesy National Endowment for the Arts Millennium Project, via Flickr Creative Commons.
Stop by any weekday at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and chances are you’ll hear some really great local music. Austin is just chock full of great musicians (“You can’t spit without hitting a Grammy winner” is how someone once explained it to me) and the airport takes advantage of that with four post-security performance spaces and eleven live performances each week.
Next week, from Monday, July 19th through Friday, July 23rd, it’s “Kid Band Week,” with performances scheduled from 3:30 to 5:30 pm at the airport’s Asleep at the Wheel stage at Ray Benson’s Roadhouse by Gate 10. If you’re around, you should definitely check it out.
Here’s the line-up:
Monday: The Peterson Brothers Band: blue music from brothers Glenn (13) and Alex (11).
Tuesday: 15-year-old bassist and vocalist Livvy Bennett. “Bennett is a member of Aftermath, an Austin band that won the first SchoolJam USA National Teen ‘Battle of the Bands’ contest January in Anaheim, Calif. At the event, Bennett was named “Best Bassist.”
Wednesday: The Aviators. The classic rock group is made up of six students, age ten to thirteen, from the Natural Ear Music School.
Well, a lot of the country is having a heat wave. The kind of tropical heat wave Ella Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe and Gale Storm sang about.
And when there’s a heat wave there’s only one thing to do: eat ice-cream and lots of it.
Back in the 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice-Cream Month and set aside the third Sunday of the month as National Ice-Cream Day. And, as this photo proves, President Barack Obama is a big fan of ice-cream too.
(Photo courtesy Wells’ Dairy, Le Mars, Iowa)
So as you’re traveling around this month, be sure to stop and eat some ice-cream. If you’re stuck at the airport, it’s a good chance you’ll find a branch of Ben & Jerry’s, Haagen-Dazs or some other well-known ice-cream or frozen yogurt chain in the food court.
Know of some other airports where you can get great ice-cream? Please share your find in the comments section below.
And while you’re out on the road, why not learn something about this sweet treat? For a recent msnbc.com article, Ice-cream fans celebrate sweet treat – I found a few factory tours that not only offer an ice-cream education but, in the three cases below, a free sample.
Ben & Jerry’s, Waterbury, VT
(Courtesy Jeff Pecor, Yapta)
If you’re in New England and your travels take you anywhere near Vermont, make your way to Waterbury for a tour of the Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream factory. The adventure includes an entertaining “moo-vie” about ice-cream production and a visit to the “Flavoroom” to taste the flavor of the day. Details at Ben & Jerry’s.
Blue Bell, Brenham, TX (Broken Arrow, OK; Sylacauga, AL)
Named for the Lone Star State’s native bluebell wildflower, the Brenham, Texas-based Blue Bell Company offers tours of its ice-cream plants in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama. Each tour ends with a complimentary scoop of ice-cream and the opportunity to purchase additional scoops for $1 or less. Details at the Blue Bell website.
Velvet Ice Cream, Utica OH
(Blue icing getting mixed into a special birthday cake ice cream)
The Velvet Ice Cream factory in Utica, OH makes more than five million gallons of ice-cream a year in “small” (for the industry) 800-gallon batches at the Ye Olde’ Mill, a 20-acre site that houses an ice-cream museum, a historic grist mill with water wheel, a fishing pond and other attractions. Factory tours don’t usually include a complimentary taste of ice-cream, but for National Ice-Cream Month visitors who show up weekdays between 1 and 3 p.m. will get to taste the flavor of the day as it comes off the line. For details see the Velvet Ice-Cream Company website.
If your travels don’t take you near these shops, consider stopping by one of the Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants participating in the company’s “Scoop for Success” program. During National Ice Cream Month part of the proceeds of a specially-designed ice-cream dessert at each restaurant will be donated to Dress for Success, an organization devoted to helping women re-enter the workforce.
And we’re not just talking chocolate sundaes. At Firefly inWashington, DC, the designated dessert is peanut butter ice cream sandwich with chocolate decadence, banana’s foster sauce and praline crumb.
NIOS, in New York City, is serving vanilla bean gelato with caramelized popcorn and caramel sauce. And at the Red Star Tavern & Roast House in Portland, Oregon,the decadent dessert is red velvet doughnuts with bourbon-pecan cheesecake ice cream.
On July 15th, 2010 Kimpton Hotels will also be hosting a National Ice Cream Social. All proceeds from special desserts sold in the hotels’ “living rooms” will be donated to charity.
Do you need any more reasons to go eat ice-cream? Go!
