Sports

Airline perks for Seahawks and Patriots fans

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Sunday was a big day for football fans (especially fans of the Seattle Seawhawks and the New England Patriots, of course) and airlines are helping get the celebrations for Super Bowl XLIX underway.

To celebrate the Seahawks win, Alaska Airlines is offering a free drink to everyone on a flight leaving Seattle on Monday, January 19:

For those who want to make quick plans to go the game, JetBlue is adding extra flights between Boston and Phoenix. In addition to the regular schedule of flights (already sold out), JetBlue is adding a flight leaving Boston on January 30, 2015 at 8:20 a.m. (arriving at 12:24 p.m.) and returning on February 2, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. (arriving at 6:10 p.m).

Sunday evening, Alaska Airlines teased about another special Super Bowl treat:

And early Monday Alaska Airlines announced a re-run of last year’s sweepstakes offering Mileage Plan members a chance to fly from Seattle to Phoenix on a special charter on Feb. 1.

“Russell Wilson’s Fan Flight II – For Strong Against Cancer,” a four-day sweepstakes is taking place on Alaska Airlines’ Facebook page.

Fifty-six prize winners will receive two round-trip tickets for an ‘inflight tailgate party’ from Seattle to Phoenix on its “Go Russell 737-900ER” aircraft. Winners will also get two nights of hotel accommodations, admission to an exclusive game day party and transportation to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and their hotel.

(I was able to tag along last year and it was a heap-of-fun!)

The sweepstakes is open to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members who are residents of Washington, Oregon and Alaska and winners will be notified by phone and email beginning on Friday, Jan. 23 at 8 a.m. PT. (Last year, winners told me they had a short window to answer the notification, so on Friday, be sure to check your email and voice mail right away.)

The airline is also adding extra flights between Seattle and Phoenix:

On Jan. 30 flights will head from Seattle to Phoenix at 1:30 p.m. and 5:55 p.m. and on February 2nd from Phoenix to Seattle at 5:55 p.m. and 10:25 p.m.

Limited edition & PGA-themed amenity kits from United Airlines

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PGAUGFAmenityKit-large

United Airlines has been making upgrades to its premium cabin service and this week rolled out its latest perk: a new set of commemorative amenity kits and the promise of a PGA-themed kit that will arrive in April.

Why a PGA theme and not a rock & roll, football or pirate theme?

(Wouldn’t those be fun?)

United is the official airline of the PGA Tour, so PGA-themed kits it is.

These will double as shoe-bags and include traditional amenity kit items plus tees, golf balls and a golf-related discount offer. Look for these kits on international flights departing and arriving the United States.

UNITED FIRST CLASS PGA AmenityKit-large

In the meantime, United is distributing a new set of limited edition tin amenity kits.

united amenity kits

Global First and United BusinessFirst customers on international flights departing from the airline’s seven mainland U.S. hubs and Honolulu will be offered these tins showcasing skylines of London, Frankfurt, Toyko, Beijing, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Dubai or Honolulu.

A set introduced in 2014 featured images of mainland domestic hubs.

Twitter throwdown for Seattle & Green Bay Airports

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Giant Super Bowl Football

As you might imagine, excitement is rising in cities that still have football teams in the running for this year’s Super Bowl.

And as Sunday’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers gets closer, hometown pride is in strong evidence on the Internet, where Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Green Bay’s Austin Straubel  International Airport are engaged in a good-natured Twitter throwdown that includes smack talk and a bet that involves cheese, coffee and team jerseys.

Here’s some of what played out on Thursday.

Both airports took a time-out Thursday night and will no doubt be back on the field on Friday. Stay tuned.

(Disclaimer: I live in Seattle. So, Go Seahawks!)

Phoenix Sky Harbor Int’l Airport ready for Super Bowl

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PHX SUPER BOWL CLOCK

At the end of January, about 100,000 football fans will be heading to the Phoenix area for Super Bowl XLIX and a wide range of related festivities.

Most all of them will be arriving and departing from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport ,where the busiest day will be the day after the Super Bowl, February 2nd.

Is the airport ready for the big game? You bet.

This will be the Phoenix area’s third Super Bowl (games were held there in 1996 and 2008) and planning has been underway for months. Airport officials have been working closely with the Super Bowl Host Committee, airlines, the TSA, car rental companies and other partners to make sure everything is in place.

To accommodate the influx of football fans, restaurants inside the airport will increase their hours and the number of available taxis will be increased by approximately 50 percent.

Sky Harbor will also have increased customer service staff at the ready to welcome visitors. In addition to the 400 volunteer ‘Navigators’ at Sky Harbor, PHX will have about 200 Super Bowl volunteers on hand to answer questions.

Then there are the security preparations.

PHX is coordinating with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Phoenix Police Department and other public safety partners to make sure there’s increased law enforcement presence around the airport, including firefighters from the two Phoenix Fire stations located at Sky Harbor who will be patrolling the terminals on bikes.

(My story about PHX getting ready for the Super Bowl first appeared on USA Today in a slightly different version.)

Formula 1 fans race out of Austin – with souvenirs

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Austin Formula 1

Austin is hosting the Formula One United States Grand Prix this weekend and thousands of race fans are passing through Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Passenger traffic at the airport is expected to be the highest on Sunday night (Nov 2) and on Monday, (Nov 3), as race fans head home. So to help the process go smoothly AUS airport is offering expanded customer services, special post-race live music send-offs and a special website section.

Sunday is Souvenir Sunday at StuckatTheAirport.com, so we should also mention that the airport shops will be offering official licensed F1 and Circuit of the Americas merchandise, including t-shirts, caps, mugs, lanyards and books.

Live music performances start Sunday afternoon with a performance by the Flying Balalaika Brothers at 4:30 p.m. More live music is scheduled on Monday Nov. 3 from 9 a.m. until 6:30 p.m, with a total of 12 music performances to be held Sunday and Monday.

Airlines have soccer & football fever

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Football & soccer season is in full swing and airlines are offering football-themed contests and flight discounts.

Who Dey

To celebrate the launch of Allegiant service to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) on Thursday, October 9. the airline is hosting a Best Dressed Bengals Fan Contest at the airport. The winner will get two round trip tickets on the first flight to FLL and a hotel stay at the Comfort Suites Airport & Cruise Port from October 10 – October 13, 2014. Entry details here.

SEAHAwKS photo

Both Delta Air Line and Alaska Airlines are offering sports fans discounts on airfare to cities where away games are being played.

Delta Air Lines just announced up to 10 percent off fares to away games for the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Sounders (soccer). To get the discount, enter NMK7V in the “Meeting Event Code” field when booking on delta.com.

Alaska Airlines continues to offer early boarding to Seattle Seahawks fans wearing NFL quarterback Russell Wilson’s No. 3 jersey on flights departing Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The airline is also offering a 10 percent discount on flights to certain away games. Details here.

Deer hunting at airports. Allowed.

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Bowhunting - from Library of Congress, via Flickr Commons

Bow-hunting is a popular sport in Western Pennsylvania, so the pilot program underway at Pittsburgh International Airport is a great opportunity for sportsmen and women.

But it’s a bad deal for deer caught in the airport’s designated bow-hunting zone.

The Allegheny County Airport Authority is holding a lottery to issue free, archery-only season permits for use on land owned by PIT Airport.

Last year, 11 reported deer were taken by 157 permit holders on more than 2,300 acres. This year, because of commercial development on airport property, only about 832 acres far away from the active airfield will be open to hunters and less than 100 licenses will be issued for the season, which runs from Oct. 4, 2014, to Jan. 10, 2015.

Interested? The application deadline is Sept. 21, with a public lottery to be held Sept. 24.

Pittsburgh International isn’t the only airport where bow hunting for deer is allowed on property.

Each year St. Cloud Regional Airport in Minnesota issues seven permits for bow hunters to try to bag whitetail deer on about 200 acres owned by the airport.

Last year, 79 hunters each paid $10 to put their name in the lottery, with the winners paying an additional $5 for their permits. This year, the lottery odds were much better, with fewer than 30 hunters entering the pool.

Lack of publicity may have had something to do with low turnout this year, said airport general manager William Towle, who holds a mandatory meeting each year for the seven permit winners.

“We meet to go over the rules,” said Towle, “But I also want the hunters to see each other because that helps make sure everyone gets along out there.”

Hunting for deer, with the goal of controlling wildlife, also is permitted at Cecil Airport, a corporate, military and general aviation airport operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority in Florida.

There, a license is granted to an archery hunting club restricted to no more than 20 members. The club pays the airport more than $13,000 a year for bow-hunting access from Sept. 1 through April 30 on more than 1,861 acres.

(My story about bow hunting at airports first appeared on USA TODAY in a slightly different format.)

Match made in HEL: skateboard at Helsinki Airport

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Admit it: even if you’re not a skateboarder, you’ve looked down those long airport corridors and thought about how cool it would be to cover those distances on a skateboard.

Now Finland’s Helsinki Airport is going to give a select few skateboarders that chance. And more.

helsinki_airport_match_made_in_hel_finnair_finavia

As part of a promotion highlighting the airport as a transfer point, on October 12 and 13 Finavia and Finnair are hosting the Match made in HEL skateboarding invitational – which will turn the airport over Finnish professional skateboarder Arto Saari and skateboarders from Asia and Europe.

Want to join them? Skateboarders can apply by sharing their skate videos at matchmadeinHEL.com and four will be chosen.

I’m starting lessons now….

Yoga: now at Chicago’s Midway Int’l Airport

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Midway Yoga Room

September is National Yoga Month, which makes it great timing for the Chicago Department of Aviation to open the promised yoga room at Midway International Airport.

Located on Concourse C, Midway’s new yoga room has a sustainable bamboo wood floor, floor to ceiling mirrors on one wall, exercise mats and an area to store personal articles and garments. There are frosted windows on one side of the room to let in natural light and to provide a bit of privacy. There’s also a wall-mounted video monitor showing yoga exercise techniques and nature scenes, all with an audio plays soothing sounds.

Next door to Midway’s yoga room there’s a new room set aside for mothers who’d like some privacy while nursing a baby.

Midway mothers room

But, since it is National Yoga Month, let’s get back to yoga.

Here’s a list of other airports that offer yoga rooms for travelers:


Chicago O’Hare International Airport -opened in December 2013. You’ll find it on the Mezzanine Level of Terminal 3 Rotunda, near the airport’s urban garden.

San Francisco International Airport has two yoga rooms.
SFO YOGA ROOM

SFO’s Yoga Room in Terminal 2 (which was the world’s first yoga room in an airport) is closed until November 4, 2014 to accommodate a construction project. The airport’s second yoga room, located in Terminal 3, Boarding Area E, remains open.

AT Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, there’s a yoga studio located near Gate D40 in the hallway connecting Terminals B and D.

There’s also a space set aside for yoga at Burlington International Airport in Vermont.

Burlington yoga

At all of these airport yoga studios, soothing ambiance – and mats – are provided.

Meanwhile, at Helsinki Airport in Finland, Finavia’s TravelLab initiative has been testing out a variety of yoga offerings, including a Yoga Gate, yoga lessons and the sale of yoga-related items, including mats and clothes.

The summertime project also surveyed passengers about the whether or not they’d be interested in paying for taking a yoga lesson at the airport. Would you?

Helsinki_Airport_Yoga_Kainuu_TravelLab

(All photos courtesy of the respective airports)

Bike assembly station at PIT & other airports

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PIT bike-assembly-station

A big conference for advocates of walking and biking is being held in downtown Pittsburgh this week and to celebrate Pittsburgh International Airport has installed a bike assembly station in Baggage Claim with various tools, wrenches and an air pump for travelers to use to re-assemble bikes near Baggage Claim P.

The airport has also reopened access to the airport spur of the Montour Trail, which had been closed due to construction.

At least two other airports have bicycle assembly stations on-site: Oregon’s Portland International Airport and San Francisco International Airport.