Edmonton International Airport

Say yes to the YEGnog at Edmonton Int’l Airport

Yesterday Stuck at the Airport cheered London Heathrow Airport’s holiday campaign to hand out thousands of gifts to passengers during December.

LHR isn’t alone in surprising passengers with gifts.

Edmonton International Airport (YEG) in Alberta, Canada is doing its part too.

Playing off its airport code – YEG – the airport is running a two-part YEGnog campaign that includes an in-terminal ‘surprise and delight’ experience for passengers.

As you can see from the video below, passengers are being gifted cartons of #YEGnog.

Instead of containing eggnog drinks, the containers are filled with prizes such as gift cards to airport shops & restaurants. Some YEGnog containers have branded YEG merchandise such as socks, selfie lights, and those popular tile trackers.

The #YEGnog campaign also has a Facebook comment-to-win contest that’s running until Christmas. Participants in the social media contest have a chance to win one of nine prizes, including gift cards, prize packs, and free flights.

The #YEGnog campaign is definitely in the running for Airport Amenity of the Week

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Cool new COVID-fighting airport amenities

Airports are rolling out new COVID-fighting amenities faster than we can keep up with them.

Here are few I’ll be talking about this week during the virtual Travel 2021 Summit taking place on October 7 and 8.

We’ll be talking about airports and airlines on Thursday at 10 a.m. east coast time.

The line-up includes lots of experts talking about what’s going in travel now – and what might happen in the near future. Registration is free.

Use your toes in the elevators at Tucson International Airport

At Tucson International Airport (TUS), elevators are now touch-free. Thanks to the addition of toe tap buttons.

Free gadget cleaning at Toronto Pearson International Airport

It looks like a copy machine. But if you put your gadgets in these machines at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) they will get zapped by a UV-C light that destroys novel coronavirus cells.

24-hour kiosk stocked with essentials at Edmonton Int’l Airport

This self-serve Rexall Drug Store machine at Edmonton International Airport (EIA) has 85 different items.

Long Beach Airport wants you back

Long Beach Airport (LGB) has a new video out to remind travelers that they’ve got outdoor concourses and other amenities that are reassuring for travelers.

https://twitter.com/LGBAirport/status/1313279134068400128?s=20

Grizzlies, Oilers and more: fresh art at Edmonton International Airport

Fresh art at Edmonton Int’l: Airport. Snow Globe: The Long View by Seattle artist Claudia Fitch

 

As part of its 2012 expansion project, Canada’s Edmonton International Airport (EIA) has installed some fun, fresh art and a wide variety of new food and retail outlets, including a Belgian Beer Café.

Four new art displays, include an ensemble of wood, stone, glass and metalwork sculptures by seven members of the Alberta Craft Council, a paper and book art display (Pulp Paper Pages) , also courtesy of the Alberta Craft Council, Hanging Out With The Grizzlies by Edmonton-area sculptor Jim Flaman and Snow Globe: The Long View by Seattle artist Claudia Fitch.

Sports-themed baggage carousels celebrate the Eskimos, Oilers and Oil Kings.

Here’s a selection of photos, courtesy of Edmonton International Airport.

Pulp and Paper Display at Edmonton international Airport.

 

Local sports teams are celebrated at the new baggage carousels.

Some of the work on view from Alberta Craft Council artists.

Hanging out with the Grizzlies – by Jim Flaman of Sherwood Park, Alberta

Souvenir Sunday: ice from Edmonton International Airport

It’s Souvenir Sunday, but this souvenirs would be difficult to put in your pocket.

On Friday, a mysterious 8 ft. by 4 ft. box filled with a 4,500 lb. block of snow was deposited outside Canada’s Edmonton International Airport.

Edmonton Airport ice carving

What's in that box?

Who sent it? What was it for? And who would come and claim it?

Saturday, the mystery was solved.

During a raging snowstorm, four Chinese sculptors armed only with hand tools ( no chain saws…) showed up and spent their day transforming the block of snow into a work of art featuring images from the Beijing Opera.

Edmonton Airport ice carving

Harbin ice carvers at Edmonton Airport

Turns out the sculptors are from Harbin, China, which is Edmonton’s sister city, and the snow sculpture was created to kick off Edmonton’s Ice on Whyte ice-carving festival, which runs through January 23rd.

Harbin, China ice carvers at Edmonton Airport

This year’s festival has a Chinese theme and nine ice and snow carvers from Harbin, China (famous for hosting the largest ice-carving festivals in the world) will work with Canadian artists to fill a local park with ice and snow creations that include a Giant Ice Dragon Slide, Ice Pagodas, a Great Wall, a Children’s Play area and more.

Bundle up and go!

(All photos courtesy of Edmonton International Airport)

Airports – and now airlines – trash talking each other

For my At the Airport column on USAToday.com this month, Airport wars escalate with attack ads aimed at rivals, I wrote about a new YouTube video about San Francisco International Airport, that features cameo appearances by SF  Mayor Gavin Newsom and Marion & Vivian Brown, the kooky 83-year-old identical twins who have become beloved San Francisco icons.  Designed to promote SFO as the connecting hub of choice for travelers coming to the United States from New Zealand or Australia, the short video compares SFO’s airy, international terminal to an unnamed airport simply referred to as “the bad airport.”

An SFO spokesperson insists there is no specific “bad airport,” but given the target market I’d guess, oh… that LAX is the airport campaign designers had in mind.

Other airports have no problem calling out the competitor they’re trashing by name. Canada’s Edmonton International Airport recently rolled out a “Stop the Calgary Habit” campaign, urging residents of central and northern Alberta to stop connecting through or driving to Calgary International Airport.  The campaign has tag line: “When you go south, so does your air service,”; videos showing repentant passengers; and a tool kit that includes an “Emergency Hypno Cure” to help break the habit.

Of course, there was the challenge Air New Zealand threw down to Southwest Airlines.  Air New Zealand  produced a series of cheeky commercials and an in-flight safety video that showed airline employees dressed in nothing but cleverly applied body paint.  Then ANZ challenged Southwest Airlines to do the same:

Southwest’s answer?  “We’d rather rap”:

Now we have two airlines trading smackdown videos.  Air Tran Airways and Southwest.  See how Southwest started it.

Air Tran’s response?

“We thought about it and thought about it and decided to not respond at all. After all, focusing on running the best low-cost carrier in America is enough to keep us busy.  BUT…if we were to respond, it might look something like this:”

Can’t wait to see what’s next!