Most airports that had them before the pandemic have now brought back their teams of stress-busting therapy animals to the terminals.
A great example is SFO’s Wag Brigade, which is made up of about a dozen cute pups, a pig named LiLou, and the newest member of the team, a 28-pound Flemish Giant rabbit named Alex the Great. Look for them all next time you’re in SFO.
Finnair handing out Nort Pole Diplomas
Yes, even adults love getting a set of plastic wings when onboard some airplanes. But Finnair has brought back a cool amenity for travelers: a certificate for passengers who have flown over the North Pole.
Back in 1983, when Finnair became the first airline to fly non-stop from Europe to Japan, passengers on the carrier’s Tokyo flights were given a certificate for flying over the North Pole.
Now, Finnair is using that polar route again in order to avoid flying in Russian airspace. And the carrier has brought back the certificate – plus some Moomin stickers.
On March 9, flight AY073 from Helsinki to Tokyo Narita headed towards the North Pole, instead of heading East. With this flight, Finnair resumed its service to Tokyo Narita, skirting around Russian airspace that closed on February 28.
Since Russia closed its airspace on 28 February, we have had to find alternative routes for our Asian flights. If your flight is operated over the North Pole, we will reward you with a Northern route diploma, which was also handed out back in the 1980s. https://t.co/wtve1YU4LIpic.twitter.com/Mb9mC8Dtzn
Now that the Stuck at the Airport museum team is back in the field, we’re adding a stop to the Indiana State Museum to our list so we can see the exhibit about Major Taylor: Fastest Cyclist in the World.
Explore the life and career of America's first Black sports superstar in "Major Taylor: Fastest Cyclist in the World" – NOW OPEN at the Indiana State Museum. Plan your visit: https://t.co/Gkdrz6oSb3pic.twitter.com/tZ0A7JbOY6
Our “5 Things We Love About…” series celebrates features and amenities at airports around the country and the world.
Today we land at Bradley International Airport (BDL), in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, about 15 miles from Hartford. BDL is New England’s second largest airport and has a great tagline: Love the Journey
5 Things We Love About Bradley International Airport (BDL)
1. Rocking chairs at Bradley Int’l Airport
Rocking chairs scattered throughout the terminal are decorated by area high school students to showcase a school, town or region.
2. Art & exhibits highlighting area attractions
Two art pieces from the Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield, MA (20 miles away) are displayed at Bradley International Airport. Travelers will also find two scale Lego models showcasing Connecticut’s iconic Mark Twain House and Museum as well as the Goodspeed Opera House.
3. Souvenir shopping at Bradley International Airport
You will find plenty of fun souvenirs in the BLD shops, including lobster lollipops and other items reflecting of the region to university themed apparel, such as clothing and memorabilia from Yale University and UConn, the University of Connecticut.
4. Therapy dogs at BDL
To help passengers “Love the Journey,” BDL airport partners with Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, Inc. for its therapy dog program.
5. The New England Air Museum at BDL
The 90,000-square-foot New England Air Museum is the largest aviation museum in the region and it is located right next to Bradley International Airport.
The collection includes more than 100 aircraft ranging from early flying machines to supersonic jets. More than half of the aircraft are on display in three large exhibit hangars and in an outdoor display area.
The museum has a large assortment of engines, artifacts and historical exhibits, including this wicker balloon basket from the 1870s built and flown by Plymouth, Connecticut native and aeronaut Silas Brooks that is believed to be the oldest surviving American-built aircraft.
Bonus: Sheraton Hotel at BDL Airport
The Sheraton Hartford Hotel is located in the terminal at Bradley International Airport. AvGeek alert: in addition to an indoor pool, the hotel has many rooms offering great views of the runway.
Did we miss one of your favorites amenities at Bradley International Airport (BDL)? Is there an airport you’d like to see featured in the “5 Things We Love About...” series on Stuck at The Airport? If so, please leave a note in the comments section below.
Our “5 Things We Love About…” series celebrates features and amenities at airports around the country and the world.
Today we land at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport (SNA), located in Santa Ana, about 35 miles south of Los Angeles, between the cities of Costa Mesa, Irvine and Newport Beach, and 14 miles from Disneyland.
Keep in mind that some of the amenities we mention at SNA Airport may not be available due to current health concerns. We’re confident they’ll be back.
If we miss a feature that you love at John Wayne Airport (SNA), please let us know in the comments sections. And if there’s an airport you’d like to see featured in the series, please speak up.
SNA: 5 Things We Love About John Wayne Airport.
1. The OC Air Pass
We’re not sure why didn’t know this, but John Wayne Airport has a gate pass program, the OC AirPASS, which allows guests without boarding passes access to the secure side of the Terminal.
The program is currently still operating, which means pass-holders can shop, dine, watch planes, and send off or greet friends and relatives at their gates from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
To apply for a pass, check-in at Information Booth B in Terminal B (Lower Level, Baggage Claim) with a valid government-issued ID.
2. Live music at John Wayne Airport
John Wayne Airport has an impressive roster of professional musicians who perform live in the Terminal as part of the JWAlive program.
Twice a month these performances are live-streamed on Facebook and Instagram as well.
For a sampling, here’s Bill Withers’ ‘Lovely Day’ performed by the JWAlive musicians.
3. THE JWA AirPAWS team
John Wayne Airport launched its AirPAWS Therapy Dog Program in late February 2020. The program works in partnership with Orange County Animal Allies to bring trained therapy dogs to the airport terminal to make everyone’s journey a little less stressful.
4. The JWA Art Program
Flight of Ideas, by Beth Nybeck
In addition to permanent public art installations in the terminal, the art program at John Wayne airport hosts museum-quality exhibitions in the terminal throuhgou the year.
Some of the hang glides on display at JWA
5. The Helping Hands program at SNA
Traveling through an airport is usually fun and exciting. But all those people, the bright lights, the odd noises, the security checkpoint experience, and the crowds can be overstimulating and overwhelming.
John Wayne Airport has a program called “Helping Hands” to help people especially sensitive to these situations and those traveling with people who may have a hidden disability, such as autism.
The Helping Hands team can do a lot to help make the airport journey smoother. The team can also provide an optional yellow bracelet to signal to airport employees that they may need to spend a little more time helping the bracelet wearer with for check-in, security screening, or other activities.
Did we miss one of your favorite features at John Wayne Airport (SNA)? Don’t forget to add it in the comments section below.
5 Things We Love About San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Today Stuck at the Airport kicks off a new feature of short airport profiles celebrating some of the services, amenities and features we love about airports around the world.
We could go on and on (as we often do) about some our favorites, of course.
But to keep things moving along, we are keeping the list for this series to just five things we love about each airport.
Our goal is to add at least one “Five things we love about…” feature each week. But, honestly, we’re just hanging around waiting for the time we can once again step foot into some of these airports, so during the next few weeks we’ll likely be posting a few of these features each week.
If you want to add a note about a feature or amenity you love about an airport that we don’t mention, we encourage you to add it in the comments section below.
Keep in mind: some amenities may be temporarily unavailable due to COVID-19 concerns.
And if you want to sponsor one of the “5 Things We Love About…” entries, get in touch.
5 Things We Love About: San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Courtesy SFO Airport
1. Museums at SFO Airport
Back in 1999, the SFO Museum was the first airport museum to be accredited by the Americal Alliance of Museums (AAM).
Today, the SFO Museum presents charming and educational exhibitions in more than twenty galleries through the airport terminals.
Courtesy SFO Museum
But that’s not all. SFO is also home to the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Museum and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, which is home to a permanent collection dedicated to the history of commercial aviation.
2. SFO’s “Kids Spot” play areas
Kids will definitely enjoy many of the museum exhibitions at SFO Airport, but they’ll also enjoy the interactive Kids Spot areas around the airport, located in Terminals 1, 2 and 3.
3. The SkyTerrace outdoor observation deck
Outdoor observation decks at airports are rare amenities these days. SFO has two.
The Outdoor Terrace in International Terminal 5 is located post-security (near Gate G14) and wooden chairs, tables, chaise lounges, drought-tolerant landscaping, bronze sculptures and 180-degree views of the airfield.
The SkyTerrace is an outdoor observation deck located pre-security in Terminal 2 that also offers great views of the airfield.
4. The Wag Brigade therapy animals
Like many airports, San Francisco International has a team of certified therapy animals that mingles with travelers to provide diversion and reduce stress.
SFO’s team is called the Wag Brigade and includes a charming assortment of dogs and a pig named Lilou.
5. Yoga Rooms
SFO created the first airport yoga room back in 2012. Now there are yoga rooms in Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. And a handful of other airports, include Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway Airports and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, have yoga rooms as well.
This “Things We Love About Airports” segment is made possible by Reel Women Productions, creator of books, radio documentaries, news and feature articles, and the StuckatTheAirport.com blog.
If you’d like to sponsor an upcoming “Things we love about airports” installment, get in touch.
We are too. But airports around the world are going all out to keep travelers and germs apart during this scary coronavirus time.
But for those worried about germs that may be spread by petting those stress-busting therapy pups, Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) has some good news.
In addition to all the COVID-19 precautions they are taking, Reno-Tahoe Airport is also sanitizing the pups on the Paws 4 Passengers team after each ‘use.’
So go ahead. If you’re traveling you can safely pet those pups. RNO is operating with safe pup-cleaning-protocol.
And we suspect other airports are doing this too.
We not only sanitize handrails & restrooms at RNO, we sanitize our Paws 4 Passengers therapy dogs! Pups are in the terminal now greeting passengers and spreading love, but not germs. After each scritch and pet, their owners wipe down the dogs with medical-grade sanitizing wipes. pic.twitter.com/iU1RIuSgTA
