Welcome to all the new Stuck at The Airport subscribers who have signed up over this past week. We suspect many of you found us through the mention of our site in this recent New York Times article about airport lounges.
But however you found us, we’re happy you’re here.
Here are some airport amenities we’re been researching this week.
Cruise to SEA airport
luggage-free
Thnking abot taking a cruise to Alaska? Good for you!
More than a million cruise passengers pass through Seattle – and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on their way to and from Alaska each summer.
And they all seem to bring along a lot of luggage.
When all those people finish their cruises and head back home, the bag check-in lines at the airport get really, really long.
In fact, Port of Seattle officials often point out that it is cruise season, not the Christmas/New Year holiday when the airport experiences its peak passenger count.
A good solution is the complimentary Port Valet service.
Cruise passengers can check-in for their flights and check their bags before they get off the ship. Port Valet does the bag transfers and the cruisers can hang around the city luggage- free before heading to the airport.
Whle the luggage transfer is free; regular checked bag fees apply.
Learn how to save a life while waiting for a flight
Los Angeles International is the latest airport to get a Hands-Only CPR Training Kiosk from the American Heart Association.
More than a dozen other airports have these kiosks as well and in just five minutes – the time it takes scroll through your Instagram feed (again) – you can watch a short instruction video (in English or Spanish), practice on a rubber manikin, get feedback on your technique and learn how to save a life.
Get coffee made by
a robot
In two locations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and, starting this week, in Terminal 3 at San Francisco International Airport, travelers can have coffee drinks prepared and delivered by robotic baristas in a Briggo automated Coffee Haus kiosk.
Orders can be sent ahead via the app, no pre-caffeine chit-chat is required, local coffee blends are featured, and there’s a robot on duty 24 hours a day.
Sensory-friendly Space with real airplane seating
Going to the
airport and getting on a plane can be stressful for anyone, but kids or adults
with autism or other special needs may need extra help acclimating and
adjusting.
To help out, Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) just opened Presley’s Place on Concourse A.
In addition to a calming transition foyer, family room, soundproof adult area, and restroom with adult changing table and adjustable sink, Presley’s Place is the first airport sensory room to also have the walls and floor of a real jet way and a seating section from a realistic airplane cabin, courtesy American Airlines.
Have you come across a new airport amenity during your travels? Let us know in the comment section below. If your tip is featured, we’ll send you a fun travel-themed souvenir.
There are lots of things you can do with your time when you’re stuck at the airport.
You can eat, shop, work, snooze, walk around, chat with other travelers, look out the window and catch up on phone calls.
Or you can learn to save a life at one of the Hands-Only CPR Training kiosks that have been popping up at airports around the country.
At each kiosk, there’s a brief “how-to” video followed by a practice session and a 30-second CPR test on a practice manikin, or a rubber torso.
The kiosk gives feedback about the depth and rate of compressions and proper hand placement – which are the factors that influence the effectiveness of CPR. And whether or not you might be able to save someone’s life.
“Every second counts when a person suffers a cardiac arrest, which is why bystander CPR must start immediately until professional help arrives,” said Dr. John Harold, a cardiologist and President of the American Heart Association’s Los Angeles Board of Directors. “But bystanders may be reluctant to perform CPR because of lack of training or they may be fearful. The kiosks will help the public acquire a comfort level with performing chest compressions without the stress of an actual medical emergency, so they’ll feel empowered to spring into action if they witness a cardiac emergency.”
Los Angeles International Airport is the latest airport to get a Hands-Only CPR kiosk. The LAX unit is located near Gate 150 on the Upper/Departures Level of Tom Bradley International Terminal.
An additional 35 of these kiosks are located across the U.S; 18 of them are in U.S. airports, including Oakland Int’l Airport, John Wayne Airport, Orlando International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and airports in Indianapolis and other cities. Check this location map to find a kiosk near you.
My “At the Airport” column for USA TODAY this month was a round-up of some of the best new amenities introduced at airports this year. Take a look a let me know if I missed one of your favorites.
Scratch and sniff
In 2017, passengers were able to visit with specially-trained therapy dogs and their trainers at a longer list of airports, with the newly re-branded Hollywood Burbank Airport joining the pack just last week with the introduction of its Traveler’s Tails program.
The type of animals visiting airports expanded this year as well. In 2016, a pig joined the canines on the Wag Brigade at San Francisco International Airport and miniature therapy horses became regular visitors at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. In 2017, Denver International Airport welcomed the first feline – a 12-pound domestic shorthair named Xeli – to the Canine Airport Therapy Squad, known as CATS.
Reel entertainment
Back in 2014, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport opened the “See 18” screening room near Gate C18 to showcase short films. This year, at least other airports joined the in-airport movie fan club as well.
In March of 2017, a 17-seat Hollywood Theatre ‘microcinema’ opened at Portland International Airport, showing a round-the-clock program of short features made by Oregon filmmakers.
In August, a bank of old flight monitors at Miami International Airport began showing vintage film footage of the airport and of celebrities arriving the airport from the 1950s through the 1980s, courtesy of Wolfson Archives.
And in October, San Francisco International Airport unveiled a pre-security Video Arts Center in the International Terminal which features a rotating showcase of short films.
Gate Delivery
Many travelers are familiar with OTG’s iPad-enhanced airport seating areas that allow passengers in many gate hold areas to order food, drinks and products from nearby restaurants and shops to be delivered to them at their seats.
This summer two app-powered services, Airport Sherpa and At Your Gate, announced they’d be offering a new perk: airport-wide delivery of pretty much anything sold on-site, for a small delivery fee.
Gate-huggers rejoiced, but roll-out has been a bit slower than planned. Airport Sherpa currently provides this service only at Baltimore/Washington International Airport (use the code “Stuck” and you’ll get your first delivery for free), but says new airport partners will be announced soon. At Your Gate, which won approval of the Innovation Lab at San Diego International Airport, had planned an August launch, but that is now slated for January.
Biometrics and beyond
Biometrics is beginning to take hold at U.S. airports.
In June, JetBlue partnered with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and global IT company SITA, to test a program using biometrics and facial recognition technology to verify customers at the gate during boarding. Travelers flying from Boston’s Logan International Airport to Aruba’s Queen Beatrix International Airport and from Boston to Santiago, Dominican Republic can choose to opt-in to the program.
Delta Air Lines also added biometric options for some travelers. One of four self-service bag drop machines the carrier installed at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is testing facial recognition technology to match customers with their passport photos through identification verification, a step the airline says is a first for U.S. carriers and has the potential to process twice as many customers per hour.
At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) Delta Sky Miles members enrolled in CLEAR can now use their fingerprint scans to gain entry to the Delta Sky Club and to board flights. The fingerprint test is also underway at the Delta Sky Club on Concourse B at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Getting to the gate – even if you’re not flying
Remember the ‘good old day’s’ of flying, when friends and family could go with you to the gate to send you off, and when your loved ones could greet you at the gate with hugs and kisses when you got home?
9/11 changed all that, but this summer Pittsburgh International Airport worked out a unique deal with the Transportation Security Administration to bring that perk back.
Now members of the non-flying public who check in at a special MyPITPass ticket counter can get a pass that gives them access to the gates, shops, restaurants and art offered by PIT airport beyond the security checkpoint. No other airports have yet been given permission by TSA to replicate this perk, but at PIT the service is quite popular and is being used by between 75 and 150 people a day, according to PIT spokesman Bob Kerlik.
Furthering Fitness, health and universal access
Marked walking paths and yoga rooms (at SFO, DFW, Chicago O’Hare and Midway, MIA and others) offer passengers a healthy alternative to just sitting by the gate – or in a bar. But travelers who want a more robust pre-flight workout got a new option this year at Baltimore/Washington International Airport when Roam Fitness opened what is currently the only post-security fitness facility offering a gym, workout gear and shower facilities. The company hopes to announce new airport locations this year.
This year the number of airports hosting Hand-Only CPR training kiosks expanded this year to 11 (see the full list here) which means travelers now have more opportunities to use their dwell time to learn how save a life. And Memphis International Airport became the first airport to offer blind and low-vision users of Aira assistive technology access to the airport. The program provides real-time visual interpreters to service subscribers through smart glasses or the camera on a traveler’s phone.
Fun stuff and great ideas
This year there’s a long ‘bonus’ list of fun offerings and great ideas.
Denver International Airport brought back free summer movies and winter ice-skating on its outdoor plaza.
Portland International Airport handed out special glasses and hosted a rooftop party for visitors wanting a glimpse of the August solar eclipse.
In the United Airlines Terminal C at Newark Liberty International Airport, this year OTG called on master pastry chef and chocolatier Jacques Torres (aka “Mr. Chocolate”) to help it create and open a 24-hour bakery and chocolate shop. In addition to the Mélange Bakery Café, that terminal now also boasts an invite-only “secret” restaurant (called Classified) and a sushi restaurant, Tsukiji Fishroom, which now receives super-fresh fish flown in directly from Tokyo’s iconic Tsjukiji Fish Market.
This year Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport created a special catalog to help and encourage passengers do all their holiday shopping on site;
And, in honor of its 70th anniversary, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) created #ProjectGratitude and surprised passengers throughout the year with complimentary gift cards from airport concessionaires, surprise performances and free treats, including snazzy CVG-branded socks.
