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Happy 90th birthday, Phoenix Sky Harbor Int’l Airport. Party on!

Aviation history, History, Uncategorized, , ,

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), which calls itself ‘America’s Friendliest Airport,’ was surely the funnest airport to be at this week during an anniversary party commemorating the purchase of the rural airport in 1935.

90 years ago, ‘Sky Harbor’ was nicknamed ‘The Farm’ time because of its location. And back then, the purchase price was $100,000.

At the airport’s 90th birthday party, local leaders presented a proclamation and made some speeches.

Then it was time for a 90s-themed dance party and a parade of airport Navigator Buddies from the pet therapy program dressed in neon, as rock stars, as movie characters from “Clueless,” sports heroes, and more.

After all the dancing was over, airport personnel and the pups paraded through Terminal 4 and then boarded the PHX Sky Train to Terminal 3.

PHX has been celebrating its 90th anniversary all year with monthly events hosted in the Culture Corner, located post-security in Terminal 3. Check here to see if something will be happening next time you’re visiting PHX.  

Other anniversary activities at PHX include trivia with Amelia, the Airport’s mascot and music through the decades as part of the weekly Traveling Tunes programming.

The Airport Museum also has a special 90th anniversary exhibition on display in Terminal 4 called “From Farm Field to Airfield,” showcasing the airport’s beginnings and its significant milestones over the years.

You can read and see the exhibit from home starting here.

And, as a nice bonus, PHX travelers can stop by the Airport Information Counters to pick up a commemorative 90th anniversary airport trading card. Super collectible!

PHX Party photos by Mark Skalny Photo, courtesy of PHX

Fresh art at Milwaukee Mitchell Int’l Airport

Art, Uncategorized

(Courtesy Sarah Madden )

Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE) and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) have joined up for a new art installation at the airport.

(Courtesy Max Marlow)

(Courtesy Ben Commer)

The art show is on Concourse D, near the gates for Delta Air Lines and Spirit Airlines and features hand-pulled screen prints by Communication Design students.

Each piece offers a unique perspective on Milwaukee, focusing on the city’s landmarks and culture.

Go fly a kite & other things we’d love to do

Events, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

North America’s largest & longest-running kite festival

During the third full week of August, the charming coastal town of Long Beach, Washington hosts the Washington State International Kite Festival, the largest and longest-running kite festival in North America.

And it’s free.

The 2025 festival takes place from August 18 to 24 and includes kite competitions and performances, including synchronized kite ballet and mass ascensions where hundreds of kites fill the sky at once. Other kite festival activities include kite-making workshops, nighttime lighted kite flying and lots of opportunities to fly your own kite.  

While in Long Beach, be sure to visit the World Kite Museum and Hall of Fame.

The museum is home to more than 1,500 kites from 26 countries and includes a 300-piece Japanese kite collection and a set of WWII military kites.

(Kids with kite photo up top courtesy State Library and Archives of Florida via Flickr Commons)

This Oregon inn had us at “popcorn”

 

The Setting Inn Willamette Valley is a boutique retreat with an on-site wine tasting room in Newberg, Oregon, the heart of Oregon Wine Country.

We were fortunate to spend a delightful evening there a while back and loved the wine, the complimentary breakfast delivered to amenity-rich room, the indoor and outdoor gathering spots and the walkable grounds.

Now one of the inn’s new guest experiences has us contemplating a return trip.

From now through October, The Setting Inn is offering a Popcorn Pairing package that includes a bottle of The Setting Wines’ 2024 barrel-fermented Sauvignon Blanc with two bags of small-batch rosemary parmesan popcorn from Miss Hannah’s Gourmet Popcorn, a family-owned Newberg favorite. 

Cruise news: Holland America’s behind-the-scenes tours

Holland America Line’s popular behind-the-scenes tours of its cruise ships were on pause for the past few years due to a variety of health and safety reasons.

But they’re back on the paid activity list.

Available fleetwide by the end of July, each behind-the-scenes tour visits shipboard locations such as the navigational bridge, galley and engine control room, main laundry, recycling center, bakery and bars.

Holland America Line will also be marking America’s 250th birthday in 2026 with a special round-trip cruise from Boston. The seven-day “America’s 250th Celebration: Stars & Stripes Voyage” aboard Zuiderdam departs July 4, 2026, and includes a special call at Norfolk, Virginia, with access to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.

Bob Ross Experience at Indiana’s Minnetrista Museum

In 1887, the Ball family—makers of the famous Ball mason jars—moved their glass manufacturing business from Buffalo, New York, to Muncie, Indiana.

Today, that property is home to the 40-acre Minnetrista Museum & Gardens.

From 1983 to 1988, Bob Ross filmed “The Joy of Painting” in one of the homes on the property, which served as the studio for WIPB-TV. 

Now, the home is the site of the Bob Ross Experience, an exhibition featuring original paintings and artifacts, and the restored television studio where the show was filmed.

Visitors can stand where Ross stood at his easel and even take a painting class from a Certified Ross Instructor.

Travel tidbits from airports near you

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Happy Birthday BWI Airport


Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) celebrated its 75th birthday on June 24 with parties at various airline gates, refreshments, giveaways and a special water salute by the BWI Marshall Airport Fire and Rescue Department for the 75th daily arrival.

Singapore’s Changi Airport is also celebrating a birthday

Singapore’s Changi Airport is celebrating its 60th birthday this year with plenty of fun activities as well.

San Antonio International Airport (still) has cows

Three painted cow sculptures have mooved into San Antonio International Airport and will be auctioned off in August. While the cows are hanging around, SAT is hosting a photo challenge.

Here’s a better look at those painted cow sculptures.

We’re on a Cunard ship. (But just for a visit)

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Cruise season in Seattle is well underway with most of the 298 scheduled sailings offered by almost 10 different cruise lines heading north to Alaska.

The newest additon: the Cunard Line’s newly refreshed Queen Elizabeth, which is spending its first home port season in Seattle. The vessel set sail on Thursday for the first of eleven 7- to 12- night sailings from now through September.

Founded in 1840 and now owned by the Carnival Corporation, Cunard is synonymous with elegance, luxury, bespoke experiences and service.

On the refreshed Queen Elizabeth, there’s all that plus a new wellness cafe and a Harper’s Bazaar-branded series of spa treaments.

The Stuck at the Airport cruise review team had a chance to tour the ship while it was in port. Here are a few snaps from our visit.

If you do cruise out of Seattle, keep in mind that the Port of Seattle, which operates the cruise terminals and the airport, offers complimentary luggage transfer between your cruise ship and your airline at the end of your cruise. 

The Port Valet luggage transfer services means cruise passengers who disembark in the morning and don’t have to fly out till later in the day don’t have to drag bags with them through the city, find a place to store them or stand in line to check bags the airport.

It’s both a great cruise amenity AND a great airport amenity.

Swank new ways to fly + cool new places to fly to

Airlines, Uncategorized, , , ,

This week there was news about new planes with upgraded interiors and a bevy of “let’s go!” new routes.

Earlier this week we shared photos and notes about the new seasonal Edelweiss Air flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Zurich.

Alaska Airlines also announced that flights between Seattle and Rome will begin in May 2026. The carrier points out that the ‘Emerald City; will be connected to the ‘Eternal City’ for the first time.

With Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines recently launched flights to Tokyo Narita and in September will begin flying to Seoul, South Korea.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) celebrated new seasonal nonstop service to Athens Airport (ATH).

American Airlines woos with the ‘premium’ Boeing 787-9 aircraft

And this week, to much hoopla, American Airlines began flying one of its new 787-9P ‘premium’ aircraft, with an inaugural flight on June 5 from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Sadly, the Stuck at The Airport team, sadly, wasn’t on that first flight. But we look forward to hopping on board soon to experience all the new creature comforts.

Here’s a short video of the new interior that the airline shared a few weeks back.

And here’s an important public service announcement

(Image courtesy Clark County Dept of Aviation)

Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas and the #WhatsMyName Foundation introduced a safety campaign that is important to remember every time and anywhere you hail a rideshare.

The foundation was created to honor Sami Josephson, a young woman kidnapped and murdered by a fake rideshare driver in 2019. The campaign uses the letters of Sami’s name to spell out the tips that could save your life.

Here are the tips to remember:

S: Stop before you get in a vehicle and go over the safety rules in the app

A: Ask your driver “What’s my name?” to confirm that they are the driver assigned to you. (Don’t say, “Are you ….”)

M: Match the make, model and license plate of the car with the one displayed in your rideshare app.

I – Inform a friend or family member of your ride details. Rideshare apps offer a real-time tracking app. Use it.

After 16 years, SAS resumes flights between Seattle & Copenhagen

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(Photo courtesy Port of Seattle)

SAS returns to SEA

It’s always good news when an airline adds a new route and an airport picks up a new or returning customer.

But the relaunch of SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) flights on May 21, 2025 between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and SAS’s main hub at Denmark’s Copenhagen Airport (CPH) is especially notable because the carrier starting serving SEA in the 1960s and last flew direct flights between Seattle and Denmark 16 years ago, back in 2009.

Here’s a photo from the Port of Seattle showing airport officials presenting SAS representatives with a framed photograph of SEA Airport in 1966.

SAS will now operate five weekly nonstop flights (Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun) between SEA and CPH on a seasonal schedule, through the end of October.

The carrier will use an Airbus A350-900 for the first five weeks of service and switch to an Airbus A330-300 at the end of June.

The StuckatTheAirport team is heartbroken to have missed the inaugural SAS flight from SEA to CPH. But we were able to attend a celebration hosted by SAS and the Port of Seattle at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle.

The event featured a panel discussion with SAS representatives and industry leaders covering topics such as SAS’s long-standing connection with the Seattle community, its recent partnership switch from Star Alliance to SkyTeam, the reintroduction of business class cabins on SAS flights within European and other steps that fall under “the umbrella of becoming a more premium airline,” according to Paul Verhagen, SAS’s EVP and Chief Commercial Officer.

Here are some snaps of the SAS event held at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle.

Back in 2010, SAS was the first airline in the world to host same-sex weddings in the air

Gay and lesbian couples wed on SAS

Back in 2010, the Stuck at the Airport wedding reporter was delighted to be on board when SAS became the first airline in the world to host both a gay and lesbian wedding onboard a flight.

The “Love is in the Air” event took place on a flight between Stockholm and New York. Read about it on Stuck at the Airport here.

SAS hosts first same-sex, inflight wedding

New reasons to visit the National Air & Space Museum

Museums, Uncategorized

The Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. has been undergoing a major renovation since 2018, with a completion date set for July 1, 2026, the museum’s 50th anniversary.

In the meantime, fresh new galleries and exhibitions are opening in phases.

Five new exhibitions, the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater and the museum’s redesigned entrance on Jefferson Drive along the National Mall will open Monday, July 28.

The museum will bring back thousands of artifacts that have been in storage and debut many new ones.

Free timed-entry passes will still be required to visit the museum. And passes for the July 28 opening and beyond will be available on the museum’s website starting June 13.

Here are the galleries that will be opening this year on June 28, 2025 and next year on July 1, 2026, with links to descriptions of the upgrades and key artifacts to be featured.

We’re looking forward to seeing some favorites, including Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed 5B Vega (above) in which she set two records, and the Spirit of St. Louis, below.

“Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall”

“Futures in Space”

“Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight”

“World War I: The Birth of Military Aviation”

Allan and Shelley Holt Innovations Gallery

Galleries opening July 1, 2026:

“Textron How Things Fly”

“At Home in Space”

“RTX Living in the Space Age Hall”

“Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air”

“Modern Military Aviation”

“U.S. National Science Foundation Discovering Our Universe”

Flight and the Arts Center

(Images courtesy of the National Air and Space Museum)

Flights we’d take on Alaska and United

Airlines, Uncategorized,

Alaska Airlines’ 1st intercontinental route: SEA to Tokyo

(Image courtesy Port of Seattle)

On Monday, Alaska Airlines celebrated its first intercontinental flight to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT).

The new daily flight, operated by Hawaiian Airlines, which Alaska Airlines acquired in September 2024, is on an A330 aircraft and is the first of 12 international wide-body flights Alaska plans to roll out by 2030.

Next up: Seattle to Seoul, starting on September 12, 2025.

Any place United’s updated 787-9 Dreamliners will fly

(Courtesy United)

When United Airlines begins taking delivery of its new 787-9 Dreamliners, sometime before the end of the year, there will be a slew of snazzy nose-to-tail upgrades throughout the aircraft.

Especially in the business class cabin.

As part of what the Chicago-based carrier is dubbing the United Elevated interior, these new Dreamliners will sport two business class suites in the first row of each business class section.

The suites will be 25% larger than standard United Polaris seats and have privacy doors, an extra ottoman seat for companions, special entrée options, wireless charging, a huge 27-inch, 4K OLED seatback screen and a host of other amenities, including hoodie pajamas and slippers, new noise-canceling headphones and amenity kits, playing cards, a velvet throw pillow on the ottoman as well as Saks Fifth Avenue bedding that includes a duvet, day blanket, large pillow and cooling gel pillow.

Standard United Polaris seats will also get upgraded to suites with the addition of sliding doors and larger, 19-inch 4K OLED screens, multiple charging options for gadgets and the option to choose between seats that face the window or the center of the aircraft.

Premium Plus, Economy Plus and Economy seats are also getting some updates with the Elevated interior, including Bluetooth connectivity.

United Aircraft with the “Elevated” interior will also be among the first United widebody planes to have free Starlink connectivity for United MileagePlus members.

The carrier expects to take delivery of the first 787-9 Dreamliner with the Elevated interior before the end of 2025 with the first international passenger flights planned in 2026 from San Francisco to Singapore and San Francisco to London.

JetBlue’s donut plane

liveries, Uncategorized,

JetBlue’s new “Brewing Altitude” livery


JetBlue has been serving Dunkin’s Original Blend coffee to passengers since 2006.

Now the Boston-based carrier is celebrating the perky partnership with a Dunkin’-themed livery.

One of JetBlue’s Airbus A320 aircraft now sports the Brewing Altitude paint job in Dunkin’s iconic pink and orange branding, with a donut and coffee motif.

Fly JetBlue’s donut plane, get rewards

To celebrate the new donut livery, JetBlue and Dunkin’ are offering a bonus perks to TrueBlue and Dunkin’ Rewards members who fly on Mondays, from May 19 through September 1, 2025.

TrueBlue members who fly on eligible routes on the aircraft will receive Mosaic 1 status and Dunkin’ Rewards members will earn Boosted status for three months.

Current Mosaic members will receive 20 bonus tiles, applied to their 2025 tile tracker. Existing Boosted Status members will earn two times the number of points on top of the base points earned for all qualifying purchases for three months.

Terms and conditions apply, of course, but you can see the routes that Brewing Altitude will fly each Monday of the promotion, here.

(JetBlue images courtesy JetBlue)