San Francisco International Airport

Airports – and now airlines – trash talking each other

Advertising, Air Travel, Airlines, Airports, Baggage, Complaints, Fun Stuff, , , , , , ,

For my At the Airport column on USAToday.com this month, Airport wars escalate with attack ads aimed at rivals, I wrote about a new YouTube video about San Francisco International Airport, that features cameo appearances by SF  Mayor Gavin Newsom and Marion & Vivian Brown, the kooky 83-year-old identical twins who have become beloved San Francisco icons.  Designed to promote SFO as the connecting hub of choice for travelers coming to the United States from New Zealand or Australia, the short video compares SFO’s airy, international terminal to an unnamed airport simply referred to as “the bad airport.”

An SFO spokesperson insists there is no specific “bad airport,” but given the target market I’d guess, oh… that LAX is the airport campaign designers had in mind.

Other airports have no problem calling out the competitor they’re trashing by name. Canada’s Edmonton International Airport recently rolled out a “Stop the Calgary Habit” campaign, urging residents of central and northern Alberta to stop connecting through or driving to Calgary International Airport.  The campaign has tag line: “When you go south, so does your air service,”; videos showing repentant passengers; and a tool kit that includes an “Emergency Hypno Cure” to help break the habit.

Of course, there was the challenge Air New Zealand threw down to Southwest Airlines.  Air New Zealand  produced a series of cheeky commercials and an in-flight safety video that showed airline employees dressed in nothing but cleverly applied body paint.  Then ANZ challenged Southwest Airlines to do the same:

Southwest’s answer?  “We’d rather rap”:

Now we have two airlines trading smackdown videos.  Air Tran Airways and Southwest.  See how Southwest started it.

Air Tran’s response?

“We thought about it and thought about it and decided to not respond at all. After all, focusing on running the best low-cost carrier in America is enough to keep us busy.  BUT…if we were to respond, it might look something like this:”

Can’t wait to see what’s next!

Airport smackdown: it’s “gloves off” when dissing rivals

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My “At the Airport” column for USAToday.com this week – Gloves are off as airports go after their rivals in ads – is about airports rolling out funny, “in your face” campaigns.

In a video about San Francisco International Airport, Mayor Gavin Newsom has a cameo. So do Marion and Vivian Brown, the kooky 83 year-old identical twins who have become beloved San Francisco icons.  Designed to promote SFO as the connecting hub of choice for travelers coming to the United States from New Zealand or Australia, the video compares SFO’s airy, light-filled, international terminal to an unnamed airport simply referred to as “the bad airport.”

In this video, the bad airport does look pretty bad. But, marketing experts tell me, that’s what airports have to do these days to stand out.

Another example is the new campaign from Canada’s Edmonton International Airport (YEG), which serves about six million passengers a year. On March 1st the airport rolled out a “Stop the Calgary Habit” campaign, urging residents of central and northern Alberta to stop connecting through or driving to Calgary International Airport (YYC), which serves about ten million passengers a year.  Using the tag line “When you go south, so does your air service,” (Ouch!), the campaign includes short (:15) videos portraying repentant passengers.

There’s also a tool kit that includes a shake-able Magic 8-ball-like sphere offering habit-breaking tips and – my favorite – an “Emergency Hypno Cure.”

Barf bags and skywriting

For years Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport’s (MKE) was marketing itself to northern Illinois as “Chicago’s Third Airport” and back in 2005 mailed out a “Sick of O’Hare?” media kit that included (now highly collectible) air sick bags that said “Feel Better, Fly MKE” and a package of breath mints. A few years later, when the Chicago Cubs were playing the Chicago White Sox at Wrigley Field, MKE hired a skywriter to write the address of the MKE website in the airspace over the game.

Airport spokesperson Patricia Rowe says they don’t do that ‘in your face’ stuff anymore. “Now we spend more time focusing on what’s great about our airport instead of attacking O’Hare.”

Nicer, maybe. But nowhere near as much fun.

To read my USAToday.com story about airport smackdowns, please see Gloves are off as airports go after their rivals in ads.

When will all airports have free Wi-Fi?

Airports, Free Stuff, free Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi, , , , , , , , ,

This month, my “At the Airport” column in USATODAY.com is all about airport Wi-Fi.

And all about why more and more airports, including those in Denver, Pittsburgh, Orlando and, just recently, Seattle and Boston, offer this welcome amenity for free – and why some don’t.

Here’s an edited version of that column:

Free Wi-Fi was on Sea-Tac’s to do list for years, but the airport had to wait until its contract with AT&T ran out before making the service free. “It’s almost become a required amenity,” says Sea-Tac airport spokesperson Perry Cooper, “Passengers expect it now. Especially in places like Seattle where folks are very tech-savvy. In fact, it’s been our number one customer service request for years.”

Silicon Valley’s Mineta San José International Airport started offering the service back in May 2008, says airport spokesperson David Vossbrink, because “we serve a high proportion of business travelers and road warriors who have laptops and mobile devices surgically implanted and [they] expect to be able to always be connected.”

It’s pretty much the same story across the country. Everyone wants to stay connected and everyone wants the Wi-Fi at the airport to be free. But how can airports afford to make it free?

Advertising and sponsorship may be the way to go.

At Denver International Airport, which began offering free Wi-Fi in November 2007, between 6,000 and 8,000 travelers now sign on to the system each day and revenue from advertisers help offset the cost of the service. Sea-Tac Airport has asked Clear Channel, which already sells advertising space throughout the airport, to find additional ads to support the new, free Wi-Fi service as well. And at San Francisco International Airport, advertising is being considered as negotiations get underway to figure out how to support a free Wi-Fi program as well. If they can figure out how to fund it, representatives from Nashville International and many other airports say they’d offer travelers free Wi-Fi as well.

Like LAX and the airports in the New York and Washington, D.C. areas, the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport still charges passengers for Wi-Fi access. “We know many travelers would love to see free Wi-Fi,” says airport spokesperson Patrick Hogan, “The bottom line is that airports like MSP must generate the funds to cover all airport operating costs…There is no such thing as free airport Wi-Fi. It’s really just a question of who pays to cover the cost of providing the service.”

For the full posted version of this column, read Free airport Wi-Fi takes off in USATODAY.com. And if you’re want to know which airports currently offer free Wi-Fi, the folks at Jaunted.com have been keeping a good tally on their free airport Wi-Fi map.

And if you do use a free Wi-Fi service at an airport, a hotel, a coffee shop or somewhere else, the Wi-Fi Alliance encourages you to use a personal firewall, make sure you have anti-virus software, and keep these other safety tips in mind:

  • Make sure that you are connecting to a legitimate hotspot – those that require a password have more protection than those that do not.
  • Use a virtual private network or VPN, which establishes a private connection across the public network. This may be supplied by your employer, or you can purchase one.
  • Surfing the web and sending e-mail is fine, but doing your banking for example in a public hotspot is not advised.
  • Configure for approved connections: Many devices sense and automatically connect to any available wireless signal. To regain control, simply configure your device to not automatically connect to an open network without your approval.
  • Disable sharing: Your Wi-Fi enabled devices may automatically open themselves to sharing / connecting with other devices. File and printer sharing may be common in business and home networks, but you can avoid this in public networks.

Got that?

Souvenir Sunday at SFO Airport: gifts from Alcatraz

Air Travel, Airport shops, History, Souvenir Sunday, , ,

Happy Souvenir Sunday!

If you’re stuck at the airport you can snooze, snack, eavesdrop and, of course, shop for souvenirs.  So each Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com we feature fun, local, offbeat,  items you can find at airports for under $10.

This week’s souvenir comes to us (again!!) from Ken Rogers.  He sent along this photo from San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

The jail bird is no doubt a reference to Robert “Birdman of Alcatraz” Stroud , an infamous inmate who bred canaries (at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas, not at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary ) and who was portrayed in the movie The Birdman of Alcatraz, by Burt Lancaster.

Today, Alcatraz Island is part of the National Park Service. In addition to prison facilities, the island has historic gardens, bird colonies, a rich history, and an on-line museum that includes a virtual tour of the prison, audio clips, and photos of all sorts of Alcatraz-related items, including John Anglin’s Fake Head

According to the Alcatraz Island web site:

The Anglin Brothers, Frank Morris and Allen Clayton West made fake heads of cotton, soap and human hair. They placed the painted heads in their beds to cover their escape in 1962.

Did you find a great souvenir last time you were stuck at the airport?

If it’s under $10, “of” the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, then please snap a photo and send it along.

Your souvenir may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

Get ready to start getting to the airport even earlier

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Late Thursday afternoon  (January 14, 2010) Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano released a(nother) new statement about additional aviation security precautions being rolled out at the nation’s airports.

What will those new precautions entail?

According to Napolitano’s statement, “…Some of these measures include enhanced random screening, additional federal air marshals on certain routes and adding individuals of concern to our terrorist watch list system.”

None of that sounds all that new. But on the ground, says a TSA spokesperson, that means that, depending on what airport you’re in, you might notice “an increase in measures such as…behavioral detection officers and a wider use of tools like explosive trace detection.  Not just at the checkpoint but throughout the airport environment.”

The bottom line, says Napolitano: “…travelers should allot extra time when flying…”

Allotting extra time, of course, means getting to the airport even earlier than you do now.

But even with all these new procedures, it’s a fair bet that your trip through the security checkpoint will go smoothly and you’ll end up just hanging around the airport waiting for your flight.

If you’re at Miami International Airport (MIA) this Saturday, January 16th, you can spend that extra time watching a fashion show in the Central Terminal (On Departure Level, Terminal G by the $10 Boutique).

The show will last for an hour, from 1:30 to 2:30, and feature women’s, men’s and children’s clothing and accessories from a variety of airport vendors. There will also be sampling of Toblerone chocolate, and a performance by Venezuelan composer, producer and singer Claudio Corsi, who now lives in the Miami area.

Not planning on being at Miami International Airport this Saturday?  If you’re across country at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), you can fritter away a few extra hours playing pinball – for free.

The free pinball machines are part of SFO’s exhibit about the history of pinball that will be on view through April 2010.

Love the layover: slots at SFO

Air Travel, Art, Exhibits, ,

Most people try to avoid connecting flights when they’re flying from one part of the country to another. But if I can book a trip that offers the chance to spend an hour or two at San Francisco International Airport, I take it.

That’s because, with an airport museum program that organizes a few dozen exhibits a year, it’s a good bet there will be something fun and educational to see. And earlier this week I finally had an unhurried hour at SFO to tour the exhibit of more than 90 vintage gambling devices on display in Terminal 3.

For Amusement Only: Slot Machines and Other Gambling Devices of the Mechanical Age includes slot machines, guessing banks, coin drops, poker machines and punchboards dating from the late 19th through mid-20th centuries.  The machines are on loan from Joe Welch’s San Bruno American Antique Museum and will be on exhibit through May, 2010.

Once you’ve toured the gambling machine exhibit, head on over to the International Terminal, where there’s an exhibit of 36 vintage pinball machines, including a few you can play for free.

Classic games of chance at SFO International Airport

Art, Entertainment, Exhibits, , ,

SFO PINBALL CONTROL TOWER

If Lady Luck is on your side, then your next plane trip will include a long layover at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Thanks to the San Francisco Airport Museums program, SFO always has about two dozen temporary and permanent exhibitions on display to keep travelers entertained. Two of the current shows are thematically linked – and especially intriguing.

SFO PINBALL BALLYHOO

The colorful history of pinball is explored in Pinball: from Bagatelle to Twilight Zone, on display in the International Terminal through April 2010.

Games on display are from the Pacific Pinball Museum and various private collections and range from the earliest and very basic pinball games from the late 1800’s to the multi-player,  feature-filled games of the 1970’s and 80’s.

SFO PINBALL FIREBALL

Over in Terminal 3, there are more games.  

SFO SLOTS 3

For Amusement Only: Slot Machines and Other Gambling Devices of the Mechanical Age includes more than 90 slot machines, guessing banks, coin drops, poker machines and punchboards from the late 19th to mid 20th centuries.

SFO SLOT one

These objects are courtesy of Joe Welch’s San Bruno American Antique Museum and are located post-security in Boarding Area F until May, 2010.

You can find out more about these and other exhibitions at San Francisco International Airport on the San Francisco Airport Museums Web site.

Great spots for plane-spotting

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I recently put together a USATODAY.com column highlighting some of the observation decks at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI), and other North American airports.

Minneapolis - Observation deck - wide

Today I’ve got a column about plane-spotting sites outside airport terminals.

The sites listed range from Millbrae, California’s Bayfront Park, which offers great views of take-offs and landings at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), to Gravelly Point near Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport (DCA), and a few unusual but, we’re assured, legal spots nearby Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).

For a photo-gallery and a list of other highly-recommended plane-spotting sites  around the country, please see the full column on USATODAY.com.

RDU Observ Park - courtesy RDU Airport

(Raleigh-Durham International Airport’s Observation Park)

And of course, please share your favorite plane-spotting sites.

Ancient Greek pots found at SFO airport

Art, Exhibits, , ,

Stuck at SFO?  Don’t forget that San Francisco International Airport is home to an accredited museum program and has more than 20 exhibits on view at any one time.  So don’t just sit there: get some culture.

SFO Greek pottery

Right now, there’s a new exhibition that includes 40 ceramic vessels from Ancient Greece and its colonies, as well as Etruscan wares.  The pots are on loan from the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthroplogy and depict everything from myths, gods, demons and warriors to animals, social gatherings, athletics, and the roles of men and women in society.

SFO RED pot

Scenes from Myths and Daily Life: Ancient Mediterranean Pottery is on view in the International Terminal Main Hall, pre-security, through March 21, 2009.

Want to know more? Like what ancient Greek drinking parties were like? Then show up for the free lecture at 2 pm, November 8, 2009 at the airport’s Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, in the departures level of the International Terminal Main Hall.

The speaker will be Andrew Stewart, the Curator of Greek and Roman Archaeology at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology and Professor of Art History and Classics, UC Berkeley.

(Photos courtesy San Franciso International Airport)

Next time you’re stuck at the airport, don’t get bored: get vaccinated.

Health, USA Today, , , , , , , ,

FLU POSTER SPITTING

The vaccine for the H1N1 vaccine isn’t available quite yet, but there are plenty of regular, seasonal flu shots around. And this year there are also plenty of airports where you can get a flu shot on the fly.  I tracked down the details for my At the Airport column on USAToday.com: Airports ready for passengers seeking flu shots.

FLU CARTOON

Last year travelers could get flu shots at about two dozen airports, including San Francisco International Airport, Des Moines International Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Denver International Airport, and others. This year, with so many people concerned about getting sick, more airports are making room for flu shot kiosks.

And because of the heightened awareness, several airport clinics, including the UIC Medical Center at O’Hare, Orlando International Airport’s Solantic clinic, and the AeroClinic at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, began offering flu shots to the public back around Labor Day, even though the official flu season doesn’t usually begin until October. And airports such as Tampa International, which in the past offered flu shot clinics for employees only, arranged to have flu shot kiosks available for the traveling public.

FLU SHOT POSTER 1960s

Over the next few weeks, flu shot programs will be rolling out at Louisville International Airport, Sacramento International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and others. Harmony Pharmacy will offer flu shots at its year-round clinics and from temporary kiosks at New York JFK and Newark-Liberty airports.

A spokesperson from Airport MD said that company hopes to offer flu shots by October 1st in Miami, Las Vegas and Minneapolis-St. Paul airports. Several other airports, including San Diego International Airport and Oakland International Airport, are still working out their flu shot program details. And Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which for the past three years has been able to offer flu shots for free during a few days towards the end of the season, expects that this year it will be able to do the same.

flu shot

To find out if flu shots are being offered at an airport near you, please see the flu shot chart included with my USATODAY.com column: Airports are ready for passengers seeking flu shots.