McCarran International Airport

At airports: cupcake vending + free Spring Training care kit

Fun Stuff, , , , ,

Here at Stuck at The Airport we love two things: cool treats that come out of airport vending machines (looking at you SouveNEAR and Farmer’s Fridge) and free stuff handed out in the terminals.

Today we have both:

For cupcake fans and those in need of something sweet at any hour of the day or night in the airport, Las Vegas, McCarran International has a Sprinkles vending machine that dispenses cupcakes 24 hours a day.

And, through March 31, passengers traveling through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on their way to Spring Training baseball games can pick up a free care pack filled with sunscreen, lip balm, sunflower seeds and other items that might be useful to have on hand during a baseball game.

The free AZ Care Packs are being offered at the US CareWays Airport Urgent Care center inside Drugs & More (Terminal 4/Pre-Security, near the C gates) to anyone showing an electronic or printed Spring Training ticket.

Inside the kit you’ll find sunscreen, lip balm, tissues, bug repellant, sunflower seeds, Big League Chew gum and a luggage tag.  

And for those who treat Spring Training season like Spring Break from college, the urgent care center is also offering discounts for passengers heading to or from Spring Training on services such as an IV Nutrient “Cocktail” Infusion with an immunity boost to prevent maladies such as dehydration, headaches and illness.

Drink up: liquor store opens in baggage claim at Las Vegas airport

Free Stuff, Gambling, , ,

Smoking lounges, children’s play areas, an aviation museum and 1600 slot machines are among the popular passenger amenities at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

This week there’s a brand new amenity for arriving passengers who are ready to party: a liquor store in the baggage claim area in Terminal 1.

Called the Liquor Library, the store is the first packaged liquor store located within the baggage claim area of any airport in the country.

On the shelves: beer, wine, spirits, cigars, cigarettes, small packaged snacks, mixers, travel cups and glasses. The store also stocks wine and beer openers, wine and beer insulated bags and ice.

According to Liquor Library spokeswoman Diane Boyle, there will be product tasting most days of week and, to go with the library-inspired decor of dark hardwood floors and shelves reached by library ladders, there are “librarians” on duty who wear “charcoal grey pencil skirts, white button down shirts, black stockings, and very cute spectacles” while working on the sales floor.

Another big moving day for the Las Vegas airport

Events, ,

At the end of June, 15 international carriers at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas began operating out of the E Gates at the swanky new Terminal 3.

Now that the dust has (hopefully) settled from that switchover, it’s time to move operations for many of the domestic carriers over to Terminal 3 as well.

Ready? Next Tuesday, July 31, five airlines – Alaska, JetBlue, Frontier, Sun Country and Virgin America – will switch over to Terminal 3. Next month – on August 22nd – bag claim and ticketing for Hawaiian and United Airlines will move over to Terminal 3, although those two airlines will still use the D gates for flights.

Confused? Check McCarran International Airport’s snazzy, updated website

Glitzy new T3 opens at Las Veges McCarran Int’l Airport

Airport guides, Technology,

The newest, shiny big thing in Las Vegas isn’t a hotel, a casino or another Cirque de Soleil show.

It’s the $2.4 billion Terminal 3 (“T3) at McCarran International Airport.

16 international carriers will move their flights to T3 on Wednesday, June 27th and Thursday June 28th. Five domestic carriers (Alaska, Frontier, JetBlue, Sun Country and Virgin America) will begin service out of T3 on July 31st. And United and Hawaiian will begin operating out of T3 in late August.

The 14-gate terminal, the largest modern public works project in Nevada, is expected to serve more than 11.3 million passengers annually and includes many high-tech features and other amenities designed to increase efficiency and help make what officials consider to be the front door to the city as exciting as the city itself.

“The visitor experience in Terminal 3 will be unlike any other in the country,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, President and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). “From the moment passengers step out of the plane, they will immediately have a unique sense of place and receive the type of Las Vegas welcome we want them to receive.”

Setting the tone will be neon signs emulating the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign that greets travelers on Las Vegas Boulevard, large-scale artwork and new technology that allows airlines to invite passengers to weigh, pay for and tag their own bags at more than 200 self-service kiosks and to scan their own boarding passes and self-board at the gates.

“We are unaware of any other large U.S. airport that utilizes the various technologies McCarran has deployed,” said Rosemary Vassiliadis, Clark County Deputy Director of Aviation. She added that over the years McCarran has also been among the first airports in the country to introduce amenities such as free wireless Internet access, radio frequency identification tags for checked luggage and other technological processes.

New technology will make it easy to get around T3. Flight, baggage and wayfinding information is displayed on more than 900 large-screen digital signs. And, at the gates, digital signage on pylons displays high-resolution photographs of iconic attractions passengers might see at their flight’s destination.

Like the rest of airport, T3 has complimentary wireless service, but it also offers travelers 16 new shops and restaurants, plenty of power outlets for recharging gadgets, historical photographs and artwork that includes a sculpture of two airplanes made out of 3,000 smaller sculptures of butterflies suspended on fine wires.

And for those visitors who want to get right down to business upon arrival – or who want to continue gambling until they absolutely must leave for home – there are almost 300 slot machines scattered throughout McCarran International Airport’s new terminal.
“We simply hope our customers will remember the good times they had while in Las Vegas, and leave McCarran with nothing but the good impressions that stem from a seamless travel experience at the airport,” said Vassiliadis.

(My story about the new terminal at McCarran Airport first appeared on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin)

New terminal opening at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas

Airports, Art,

McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is officially opening its new $2.4 billion, 14-gate Terminal 3 on Wednesday, June 27th.

16 international carriers will move their operations over to T3 on Wednesday; five domestic carriers (Alaska, Frontier, JetBlue, Sun Country and Virgin America) move over on July 31st; and United and Hawaiian are waiting till late August to make the switch.

The high-tech terminal has more than 200 self-service kiosks that allow airlines to invite passengers to weigh, pay for and tag their own bags and to scan their own boarding passes and self-board at the gates.

There’s also some lovely public art, including “Sunset Mirage” by Barbara and Larry Domsky

Sunset Mirage

Peter Lik’s panoramic photo of Red Rock Canyon, called “Almighty” –

"Almighty"

And this fun mural called “Follies in Flight,” by Terry Ritter