On my way to London via British Airways from Terminal 7 at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday, I was invited to tour the newly refurbished British Airways First lounge, look inside the exclusive Concorde Room and spend time in the Galleries lounge.
Here are a few snaps from the day:
The new First lounge is now 60 percent bigger than the previous lounge – and includes a pre-flight dining area (shared with the Galleries /business lounge), a pleasant quiet work area and this lovely large bar area.
When I passed through it seemed to be both self-serve, with bartenders nearby.
Around the corner from the bar is a Wine Room with an enomatic dispenser serving 1-ounce tasting pours of a variety of specially chosen wine. Right now “Chardonnays of the World” are featured.
In addition to a quite bountiful buffet in the dining area, there was this dim sum bar nearby.
And (my favorite, after the complimentary 15-minute facial offered in the Elemis spa) – a roving Gin and Tonic cart that was visiting both the First and Galleries loung areas.
Have you visited these lounges? Let us know what you think of the new and improved (and almost finished…) spaces.
Murmur No. 23, by Richard Barnes. Courtey SFO Museum
The SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport is hosting an exhibition of photographs by Richard Barnes of starlings over Rome.
Barnes photographs the starlings during their winter migration from northern Europe to the Rome countryside. He waits till dusk, when the birds form dense cloud-like formations known as murmurations, and in his “Murmur” series Barnes has captured the starlings forming impressive aerial shapes.
Look for the Murmur exhibit pre-security on the Departures Level in Terminal 3 of the San Francisco International Airport.
Murmur No. 21 , by Richard Barnes. Courtesy SFO Museum
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has kicked off a new program, Celebrations at Sea-Tac, to honor holidays, traditions and cultures from the United Stations and global community.
The celebrations begin November with 1 for Dia de los Muertos, or the “Day of the Dead,” a Mexican holiday honoring and remembering loved ones.
Activities will include art installations, candy skull face painting and arts and crafts for children, food and beverage sampling and live performances.
Titled “Livery,” the exhibition includes paintings inspired by the livery and components of commercial airlines. Look for this exhibit near the A Concourse entrance in Terminal 1.
Loran Naviagation by Jeremy Rabus; courtesy STL Airport
When it comes to travel, there are plenty of lists that claim to rank the best (and worst) airports, airlines, hotels, loyalty programs, etc.
Some are created by experts in the field. Others are the results of surveys (some scientific, some not). And still other are created (somehow) by companies hoping to get their names mentioned in a story.
Conde Nast surveys it well-traveled readers to put together its long list of travel bests each year.
It is KLM’s 99th anniversary and the carrier is celebrating with 99 hours of special flight offers (deals end October 9) and a new miniature Delft Blue house in the airline’s series of collectible miniature houses.
This year’s Delftware miniature house represents the first store of Douwe Egberts in Joure, Holland.
The house was chosen, in part, becase at the end of October, 2018 KLM will begin serving Douwe Egberts’ sustainable UTZ-certified coffee on all its European and intercontinental flights.
The shop is now part of a museum and was where grocer Egbert Douwe laid the foundation for the well-known Douwe Egberts brand of today.
“Choosing the first store of Douwe Egberts in beautiful Joure serves to highlight the excellent cooperative relationship shared by our two established brands,” said KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers. “Good coffee is important to our customers,” he added, “And KLM also considers it crucial to serve sustainable coffee. Two typically Dutch brands with a rich history, both placing quality first, can only serve to strengthen one another.”
KLM’s tradition of presenting Delftware miniatures to passengers traveling in the business class cabin on intercontinental flights began in the 1950s. The houses are replicas of notable buildings in the Netherlands and the number of houses in the collection has corresponded with KLM’s age since 1994.
The carrier now adds a new house to the collection each year on or around October 7.
So we’re already anxious to see which house will be honored on October 7, 2019 when KLM celebrates its 100th anniversary.
While we wait, take a look at this short video that tells the story of KLM’s Delft Blue House #99:
You can also read my stories about being on hand for the festivities surrounding the reveal of KLM’s Delft Blue miniature houses #98 and #97.
House #98 depicts the family home of aviation pioneer Antony Fokker in Haarlem (near Amsterdam) and was presented at an event in Haarlem’s historic St. Bavo Church.
KLM’s mininature Delft House #97 depicts the Hotel New York in Rotterdam, which occupies the grand structure built in 1901 to house the headquarters of the Holland America line.
Do you have a collection of KLM’s Delft Blue miniature houses (gin-filled or not)? Feel free to boast about it in the comments section below.
Despite record passenger volumes and lots of construction projects, travelers are more satisfied with the North America airports than ever before. That’s according to this year’s J.D. Power Satisfaction Study, which was released today.
The study breaks down airports by “mega,” large and medium and evaluates for five factors (in order of importance): check-in; food, beverage and retail; accessibility; terminal facilities; and baggage claim.
Using a 1,000 point scale, the overall passengers satisfaction for airports overall was 761. That’s 12 points higher than last year’s study.
There was a tie for first place for ‘mega’ airports category: Las Vegas McCarran International Airport and Orlando International Airport, with a score of 781.
“We are so proud of our No. 1 ranking in the mega airport category,” said Rosemary Vassiliadis, McCarran International Airport’s director of aviation, “This honor validates the hard work and collaboration among our airport partners as we have embraced a commitment to improving the passenger travel experience through shared customer service values. At McCarran, we know we are the first and last impression of Las Vegas, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”
The team at Orlando International is equally proud:
“We remain dedicated to our core goal of providing travelers and guests with an outstanding
experience, ‘The Orlando Experience’, as they travel through the airport,” said Frank
Kruppenbacher, Chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “We are gratified that
the efforts of the Board, staff and our airport partners to provide the traveling public with the
finest airport experience continue to be recognized.”
In the mega airport category, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (775) ranks third and Denver International Airport (771) ranks fourth.
Among large airports, John Wayne Airport, Orange County ranks first, with a score of 815. Dallas Love
Field (810) ranks second and Portland (Ore.) International Airport (804) ranks third.
“Not only did John Wayne Airport receive the highest score of any airport in the study, scoring 815 points on a 1,000-point scale, we also received the highest score in four of the six study categories, said Airport Director Barry Rondinella. “John Wayne Airport has earned this distinction due to our team’s commitment to providing a superior guest experience. Every guest, every day, receives a superior level of care and attention.”
In the medium airport category, Buffalo Niagara International Airport ranks highest with a score of
814. Indianapolis International Airport (811) ranks second and Fort Myers/Southwest Florida
International (810) ranks third.
Of course, here at StuckatTheAirport.com, we love all airports equally, but here are the full rankings from the report. If you can’t read them on this post, you can find them here.
