airport rocking chairs

Part 2: Best new airport amenities of 2025

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We’re back with Part 2 of our list of Best New Airport Amenities of 2025.

You can see Part 1 here and a selected list that we prepared for The Points Guy site.

Here’s another batch of new amenities and cool events we spotted at airports in 2025.

Let us know if we missed your favorites.

Balloon taco at San Jose Mineta International Airport

We’re delighted when new restaurants with real food open at airports. And this year there were lots of grand opening celebrations.

This ballon taco created for the opening of Mi Casa Cantina at San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) is one of more charming ways to announce fresh eats.

White Castle vending machine at Boston Logan International Airport

Fans of White Castle may know that the company has no brick and mortar restaurants in New England. But the now has a vending kiosk at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) In the Terminal A satellite concourse, by the kids’ play area.

The machine dispenses hot sliders, including beef sliders, cheese sliders and cheddar bacon cheese sliders 24/7, in about 2 minutes.

And, as the sign says, the service has “No Tips, No Fees, No Lines.”

Fresh rocking chairs for Bradley International Airport

Rocking chairs at airports aren’t new.

There’s popular sights and seating options at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), which started the trend back in the 1990s, and a Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and many other airports.

We still take note when a new batch arrives. And this summer 9 new painted rocking chairs showed up at Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Connecticutm,

In the spring, the airport gave nine participating schools from Connecticut and Western Massachusetts unfinished wooden rocking chairs with an invitation to paint the chairs with a design that represents their town or state.

This great art is the result.

Fresh art at airports

Airports are great places to see, discover and enjoy art.

And the art collections of airports around the country are wonderful. And growing.

This year, a mural of President Jimmy Carter and his wife and First Lady Rosalynn was installed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). The mural, titled “Well Done Good and Faithful Servant, The Carters,” is by Atlanta-based artist Fabian Williams.

A few other new permanent art installations of note include:

Convergence / Austin is now at Austin – Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and is the work of Austin-based artists, Beili Liu Studio.

The work spans 16 feet by 12 feet, includes 400 vertical strands holding 3,200 elements, and fills the high bay triangular area across from Gate 15 in the main AUS Barbara Jordan Terminal.



Nashville International Airport’s (BNA) new Concourse D Extension has lots of art, including Brenda Stein’s terrazo floor images of some of the cities most recognizable buildings and locations.


We’re gathering top picks for our Best New Airport Amenities of 2025 – Part 3, so let us know what you’ve spotting during your travels this year.

Relax in cool rocking chairs at Bradly Int’l Airport

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Bradley International Airport (BDL) now has 9 new painted rocking chairs in the terminal, thanks to some creative high school students from Connecticut and Western Massachusetts.

In the spring, the airport gave nine participating schools unfinished wooden rocking chairs with an invitation to paint the chairs with a design that represents their town or state.

The finished chairs, now adorned with images that celebrate local landmarks, picturesque scenes, historical references and school pride, are back at the airport and located post-security in the terminal.

If you’re traveling through Bradley International Airport, take a moment to enjoy the painted rocking chairs and some of the permanent and temporary art exhibitions and live music offered through the BDL Art & Music program.

5 Things We Love about Oregon’s Eugene Airport

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Eugene Airport (EUG)

Oregon’s Eugene Airport (EUG) is also known as Mahlon Sweet Field and was named in honor of Mahlon Sweet. He was the automobile dealer and aviation enthusiast who built the city’s first airstrip – Eugene Airport Park – in 1919.

Today, EUG has 10 gates and is served by 7 air carriers – Alaska, America, Avela, Allegiant, Delta, Southwest, and United – and offers direct flights to 14 cities.

Here are 5 Things to Love About EUG Airport

1. Free Short Stories

EUG is one of a handful of airports around the country that hosts a Short Story Dispenser from French Publishing House Short Édition.

The dispenser at EUG is in a prime location: right at the top of the stairs on the way to the busy A Gates and is offered in partnership with the Eugene Public Library.

Passengers may choose one of three buttons and request a local, international, or kid’s story. Once a selection is made, a free short story or poem is printed right away on an ink-free, eco-friendly strip of paper.

2. A Great Art Collection at EUG

A mural-sized version of a license plate that benefits the Oregon Cultural Trust is on display near the A Gates. Travelers are invited to search for the 127 Oregon cultural symbols featured in the artwork.

The airport has plenty of other art throughout the terminal, including a changing gallery of work by adults in the Oregon Supported Living Program; a collection of images taken from data collected by University of Oregon researchers in astronomy, biology, and other sciences; and a fun multi-site work called “Flight Patterns,” by David Joyce that features almost life-sized photos of people in various mid-flight poses.

3. Rocking Chairs

EUG offers seating with power ports, seating at high tables, and, of course, banks of traditional airport seating.

But the most coveted seats at Eugene Airport, as at many other airports, are the rocking chairs.

4. Big Duck Statues

A handful of the 6-foot-tall fiberglass ducks that were once part of an art installation around town back in 2002 have waddled their way to the airport.

5. Souvenir Sasquatch Poo

There are lots of local and regionally-themed souvenirs to buy in the airport shops. But one of the most popular items is Bigfoot Poop.

5 Things We Love About Eugene Airport is part of the ongoing 5 Things We Love About .. series on Stuck at the Airport. Let us know if you’d like us to add your favorite airport.

DCA: 5 Things We Love About Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

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Our “5 Things We Love About…” series continues today with some of the features and amenities at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

Address-wise, DCA Airport is in Virginia. But it is just a 20-minute Metro ride from the airport to the National Mall and all the free Smithsonian Institution museums.

Keep in mind that some of the amenities we love at DCA may be temporarily unavailable due to health concerns. We are confident they will be back.

And don’t forget to take a look at some of the other airports profiled in the “5 Things We Love About…” series.                           

5 Things We Love About Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

1. The views of Washington, D.C.’s monuments

Nice, right?

Aviation geeks who would rather look at airplanes than landscape and monuments know what Gravelly Point Park sits at the end of DCA’s longest runway and offers great plane spotting opportunities.

2. The Historic DCA Lobby

DCA Opening Day – June 16, 1941

Washington National Airport opened for business on June 16, 1941 with service from two airlines: American and Eastern.

Back then the facility was “ultramodern” in terms of building design, air traffic control, and convenience.

Today, the historic Terminal A lobby still feels swanky, in that 1940s way.

You’ll also find photos from the earlier era along the wall in the hallway to the west of the lobby and, nearby, an exhibit area with artifacts and information from Abingdon, a colonial plantation that once stood on the airport’s grounds.

3.  Ben’s Chili Bowl restaurant

DCA has a branch of Ben’s Chili Bowl, a landmark restaurant in Washington, D.C. known for chili dogs, half-smokes, and milkshakes.

4. The Art at DCA

Floor medallion DCA by Frank Stella
Floor medallion – Sol Lewitt
Floor medallion by Michele Oka Doner

Art is an integral part of Terminal B/C, which was designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli.

The permanent artwork includes ten floor medallions on the concourse; 11 balustrades that overlook the concourse; 5 murals; 2 stained glass friezes and more.

5. The Rocking Chair Lobby in Terminal A

We love any airport that has rocking chairs. Don’t you?

Did we miss some of your favorite features or amenities at DCA – Ronald Regan Washington National Airport?

Let us know in the comments section below.

Rocking chairs at Sea-Tac rocked out

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As airport amenities go, rocking chairs are highly appreciated offerings.

Rockers at Boston Logan Airport

You’ll find rocking chairs at airports in Boston, Houston, Charlotte, Philadelphia and many other cities, but right now the rocking chairs that were set out by the giant window in the Central Terminal at Sea-Tac International Airport are gone.

“They have been so popular they have been loved to worn out,” Sea-Tac spokesperson Perry Cooper told StuckatTheAirport.com. “We had four and we are ordering several more this time because they were so popular and we want to have extras as well.”

Cooper says the new rockers should be in the terminal in time for holiday rocking.

 

Rockers at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport

(Rocking chair at St. Louis Airport)