The Kentucky Derby will take place on schedule this year on Saturday, May 1 and Louisville Muhammad International Airport (SDF) is decked out and ready to welcome Derby guests with lots of fresh roses.
The @kroger floral team used approximately 250 fresh cut roses in each of the eight urns that line the SDF terminal connector to welcome Derby guests, with more than 2,200 roses throughout the facility. pic.twitter.com/bORyVO3kQP
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine will be available to the public tomorrow from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the 44th Street PHX Sky Train® Station. Schedule your appointment at https://t.co/KA1BjQEDAI. pic.twitter.com/LMku7Ty1SU
Airports everywhere are continuing their “keep clean things clean” campaigns. Touchless tech helps, and we see Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) just added touchess/wave-to-call elevator buttons.
It’s not ‘beam me up, Scotty,’ but we’re currently installing touchless/wave-to-call elevator buttons to reduce the spread of germs. Just point to the floor where you’re headed and be transported! It’s all part of a modern, more health-conscious airport. #SafeTravelspic.twitter.com/n7mTf1vUDH
— Pittsburgh International Airport (@PITairport) April 29, 2021
Places We’d Go… Cleveland
Cleveland is hosting the NFL Draft, with lots of bonus activities.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has a new exhibit celebrating the Super Bowl Halftime Show music and performers.
The Biggest Show on Turf: 55 Years of Halftime Showswill be on exhibit through September 21 and includes performance outfits, instruments, and set pieces, including Prince’s turquoise suit worn during his unforgettable purple-rained 2007 performance, where he asked production managers “Can you make it rain harder?” and Katy Perry’s beach-ball inspired costume and “Left Shark” that ignited a pop culture phenomenon after her 2015 performance.
“From hot pants and go-go boots to disposable paper dresses, the 1960s and 1970s were known for breaking fashion norms and traditions – even in the airline industry. Mid-century air travel had progressed into a posh experience and airlines built unique brand identities to set themselves apart. Each airline found new ways to attract passengers with amenities like onboard movies, gourmet meals, and glamorous flight attendants.“
This exhibition is put together by the Phoenix Airport Museum and includes eight flight attendant uniforms, historic photographs, and a variety of airline amenity objects.
If you are passing through Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, look for the Style in the Aisle exhibit in Terminal 4, level 2 near ticketing through October 2021.
In the meantime, we’ve got some images to share here.
Highlights of the exhibit include Hughes Airwest’s 1977 “sundance yellow” dress with matching bucket-style hat and an American Airlines plaid “Americana” uniform with a raccoon-fur cap. A Trans World Airlines (TWA) single-use, gold paper dress – part of the “Foreign Accents” collection – is also on display.
Airline amenities on display include fine china and themed cocktail swizzle sticks. There’s also a first-class menu featuring caviar and lobster, and an ashtray and lighter with airline logos.
Whether or not you’re flying during the holidays, it pays to keep up to date with what airports are doing to serve passengers during what is sure to be another unusual season.
Here are some tidbits we’ve already spotted this week.
PIT has its holiday tree up
Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) won’t be having its annual Holiday Open House this year. And local choirs and bands won’t be offering holiday performances.
But PIT is setting up a holiday-themed selfie station in the Airside Center Core and hosting distanced (instrument-only) performances by local musicians. And there will be terminal visits from the PIT PAWS airport therapy dog team.
The holiday tree is already there. Here’s a fun time-lapse video of it going up. PIT reports that 20 people worked to raise the 26-foot-tall tree over a span of eight hours and that this year’s tree has 538 ornaments, 42 yards of fabric, and 166 strands of lights.
Take a 360 Virtual Tour of LAX
Missing airports? Us too. So we’re excited as all get out a new virtual 360-degree of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) airfield.
This is the same airfield tour that used to be offered to students, community groups, and others curious about LAX operations before COVID-19 arrived. Now anyone can access the immersive, high-resolution 360-degree video experience online using a smartphone, tablet, computer, or VR headset.
Coat check reopens at MKE
If you’re flying from Milwaukee to Hawaii, Florida, or some other warm spot, you probably won’t need your winter coat when you arrive.
The Coat check program operates in partnership with retail partner Paradies Lagardère and is offered inside the Summerfest Marketplace store, which is located pre-security. Each coat is wrapped in protective plastic and the charge is a very reasonable $2 per day, or $10 per trip.
As far as we know, this is still the only U.S. airport offering this service.
Fresh art at PHX
Sky Curtain,” an artistic weather screen installation, is under construction at the future PHX Sky Train Rental Car Center Station. It features a series of brightly colored steel pipes, running along both sides of the station platform. Learn more on our Facebook page. pic.twitter.com/64c3n0IKUn
SAN Arts Program Fall Resident Artist, Margaret Noble, has released a new month’s of experiences based on the idea of a map. You are encourage to visit https://t.co/Tw7ajVqQrS to view them and ponder, “What are the points on your map? Where do you wish to go?” #SANArtspic.twitter.com/Xbi222QPvG
Denver International Airport (DEN) is sharing some Halloween-themed Zoom backgrounds.
It's #spookyseason and we're ready to haunt your Zoom/Team meetings🎃👻🪦. Download one (or all) of the DEN backgrounds to spice up those virtual meetings! Check out all of the backgrounds on our Facebook page: https://t.co/65LJ6dXK39pic.twitter.com/eHgXYU5t3w
Bone-jour! Remember our friend Red Skeleton? He has risen from the dead and is excited to explore and meet new people at ICT. Follow along to see where Red is each day until Halloween. 💀#RedSkeletonICT#AirportTwitterpic.twitter.com/QtJ5Fnno8t
Who wants to come near a skeleton anyway? But seriously, keep 6 ft. away from others while in the terminal. There are social distancing labels on the floor to guide you.#RedSkeletonICT#AirportTwitterpic.twitter.com/PkTDfjIcCE
Red wants to remind you to wear a face mask, keep 6 ft. away from others, wash your hands and use hand sanitizer! There is a vending machine located on the main floor if you need a face mask or PPE supplies. #RedSkeletonICT#AirportTwitterpic.twitter.com/rmaBlzHdfr
Airline passenger numbers are way down. Many airports still feeling sort of empty, with many shops and restaurants closed or operating on reduced schedules. And buying a plane ticket right now comes with a lot of “what ifs” and few perks.
So, it is an interesting time to a look at the findings of J.D. Power’s 2020 North American Airport Satisfaction Study.
First, the “winners”
The survey put airports up against each other in three categories: “mega” airports with 33 million or more passengers per year; large airports with 10 to 32.9 million passengers per year; and medium airports with 4.5 to 9.9 million passengers per year.
The airports are scored on a 1,000 point scale that takes into account passenger satisfaction with factors that include terminal facilities; airport arrival/departure; baggage claim; security check; check-in/baggage check; and food, beverage and retail, in order of importance.
As with everything else right now, the coronavirus pandemic has put a twist into this year’s airport satisfaction rankings.
The overall customer satisfaction score for North American airports is up this year, to a record-high 784, which is 22 points up from 2019.
Good news, right? Sort of.
“Compared to the pre-COVID-19 environment when most airports were running significantly over capacity, the lack of crowds and long lines is actually creating a convenient experience for travelers right now,” says Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power, in the study notes.
“Obviously, this lower passenger volume is not sustainable for most airports. Airport managers are doing all they can to provide a safe and clean environment to facilitate a rebound in travel,” he adds.
Here are top five airports in each category. You can see the full rankings here.
Mega Airports
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (805)
Miami International Airport (801)
McCarran International Airport (797)
Denver International Airport (793)
John F. Kennedy International Airport (793)
Large Airports
Dallas Love Field (844)
John Wayne Airport, Orange County (837)
Tampa International Airport (837)
William P. Hobby Airport (823)
Portland International Airport (814)
Medium Airports
Indianapolis International Airport (866)
Palm Beach International Airport (833)
Southwest Florida International Airport (829)
Albuquerque International Sunport (826)
Pittsburgh International Airport (826)
What about the airports at the bottom of each list?
In the mega category, Newark Liberty International Airport was at the bottom of the list, with a score of 733, just below Chicago O’Hare International Airport, which had a score of 758.
Among large airports, New York’s LaGuardia Airport (in the middle of a much-heralded make-over) ranked lowest, with a score of 712.
And for medium airports, Hawaii’s Kahului Airport was at the bottom of the list, with a 745 score.
