Denver International Airport

Puppets at LAX; an outdoor park at Denver Airport

Airports, Events, ,

Don’t be shy.

If you’re at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday or Wednesday, July 10 and 11, make your way to Terminal 4 (post-security) to see a performance by the LA-based Bob Baker Marionette Theater.

The shows will be at 11 am and noon each day and if you’ve got a ticket to any terminal at LAX it should get you through the security line at Terminal 4 as well.

 

For the summer, Denver International Airport has turned its 82,000 square-foot open-air plaza between the Jeppesen Terminal and the Westin Denver hotel into a Pop-Up Park with native Colorado trees and plants and 9,000 square feet of turf.

Passengers and locals are invited to hang out in the park, which has lawn games, lunchtime fitness classes, lounge seating and a variety of scheduled music events and activities. More details here.

 

Viral video shows dog owner ignoring her dog’s poop at Denver Airport

Pets, ,
Reno-Tahoe International Airport pet relief area

RNO airport pet relief area

Last week, my At the Airport column on USA TODAY discussed the challenge airports are having with all the animals – mainly dogs – passengers are bringing into the terminals. Some dogs are well-behaved; others not.

“We find them making messes on the airport carpet, interfering with the airport’s working dogs and, on occasion, biting other dogs or passengers,” said Kama Simonds, spokeswoman for Oregon’s Portland International Airport.

This week, PDX issued revised rules for animals in the airport  which include potential fines up for up to $250 for infractions such as letting your dog do its business on the floor and not cleaning it up.

Looks like Denver International Airport will have to consider adopting similar rules. This video of a woman chatting on the phone instead of cleaning up after her dog has gone viral, with folks on the Internet working together to ID her and shame her.

By the way, Denver International Airport has official dog relief areas in each concourse.

Travel Tidbits from Denver and Los Angeles airports

Animals, Bathrooms, ground transporation, , , , ,

Ending the week with some travel tidbits from airports for you.

Were you hoping that Norbert the Turtle really was joining the pet therapy program at Denver International Airport? That turned out to be an April Fool’s Day joke, but DEN did add their 101st member to their team.

Not a joke was the announcement that Los Angeles International Airport had installed Tooshlights in one set of bathrooms in the American Airlines Terminal 4 to guide lav users – via overhead red and green lights – to stalls that are open.

LAX also announced that $4.9 billion contract had been approved by the Los World Airports (LAWA) Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC) to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Automated People Mover (APM) system at the airport.

The system promises driverless trains that will arrive at every station every two minutes, and light-filled stations with escalators, elevators, and moving walkways. Bonus amenities include a viewing platform of the iconic Theme Building.

When will we be able to take the train to LAX? Sometime in 2023.

Goat yoga at Denver International Airport

Fun Stuff, ,

Airports around the country are bringing out the big guns (in most cases, Santa and his elves) to help entertain travelers during this busy and often stressful travel week.  But Denver International Airport will likley win “Airport Amenity of the Week” for the highly entertaining and stress-busting goat yoga session it offered passengers.

Take a look:

For the next few months you’ll find a goat-free, pop-up yoga studio at Denver International Airport where a smal fee gets you a private space and instructional videos.

There are also free yoga studo spaces at San Francisco International Airport, Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway Airports, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Miami International Airport and several others.

 

 

 

 

Free ice-skating at Denver International Airport

Airports, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, ,

Here’s a contender for Airport Amenity of the Week:

Free ice-skating (with complimentary ice-skate rental) is back at Denver International Airport from November 24 through January 7, 2018.

The 38-by-60-foot rink (which will be bigger than last year’s rink) will be  located in the pre-security area DEN Plaza and will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with holiday decorations, a lounge, storage cubbies and a wide variety of entertainment and family-friendly music playing in the background.

 

Denver Int’l Airport getting a pop-up yoga studio

Exercise, , , ,

Although bars and restaurants will beckon, travelers at an increasing number of airports have  plenty of places to stretch and work out.

Baltimore-Washington International Airport has an airport gym, Phoenix Sky Harbor International and many other airports offer marked walking paths, and San Francisco International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway Airports and others have free-to-use spaces set aside, with loaner mats, for yoga.

Now Denver International Airport gets its chance.

Courtesy Yoga on the Fly

For 90-days, starting November 6, Denver International Airport will have a pop-up guided yoga studio on Concourse A where travelers can pay to use private mini-studios for yoga sessions lasting from 15 to 60 minutes.

With each rental, Yoga on the Fly will provide instructional videos, yoga mats and wireless headsets. Sessions will costs $15 for 15 minutes, $20 for 20 minutes, $30 for 30 minutes, $45 for 45 minutes and $60 for 60 minutes. Each studio with have a ‘beauty bar’ with cleansing towels, face mist, hand sanitizer and lotion where customers can freshen up after their session and there will be a retail section at reception offering travel accessories.

If this first Yoga on the Fly pop-up is successful over this holiday season, company founders hope to make it a permanent amenity at Denver International Airport and other airports.

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An overnight ‘ride-along’ with United Airlines

Air Travel, Airplanes, Airport Terminals, Airports, , , ,

My overnight ‘ride-along’ last week with United Airlines at Denver International Airport was exhausting – but exhilarating and extremely educational.

I’m working on a full-length slide show (so far, I’ve got 60 photo keepers) and report for my next At the Airport column on USA TODAY,  but sharing a few snaps today here on StuckatTheAirport.com to get the ball rolling.

At around 10 pm, my tour started at United’s Station Operations Center – a darkened room where about 50 people were seated in clusters at desks with multiple computer screens doing everything from making sure passengers made their connections to monitoring weather and  gate assignments.

Then it was off to the maintenance hangar, where 8 airplanes were undergoing service checks and repairs, included an engine swap for an Airbus 319.

 

While in the hangar, another airplane was visited by a fast-moving cleaning crew, who were doing everything from cleaning the lavs and galley (with different rags and cleaning solutions) to making sure seat back literature was refreshed and the tray tables were washed.

 

At 3 am it was back to the Station Operations Center, which was pretty much empty, except for Zone Controller Mike Lowrey, who I’d met earlier in the evening. He was checking with maintenance to see if all the planes they’d been working on overnight were ready for morning flights and doing what he could to make sure the first flights of the day would leave on time.

 

3:47 a.m. : A quick look in the concourse to see if anything was happening. Nothing. Yet.

The Flight Operations Center opens at 6 a.m.  That where captains and first officers such as Michael Daigneault can pick up supplies and plan for their flights.

My flight back to Seattle left, on time, at 8:08 a.m. I even got a set of plastic wings from the crew.

My full report on my overnight ride-along with United Airlines at Denver International Airport will show up during the week on USA TODAY.

 

 

Rocky Mountain High: Denver Int’l Airport celebrates Colorado Music

Exhibits, Music, ,

A new exhibit at Denver International Airport celebrates Colorado Music – and about 25 of the artists from the state who have made an impact in the music world.

The exhibit include objects related to music legend John Denver, of course, but also Glenn Miller, Joe Walsh, Judy Collins, Big Head Todd & the Monsters and Chris Daniels.

The Colorado Music Hall of Fame and the John Denver Estate are among the sponsors of the exhibit, which features instruments, records, sheet music, handwritten lyrics, photography, costumes and more.

And check out this album from … The Astronauts – a Colorado-based band from the 1960s.

Look for the exhibit in Denver International Airports’ Ansbacher Hall, in Jeppesen Terminal, approaching A Bridge Security until October.

 

Fresh – folded – art at Denver International Airport

Art, ,

The newest art exhibit at Denver International Airport features a zoo’s worth of miniature to life-size origami animals made by noted origami artists from around the world.

The intricate artwork is made using a variety of different mediums, including paper, of course, but also copper and canvas. Look for this exhibit in the Terminal Gallery on level 5 west of the Jeppesen Terminal, near the north security checkpoint through September.

Here are some more images of the artwork, courtesy of Denver International Airport

 

At Denver Int’l Airport: Mini-golf, rock-climbing, more

Events, , , ,

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Denver International Airport has released the line-up for the “Events at DEN” series that will take place throughout the summer, fall and winter out on the covered plaza connecting the main terminal and the Westin hotel.

If you’re landing in Denver and taking the train into town (and you should), you’ll be passing right by these events, so take note and plan to spend some extra time having fun at the airport.

Here’s the run-down:

May 19: Jazzfest: A free jazz concert stretching from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. with a variety of Colorado bands, including Dotsero, the Mary Louise Lee band and the Hazel Miller Band. 

June 1- 30: Putt-Putt on the Plaza. This was a success last year, so DEN is bringing back a free 18-hole miniature golf course. Hours: 10 a.m to 7 p.m. daily. Show an ID to get a putter, golf ball and scorecard.

August 1 – 20: Colorado Adventures: From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, head to the DEN Plaza for zip-lining, a rock climbing wall and a virtual fly fishing experience.

Sept. 28 – Oct. 9: 4th Annual Beer Flights: Coinciding with Oktoberfest celebrations and the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, DEN’s beer garden will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with happy hour entertainment performances daily 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Admission includes a souvenir glass to taste your samples.

 Nov. 24 – Jan. 7: Ice skating. Free ice skating was popular last year, so that’s going to come back again this year – but bigger, with entertainment. Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.