Atlanta Airport

Food festival today at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int’l Airport

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If you’re passing through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) today (Oct 29), be sure to head to the Domestic Terminal Atrium for a fun food festival.

ATL is holding its fifth annual Taste of Hartsfield-Jackson event today.

The pre-security event gives travelers and locals a chance to sample dishes from more than 30 airport eateries.

Participants range from One Flew South, Cat Cora’s Kitchen, Atlanta Chophouse and Brewery, Atlanta Braves All-Star Grill and Paschal’s to Piece of Cake and Krispy Kreme.  

Tasting tickets are $15 for a book of 10 and you’ll need to hand over 1 ticket per taste.

You can purchase tickets on-site and 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank, a local nonprofit that distributes millions of pounds of food to community kitchens, shelters, senior centers, food pantries and more throughout the year. 

The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes music and a cooking competition with two airports chefs competing for the title of Taste’s Top Chef 2019,

Jazz in the Atrium series underway at ATL airport

Music, ,

The 36th annual Atlanta Jazz Festival kicks takes place Memorial Day weekend, May 25-27, but before that happens, the 12th annual Jazz in the Atrium series will be giving travelers a preview in the domestic terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

ATL JAZZ TRIO

The Moonlight Jazz Trio will perform at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport during the Jazz in the Atrium series.

The two-week program kicked off Monday night and features performances by local artists from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. each weekday through May 24.

Here’s the line-up:

May 14: Moonlight Jazz Trio

May 15: Tony Waters

May 16: Marlon Patton Trio

May 17: The Sparrow Trio

May 20:CC Booker

May 21: Trey Wright Trio

May 22: Gary Harris

May 23: Charles Marshall, The Jazz Ambassador

May 24: Life Force

Travel tidbits: double miles, bonus points & more

Mileage Programs, , , ,

American Airlines is sorry.

Sorry about a lot of things, no doubt, but definitely sorry about the service it’s been providing to passengers recently.

So in an effort to make nice, the airline is offering some nice bonus mile deals between now and the end of the year.

AAdvantage members will earn double miles on American Airlines, American Eagle or the American Connection carrier from November 16, 2012, through November 26, 2012 and earn double elite-qualifying miles and points for flights taken between now and the end of the year. You’ll need to register for the offer. Details here.

Want more bonuses?  Sign up for the “Thanks Again” program, which awards frequent-flier miles for parking, shopping or dining at participating merchants at the airports and at businesses in many towns. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport just joined the program and it’s a fair bet that your local airport has signed up too.  Do a search here to find out.

And here’s something fun:

This spring all Finnair airplanes will be decked out with special textiles and tableware bearing classic patterns from Marimekko, a Finnish design firm. Two of the airline’s long-haul aircraft will also be painted with a livery based on Marimekko designs. An Airbus A340 is already adorned with a floral print from 1964 and another plane will get its Marimekko marking in the spring.

 

Hungry sheep show up at Atlanta Airport

Airports, Animals, , , ,

Sheepherder and sheep at ATL Airport. Courtesy ATL airport

Goats do it in San Francisco. Now sheep are doing it in Atlanta.

As part of a pilot project, 100 grazing sheep (plus a few goats) are hard at work this week eating invasive plants such as kudzu on property belonging to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The sheep are hired from Ewe-niversally Green and are part of the “Have Ewe Herd?” program hosted by Trees Atlanta, a nonprofit group dedicated to planting and conserving trees.

Bethany Clark, a Trees Atlanta spokeswoman, said the airport had heard about their programs and asked to borrow the sheep for a week. “The airport will evaluate the effectiveness of the sheep, and we’ll go on from there,” she said.

Clark said that, while on duty, the sheep are protected by an electric fence and have both shepherd dogs to keep them corralled and guard dogs to protect them from predators such as coyotes. There’s also a human shepherd who checks on the sheep a couple of times each day.

Goats from Goats R Us have been munching weeds at San Francisco International Airport for at least eight summers. “They are hired help and used seasonally in an area that is home to two threatened species: the San Francisco garter snake and the red-legged frog,” said Michael McCarron, SFO airport spokesman. “The goats are easier to use than heavy equipment and we expect them to be back next year.”

In 2008, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport hired a herd of goats (and three sheep) from Goat Trimmers to spend 12 days eating wild blackberry bushes, Scotch broom and other weeds around the airport.

They have not been invited back.

“One of our struggles with the goats is you have to protect any foliage you want to save,” said airport spokesman Perry Cooper. “If you have an open field it works great. But when you have areas and plants you want to save within that area, you still have to use staff to build protection barriers. For us it wasn’t the best solution.”

(My story about sheep at Atlanta Airport first appeared on NBC News Travel).

Atlanta Airport – and others – get bigger

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The world’s busiest passenger airport is getting bigger.

Today, May 16, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport opens the new $1.4 billion Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal, named in honor of the city’s first black mayor.

“The opening of the international terminal is huge for Atlanta,” said the airport’s Aviation General Manager Louis Miller. “It gives international passengers their own terminal with its own entrance, it ends the baggage recheck process for Atlanta–bound passengers, and it enhances the airport’s overall capacity now and for the future.”

The opening of Atlanta airport’s new terminal comes on the heels of some other high-profile — and pricey — terminal openings in 2011, most notably San Francisco International Airport’s $388 million renovated Terminal 2 in April and Sacramento International Airport’s $1 billion new terminal in October.

The airport upgrades don’t stop there. Here are six more projects you may spy next time you fly:

Las Vegas

On June 27, McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas will open “T3,” a new high-tech, $2.4 billion terminal that will serve both international and domestic flights.

“Our plans for T3 include self-boarding podiums at all 14 gates, self-service kiosks equipped for customers to print and affix their own baggage tags, and a robust [free] wireless Internet system that will extend out to the ramp and allow customers to log on whether they’re inside the terminal or aboard an aircraft parked at the gate,” said Randall H. Walker, director for the Clark County Department of Aviation.

Miami

This summer, Miami International Airport will open a new federal inspection area at the North Terminal that is twice the size of the existing Concourse E facility. In early 2013, the airport hopes to have the entire multibillion dollar North Terminal project completed. “What remains to be opened are three passenger gates and five of the 10 baggage claim carousels in the international arrivals area,” said Greg Chin, communications director for the Miami-Dade County Aviation Department.

A new AirportLink Metrorail extension that will speed connections to downtown Miami is also being built.

San Diego

San Diego International Airport is halfway through a $1 billion sustainable “Green Build” expansion of its Terminal 2 that is scheduled to be completed in August 2013.

“When complete, Terminal 2 will have 10 new gates, a dual-level roadway to separate arriving and departing passengers, a large, bright concessions core and the largest airport USO in the world,” said Katie Jones, spokesperson for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles International Airport is building a new $1.5 billion Tom Bradley International Terminal, which will include new concourse areas and gates that will be able to accommodate the superjumbo Airbus A380 airplanes.
Renovations and upgrades are also underway throughout the rest of the airport.

New York

And in New York, Delta Air Lines is spending more than $160 million to renovate Terminals C and D at LaGuardia Airport and more than $1.2 billion on John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal 4. The LaGuardia project may be completed by the end of 2013; the JFK project, by spring 2013.

That’s a lot of airport-upgrade activity at a time when the economy remains skittish, fuel prices are still sky-high and airlines continue to scale back schedules.

“Airports are investing in modern infrastructure to ensure that their communities, and the companies in them, can successfully compete in an increasingly global economy,” said Greg Principato, president of Airports Council International -North America, an airport membership organization. “These facilities are an investment in our economic future.”

(My story about airport upgrades first appeared on msnbc.com)

Flower power at the Atlanta Airport

Art, ,

Traveling can get pretty hectic, so Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is encouraging passengers to stop and smell the roses.

Or at least stop and look at some incredibly real-looking photographs of flowers from the “Les Fleurs Photographic Collection,” by Georgia artist Barry Taratoot.

To photograph the plants, Taratoot placed them against solid-black backgrounds and “without trickery or modern technical manipulation,” somehow made the plants look like paintings. But they’re not.

Go see for yourself. The exhibit is on display in the ATL Airport Atrium through May 16, 2012.

Tidbits for Travelers: ATL, AUS and presidential places

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Cell phone lot at ATL

No matter what type of car you drive, if you travel to or from Atlanta, you’ll be pleased to know that on Thursday, February 16, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (finally!) opens its first cell phone lot for drivers waiting to pick up arriving passengers.

The 160-space lot is along South Terminal Parkway at the east end of the Park-Ride Reserve lot and has no flight monitors, portable toilets or other amenities.

Refrigerators at AUS

At the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, six decorated refrigerator doors are on display in the baggage claim area, at carousels two and four. The doors were used as canvases by high school students as a way to promote the importance of recycling and will be on display through the end of February.

Where to go for Presidents Day

And, if you’ve got Presidents Day off you may be trying to figure out where to go to get in touch with a presidential past. Here are some tools and tidbits that may be helpful.

From Friday, February 17 through Monday, February 20, the Presidents Gallery at Madame Tussauds in Washington, D.C. is offering free admission to anyone who shares a birthday with a U.S. president.

The folks at Roadside America, keen collectors of odd travel destinations, have just released a Roadside Presidents app for the iPhone. They’re charging $2.99 for it – but you can bet that it’s full of all manner of oddball Presidential landmarks and museums.

And, from my post on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin, here’s a list of some towns and attractions with special Presidents Day events on tap:

Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C., Ford’s Theater, the site of the April 14, 1865, assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, is hosting a Presidents Day open house on Feb. 20. Among the free activities scheduled are storytelling, Civil War-themed ranger talks and a presentation by costumed actors that includes a reconstruction of Lincoln’s assassination.

Every Four Years: Presidential Campaigns and the Press, a new exhibit opening at the Newseum Feb. 17, traces the way the media has covered presidential campaigns from “William McKinley’s 1896 front porch campaign to Barack Obama’s 2008 Internet campaign.” In addition to notable TV campaign ads, the exhibit includes campaign artifacts such as handwritten notes taken by John F. Kennedy during a 1960 presidential debate and the “Florida, Florida, Florida” white board used by NBC’s Tim Russert on election night 2000.

Bonus: The Newseum’s exhibit, First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets, runs through 2012.

Virginia
As the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents, Virginia proudly calls itself the “The Mother of Presidents” and has dozens of historic sites paying special Presidents Weekend tribute to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson.

There will be free admission on Feb. 20 at George Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon, where a costumed General Washington will be on hand for activities to include the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Washington’s Tomb, music and military performances and a (shh!) surprise birthday party.

During Presidents Weekend, actors portraying founding fathers George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison will be visiting Colonial Williamsburg.

Alexandria will be marking the 280th anniversary of George Washington’s birth with a celebration that includes a Birthnight Banquet & Ball (Feb. 18), a Revolutionary War Reenactment (Feb. 19) and the George Washington Birthday Parade (Feb. 20). Historic sites around Alexandria, such as Gatsby’s Tavern Museum, where early patrons included George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe, will offer free admission on Presidents Day as well.

Bonus: A free, self-guided walking tour of 21 of the 140 sites in Alexandria associated with George Washington is available (PDF).

Massachusetts
In Boston, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is celebrating Presidents Day with discounted admission from Feb. 18-26. An activity-filled Family Festival Day on Feb. 21 includes the opportunity to meet actors playing presidents and first ladies such as Thomas Jefferson and Dolley Madison.

Sleep like a president
Presidents Day weekend activities can include sleeping where a past president got some shut-eye.

“Every president from Eisenhower to George W has stayed at the Greenbrier in West Virginia, a historic hotel that still brings in weekend splurgers,” says Robert Reid, U.S. travel editor for Lonely Planet.

Another option: the Presidential Suite at the Waldorf Astoria New York. Every American President since Herbert Hoover has stayed in the suite, which is decorated with the personal desk of General Douglas MacArthur, one of John F. Kennedy’s rocking chairs and other presidential artifacts.

Presidential treatment doesn’t come cheap. A weekend night in a two-bedroom executive suite at the Greenbrier is about $900, while nightly rates for the Waldorf Astoria’s Presidential Suite begin at $10,000 – and include a background check.

Black History Month at Atlanta Airport

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Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s Black History Month music series is in full swing. The weekly concert program features soul, jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues and takes place Friday evenings during February from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the airport atrium.

Here’s what’s coming up:

February 10: Charles Marshall “The Jazz Ambassador”

February 17: The Sounds of Essence

February 24: Satin Finish Band

While you’re at ATL, be sure to take a moment to visit the airport’s exhibit honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Located on Concourse E, the exhibit features photographs and artifacts, including the suit King wore when he met with President Lyndon Johnson, a radio he used to listen to news reports while on freedom walks and the robe he wore to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.

Snack Saturday: Coca-Cola Freestyle machines at Atlanta Airport

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Atlanta Airport Coca-Cola freestyle machine

Self-serve soda-fountain at ATL

First introduced in 2009, Coca Cola Freestyle machines are touch-screen, self-serve soda fountains-in-a-box that let consumers choose from among more than 100 mixed-to-order sodas, juices, teas and other beverages.

The machines have been test-marketed around the country, but on Friday Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)became the first airport get to get one.

Alanta Airport Coca-Cola Freestyle machine screen

This first machine is at Famous Famiglia, by gate T6. Four more machines are scheduled to be installed at the airport by the end of the year: three by Gate A11 and one by gate D30.

Atlanta Airport coca cola freestyle machine

Kids (of all ages..) will no doubt love this machine. And with 100 choices, there’s no reason you have to ask the machine to make you a sugary soda.

Drink up!

For more on what to do when you’ve got a few hours to spend at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – or 49 other airports – see the airport guides I created for USA TODAY.

Stuck at Atlanta Airport? Don’t forget about all the art.

Art,

If you’re traveling through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport this summer, keep in mind (especially during long layovers) that there more than 250 works of art and several history displays throughout the airport.

In addition to an exhibit about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. atlanta-airport-mlk-exhibit-bigger-image

there’s an impressive of collection of more than twenty sculptures by a dozen of Zimbabwe’s top sculptors.

atlconversation-by-zimbabwe-artist-agnes-nyanhongo_hartsfield-jackson

There are also a variety of colorful large format murals and, to honor the International Year of Astronomy, an exhibition of out-of-this-world images marking the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s first recorded observations through a telescope.

ATL earth to universe