LaGuardia Airport

Tidbits for travelers: airfare refunds, prizes, free stuff and special deals

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Here’s a quick round-up of recession specials for air travelers and other tidbits you might find useful:

American Airlines has kicked off a Milestones contest: One first-place winner will receive 275,000 AAdvantage miles; 10 second-place winners will each get 1,000 AAdvantage miles.   To enter: register and post an interesting tidbit about a cool place somewhere in the world.  Winners will be announced on or around May 15, 2009. Details here.

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Jet Blue Airways has announced a promotion offering to refund (most of) the price of your ticket if you lose your job between the time you pay for your ticket and the time you’re scheduled to take your trip.  Here’s a link to the offer and the restrictions.

Canada’s WestJet is celebrating the fact that U.S. President Barack Obama is visiting Canada by offering a little one day discount sale. Use the code “Obama” to book a ticket today (Feb 19th) and get $50 off.  Details here.

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And travelers passing through New York’s LaGuardia Airport will now find organic foods, healthy treats, fruit, vegetables, deli items, sandwiches, salads and other items at Angelina’s Metro Market, pre-security in the Central Terminal. Angelina’s Panini Bar, a satellite of the Metro Market, will open post-security at the B Gates,  later this month.

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See anything fun, new, interesting or strange while you’re stuck at the airport?  Let me know and we’ll add it to the blog.

Airports offer sweet treats for Valentine’s Day

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This month, my “At the Airport” column in USAToday.com is all about Valentine’s Day specials at the nation’s airport.  Here’s a link to the column and, below, some highlights.

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Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, so frequent travelers have a good chance of working out those plans to touch down in the same town as their sweeties. And while just showing up may get you a few extra points, arriving empty-handed just won’t cut it. Even if you have flown through three zones just to be there.

Romantic road warriors needn’t worry about making an extra stop at the mall. Many airports and airport shops around the country are rolling out love-themed art exhibits, giveaways, and special deals on romantic gifts you can grab-n-go in a heartbeat.

Hearts and art

To set the mood, a new exhibit titled Sweetheart Town – Loveland, Colorado at Denver International Airport is filled with items on loan from the Loveland Museum/Gallery, including Victorian-era valentines, historical photographs, memorabilia and new work by Loveland-area artists. Address one of the free exhibit-themed valentine postcards to your sweetie and the airport will take it to Loveland, 60 miles away, so it can be canceled with the town’s sweetheart postmark and then mailed for free. The exhibit is located pre-security in the walkway between the Jeppesen Terminal and the A gates.

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At Miami International Airport, the newly renovated mia Central Gallery (Concourse E, second level, post-security) is home to a 120-foot-long art installation that uses 10,500 brightly-colored silk flowers to spell out the words “All we need is love, love” in six-foot-tall letters. The oversized artwork is by Miami architect/artist team Rosario Marquardt and Roberto Behar, who call themselves R&R Studios. “People walking by start singing that Beatles song All You Need Is Love all the time,” says Yolanda Sanchez, the airport’s director of Fine Arts and Cultural Affairs. “So the artwork makes its own soundtrack.”

Sweets for you and your sweetie

On Feb. 13 and 14, the Food & Shops in the Central Terminal at LaGuardia Airport in New York will be distributing free chocolate kisses to all travelers. And through Monday, Feb. 16, the shops in the Central Terminal will be offering special prices on gifts displayed on tables marked “Gifts for Your Sweetie.”

On Valentine’s Day, folks from Boingo, the new Wi-Fi provider at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, will be handing out free one-hour service cards to 100 travelers on their way into the terminal from the parking area. (Think e-valentines.) And on Feb. 13, 14 and 15, local favorite Amy’s Ice Cream will be setting up a temporary shop in the baggage claim area so travelers can grab their luggage and some chocolate-covered strawberries on their way home.

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At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the Brighton stores in Terminal 4 will be celebrating Valentine’s Day with balloons and free cookies. The Paradise Bakery, which has locations in all three terminals, is baking up small and large heart-shaped cookies for sale. The large cookies weigh in at 30 ounces and need to be ordered at least two hours in advance (602-681-0909). Fresh Gourmet to Go, located in Sky Harbor’s Rental Car Center, will be stocking fresh long-stem roses and chocolates “for travelers coming to Phoenix to surprise their Valentines!”

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More sweets – and some relaxation

The Natalie’s Candy Bar shops at San Antonio International Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport will be giving a free quarter-pound of red and white Gummi bears to all women who make purchases at a Natalie’s shop on Valentine’s Day.

At the AIRMALL at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Zona Mexicana is featuring Love Potion Margaritas until Feb. 14, and anyone who shows up with a heart-shaped anything (including a drawing of a heart on a piece of paper) will get a 10% discount on services at Destination Relax.

Finally, though Feb. 15, T.G.I. Friday’s, which has 18 airport branches (including 6 at DFW) is offering members of its Give Me More Stripes guest recognition program free Spiced Up Cupcakes with a side of ice cream when they purchase two entrees. Guests who visit Friday’s on Valentine’s Day will also receive a coupon for $5 off when they spend $15. (Coupons are redeemable between Feb. 15 and March 1. Joining the guest recognition program is free.)

For the complete article, see Airports Sweeten the Deal for Valentine’s Day here.

Free (chocolate) kisses at LaGuardia Airport

Free Stuff

If you’ll be traveling through New York’s LaGuardia Airport in February, you may be able to snag some free chocolate kisses.

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From February 8-15th, Border’s Books, The Body Shop and other vendors from the Food and Shops in the Central Terminal Building at LaGuardia Airport will have special ‘Gifts to Go’ tables filled with Valentine gift ideas for your sweetie.

But whether you’re shopping or not, be sure to at least wander through the shopping area so you can get some free chocolate kisses, which will be handed out February 13th and 14th.

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Sweet!

Free (filtered) Wi-Fi on some Delta flights through Dec 31

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Starting today, December 16, Delta Air L ines will be offering Aircell’s “Gogo” in-flight Wi-Fi service on one Boeing 757 flying the airline’s domestic routes and on five MD-88 aircraft flying shuttle routes between New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Boston’s Logan International Airport and Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

The cost: $9.95 for flights three hours or less and $12.95 for flights three hours or more.

The service (which will be filtered) is free through December 31st on Gogo-equipped MD-88 shuttle flights through the end of December.

Happy sky high Wi-Fi.

Cheap, car-free, airport side-trips

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Airline route cuts and drastic schedule cutbacks mean you’re probably going to be spending a lot more time hanging around the airport waiting for a flight.

You could use that time to snooze, eat, or work. Or you can head out for one of the cheap, educational, car-free side trips I list in my most recent At the Airport column on USATODAY.com.

For example, the Louis Armstrong Museum is a short bus ride away from New York’s LaGuardia Airport; the movie theaters, theme park, and other attractions at the Mall of America are a ten minute light-rail ride away from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport; and the Museum of Flight, home of the Aerocar (below), is a short bus ride from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

(Photo: courtesy Museum of Flight)

Have you discovered a great airport side-trip destination? Add a comment below.

Power up at Newark-Liberty International Airport (EWR)

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Goods news for gadget-toting travelers:

There are now 50 free 4-outlet charging stations scattered through Terminals A, B, and C at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

The charging stations are courtesy of Samsung Mobile, which sponsors similar power charging stations at five other major airports (so far): John F. Kennedy International Airport (54), Los Angeles International Airport (51) LaGuardia International Airport (12), Orlando International Airport (18), and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (22). In addition, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has eight Samsung Mobile Travel Centers, which also offer couches and other amenities.

Power charging stations (both free and pay-per-charge), desks with working power outlets, and banks of seats with built in outlets seem to be popping up at more and more airports these days. But don’t leave your extension cord home just yet: during high traffic times a spot at the charging station is harder to get than a seat in the sports bar during a playoff game.

Intrepid Museum exhibit (and free stuff) at LaGuardia Airport

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In anticipation of the November 8th re-opening of New York City’s Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, an exhibit about the famed aircraft carrier is on view now in the Central Terminal at LaGuardia Airport.

The exhibit runs through Nov. 8, 2008 and includes memorabilia from the Intrepid, replicas of fighter planes that have launched from the aircraft carrier, interactive educational displays, and an “Art in Motion” program that invites travelers to paint a large model airplane.

The opening of the Intrepid Museum exhibit is part of Aviation Week activities hosted by the Food & Shops at LGA’s Central Terminal. Festivities include a week-long sidewalk sale, food sampling, and free airplane-themed balloons and stickers for kids. Through November 20th, travelers can also enter a contest to win one of the exhibited model airplanes as well as tickets to the museum.

About The Intrepid

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum re-opens November 8, 2008 at New York City’s new, park-like Pier 86. The complex includes 30 restored aircraft, the former USS Growler submarine and a Concorde airplane.

You, your mom, and LaGuardia Airport

Contests, Holidays

Mother’s Day is coming up (May 11th) and the Food & Shops program in the Central Terminal at New York’s LaGuardia Airport is offering prizes for folks who take a moment to pen a short essay about traveling with their mom or “mother figure.”

If your essay is chosen, your mom could win an Art Deco crystal watch with Swarovski® crystals from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store.

You have until May 5th to enter on-line.

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