Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport

CVG: 5 Things We Love About Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport

Airport guides, , , ,

The “5 Things We Love About…” series on Stuck at The Airport celebrates features and amenities at airports around the country and the world.

Today we’re sending some love to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG).

If we miss an amenity at CVG that you love, please be sure to mention it in the comments section below. The same goes for nominating another airport for the series.

CVG: 5 Things We Love About Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport”

1. Miniature Therapy Horses that visit CVG

Many airports have teams of therapy dogs that come by to help destress passengers in the terminals.

CVG has a partnership with Seven Oaks Farm, which brings miniature therapy horses by the airport.

2. CVG’s Autonomous Floor Scrubbers and Vacuum Robots

CVG is serious about staying clean. So keep on the lookout for Neo, a floor-scrubbing robot made by Avidbots and vacuum robots from Softbank.

3. CVG’s themed Cincinnati Zoo play area

The Cincinnati Zoo partners with CVG to make a play area celebrating Fiona, the zoo’s celebrity hippo who gained fame for being the smallest hippo to survive being born six weeks premature.

4. History exhibits at CVG

In another charming community partnership, CVG features Cincinnati Museum Center exhibits – including the Mastodon in Concourse B.

5. Beer, Bourbon and Cute Souvenirs at CVG

Cork N’ Bottle and has several other establishments at CVG feature a wide variety of Kentucky bourbons. They love beer here, too. And the airport has partnered with the Christian Moerlein Taproom to make the bespoke JET CVG beer.

Need a souvenir? Of course you do.

Cincinnati’s unofficial mascot is a winged pig, which celebrates the city’s pork processing past.

CVG’s shops carry everything from piggy banks to chocolate pig “poop”.

One good reason to check a bag on your next flight

Events, , ,

So many people are determined to travel with just a carry-on bag these days.

No fees and no waiting at the bag claim carousel are just two of the many good reasons for sticking with a carry-on only policy.

But here’s one good reason why you might want to check a bag next time you fly.

Prizes. And surprises.

On Monday, passengers on an arriving United Airlines flight at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) were greeted with a surprise welcome party at the bag claim.

Before spitting out real baggage, the bag carousel dispensed gift boxes with restaurant gift cards, socks, water tumblers, earbuds, holiday snacks, and more.

The party didn’t stop there.

Other travelers could visit the hot chocolate bar, snack on Graeter’s ice cream samples, and listen to carolers from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.

And check out this gift-delivering Grinch.

And it looks like other airports have the same idea this holiday season.

Here’s a tweet from the Krakow Airport, showing gift bags arriving for passengers at the bag claim as well.

What do you think? Would the possibility of prizes at the baggage claim carousel make you rethink your carry-on only policy?

CVG Airport serving Jet CVG beer

Food, , , ,

The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is now home to the Christian Moerlein Malt House Taproom at CVG.

Opereted by HMSHost, the more than 1,600 square-foot full-service restaurant and bar is located at Concourse A by gate A15.

A local favorite, the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company opened in 1853 in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. The new Christian Moerlein Malt House Taproom at CVG brings a taste of the brewery’s heritage to the airport with both handcrafted brews and a menu that includes meat and cheese boards, salads, burgers, and other beer-friendly entrées.

Among the Christian Moerlein’s signature craft beers being served in a setting reminiscent of Cincinnati’s celebrated 19th century beer gardens is a special new brew called JET CVG.

Here’s the brewery’s description of the JET CVG beer:

It’s a German-style Schwarzbier beer that “jet” black in color with a light mouth feel and clean lager taste. It pays tribute to Cincinnati’s German brewing legacy featuring Old World Pilsner, Munich, Caramunich II, Carafa III, and Chocolate malts as well as German Hersbrucker hops. Aroma and flavor are a combination of roasted malts, slight coffee, and hints of tobacco. 

Sounds tasty!

Miami Int’l Airport and the Miami Hound Machine

Animals, , , , , , ,

The ‘Miami Hound Machine’ – a team of therapy dogs – is coming to Miami International Airport.

Miami International Airport’s new therapy dog program, charmingly called the Miami Hound Machine, is making its debut today.

The team’s five volunteer K-9 Ambassadors – Abbey, Belle, Dash, Donovan and Pico – and their owners will be on site today with airport officials for a press conference. The pups will then go to work inside Concourse D, visting with passengers and being cute.

Members of the Miami Hound Machine are all certified therapy dogs from the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and will be on duty in the MIA terminals during peak travel periods.

Therapy dogs at airports are a growing trend. So are the types of animals on the therapy dog teams – San Francisco International Airport’s Wag Brigade has a pig (Lulu); Denver International Airport’s CATS program (Canine Airport Therapy Sqaud) has a cat named Xeli, and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) often has a small herd of miniature horses stop by.

Have you encountered a member of an animal therapy team at an airport? Thumbs up or down?

Fresh arts/entertainment at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport

Art, Aviation history, , ,

 A fresh program of live local art and entertainment offerings – “ArtsWave Presents” – begins today, March 16, at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) and continues on Friday afternoons through May.

Here’s what’s on tap for the next few weeks.  

·         2-3 PM: Friday, March 16: Northern Kentucky University Philharmonic

·         2-3 PM: Friday, March 30: James McCray Choral Ensemble

·        More to come  Fridays: April 6; April 20; May 4; May 25

CVG, which is currently undergoing a $6 million terminal modernization project, is also displaying a nice collection of items from the Cincinnati Museum Center, including the spacesuit of Neil Armstrong.

And, of course, this is the airport that has miniature therapy horses come visit with travelers.