Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Holiday entertainment & freebies at ATL, SEA, and other airports

Airport shops, Entertainment, Events, , , , ,

SNOWFLAKE PAGE

If you’re traveling anytime during the next two weeks, it’s a fair bet you’ll find long lines and plenty of hassled travelers at the airport. But this time of year many airports are also serving up fun, freebies, and plenty of entertainment.

SANTA fruit label

A few examples:

From December 16 – 24, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has an entertainment program that includes live music performances, guest appearances by Santa, and a roving game team that will be rewarding winners with discount coupons for shops, services and restaurants at the airport.

XMAS girlHartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) also kicks off its annual Holiday Music series today, with a performance in the Atrium from 5 to 7pm by a group called Twisted Royalty. You can see the full series schedule here.

And on Monday, December 21st, 2009, from 10 am until 5 pm, the Container Store is partnering with Southwest Airlines to offer complimentary gift-wrapping at some airports, including:

Dallas Love Field   –  Gate 5
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport   –   D Gates
Denver International Airport   –   Gate C41
Saint Louis-Lambert International Airport   –   Gates 14 and 16
Baltimore-Washington International Airport   –   Gates B1, B2, and B3

Even more airport freebies for Thanksgiving travelers

Air Travel, Baggage, Entertainment, Events, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Lounges, Wi-Fi, , , , , ,

In addition to the airport freebies I wrote about yesterday here at StuckatTheAirport.com, we have a few more airport events and giveaways to seek out during your Thanksgiving trek through the airport:

Turkey with hat

If you’re traveling through Boston’s Logan International Airport or Seattle-Tacoma International Airport today (Wed. Nov 25, 2009) look around for the “Fareologists” from Bing Travel. They’ll be answering travel questions (try to stump them by asking where the best place is to buy an extra pair of underwear) and surprising some folks (1,000 in all) in the ticketing areas by giving them a $15 card redeemable for cash anywhere MasterCard is accepted.  Nice!

ROCKETTES

If you’re at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) Wednesday between 10 and 11 am look around for the world-famous Radio City Rockettes, who will be performing -and no doubt posing for photos with travelers – in the Baggage Claim area and at the Security Checkpoint in the Landside Terminal.

THANKSGIVING coin postcard

And between 8 am and 5 pm today (and on Saturday and Sunday; November 28-29, 2009) you can stop by an “Airport Privacy Haven”  in Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) or New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport for a free massage and complimentary Wi-Fi between 8 am and 5 pm.

Enjoy!

Tidbits for Travelers: New link to SEA and new dining and discounts at MSP

Air Travel, Airport shops, Food, Holidays, Openings, Restaurants, Shopping, Transportation, , , ,

Great news for travelers heading to or from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) this holiday season:  The Airport Station of Sound Transit’s Link light rail system  between downtown and the airport will open at 10 a.m. on December 19, 2009.

SEA LIGHT RAIL

That means that instead of getting shuttled by bus between the airport and a light rail stop a mile or so away, passengers can now hop on and off the light rail right at the airport.

Well…not right at the airport: the airport station is in the airport garage and passengers must walk about a quarter mile to the terminal.  But at $2.75 from downtown vs. a $25 or $30 cab ride, it’s a great deal.  So travelers will probably be skipping along that walkway and not even notice the distance.

SANTA fruit label

Also, just in time for holiday travel, there are two new food offerings in the Lindbergh Terminal at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). There’s now an Arby’s in the main food court and, more impressive, on Concourse F there’s a spinoff of Ike’s Food & Cocktails, a downtown Minneapolis favorite that’s already a hit in airport with a white-tablecloth branch in the airport mall.

Even better: MSP’s Jingle, Jingle Savings Days Coupon Book has discounts for these new spots and dozens of other shops and restaurants throughout the airport. Get a copy here.

How to stay entertained at some northwest airports

Art, Entertainment, ,

I’m working on an article about the great amenities at some west coast airports and wanted to share some of my favorites:

Vancouver International Airport:  I love this incredible work of art by Bill Reid, titled  The Spirit of Haida Gwaii: The Jade Canoe, that’s impossible to miss in the center of the International Terminal.

Vancouver Jade Canoe

(Photo: Larry Goldstein Photography)

And I can’t wait to make my way back to YVR to see the recently opened public observation area that includes complimentary telescopes so everyone can get a good look at the airfield activity and the landscape nearby.

I’m happy that Sea-Tac International Airport has a world-class art collection and, on clear days, bonus views of mountains.

SEA RAINIER(Photo: Port of Seattle)

I can’t wait for the new light rail train, which right now stops just shy of the airport, to make it’s way to the airport door.

pdx center

(Photo courtesy Port of Portland)

As usual, though, it’s the amenities at the Portland International Airport that impress me most.  When I used to live in that city, there was free parking at the airport and we’d go out there at least once a week because the city’s only Haagen-Dazs ice-cream store was out at the airport.

Today, I plan layovers at PDX because there’s free Wi-Fi,  lots of good restaurants and pubs, fun permanent artwork, and a pre-security shopping street filled with branches of  locally well-known shops where no sales tax is charged on anything.

Do you have an airport that you actually look forward to visiting? Please share your finds in the comment section below.

Celebrate Earth Day at the airport

Environment, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, , ,

Several airports around the country will be marking Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22 with free gifts for travelers.

dia-bagAt Denver International Airport (DEN) they’ll be distributing these reusable grocery shopping bags to passengers in the (main) Jeppesen Terminal.

bos-postcard

At Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), more than two dozen kids from the East Boston YMCA will join airport staff to greet arriving passengers with  free plant-able postcards embedded with wildflowers.

“We have lots more postcards than we have arriving passengers that day, so we’ll be handing these out for a few days,” says an airport spokesperson.

seatacgrass

And at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, (SEA) they’ll be having a full-fledged Earth Day Fair complete with information booths about local sustainability projects, examples of green products, samples of organic food, and presentations about recycling everything from food scraps to building materials. The fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sea-Tac Airport in the Gina Marie Lindsey Arrivals Hall.

Souvenir Sunday: Space Noodles at Sea-Tac Airport

Souvenirs

Happy Souvenir Sunday!

Whenever I’m stuck at the airport, I always spend a little time poking around the stores in search of a fun “of that city” souvenir.

I have just a few rules:

1. No shot glasses or t-shirts.

2. The souvenir must be under $10.

3.  Nothing generic or simply stamped with the city’s name. (See rule 1).

This Sunday:  Space Noodles from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

spacenoodles

You can buy these in town at the gift shop at the Space Needle itself and in shops that sell local and northwest-made products. But I particularly love the idea of buying funny-shaped pasta at the airport.

Do you have a fun, offbeat souvenir you’ve found at an airport? Let me know and I may feature it in Souvenir Sunday.

PETA gives Sea-Tac Airport a Proggy

Environment, Politics, ,

You wouldn’t think the folks at PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) would spend much time thinking about what goes on at airports, but it seems they do.  And they’ve awarded Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) a Proggy Award (Proggy, as in “progress”) for being the Most Progressive Airport.

Why SEA? PETA likes the fact the SEA uses radar, lasers, and pyrotechnics to keep birds away from airspace that could put them on a collision course with aircraft.

The airport has also installed netting over storm-water ponds, put in plants to deter birds from nesting, and installed underground fencing to prevent burrowing animals from reaching runways.

sea-owls

(SEA officials say these baby horned owls were removed from a nest near the runway, raised by a foster owl, and then safely released in northern Washington)

PETA’s press-release about the Proggy didn’t mention it, but last August, in an effort to find an environmentally safe way to rid the airport of invasive plants, Sea-Tac Airport officials invited a herd of goats (and three sheep) from Goat Trimmers over for lunch and let them munch their way through scotch broom and other pesky plants.

goat-at-work

(Photo courtesy Goat Trimmers)

Free Wi-Fi coming to Oakland Airport next week (not SEA)

Free Stuff, Wi-Fi, ,

At last night’s charter meeting of SCOOT (Seattle Consortium of Online Travel) Seattle folks were jumping with joy when an Alaska Airlines’ rep announced that the airline would be picking up the Wi-Fi tab at Sea-Tac airport for the next few months.

Seems she may have just been swept up in the excitement of the moment, because today Tech Flash is reporting that, no, there will not be free Wi-Fi at SEA  for the next few months.  Instead, Alaska will be sponsoring free Wi-Fi at Oakland International Airport from April 13th through July 5, 2009.

laptop-wifi

Good day for dogs at Sea-Tac Airport

Pets

Here’s a good news story for dogs in Seattle, courtesy of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

The folks at SEA-TAC Airport needed to test out a luggage x-ray system and followed the manufacturer’s advice to use big bags of dog food and jars of peanut butter to see how the system performed.

The dog food was used to simulate weight inside baggage.  The peanut butter was a fluid stand-in to help set off the explosives alarm.

The test was a success.  And all that dog food? It’s going to local animal shelters.

Woof!

joplin

Sea-Tac Airport: laser-loser locked-up

Safety,

Someone has been pointing lasers at airplanes landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, distracting pilots and creating some really dangerous situations.

Not anymore.

Tonight, the Port of Seattle Police sent out a message confirming that yesterday, March 6th,  a 24-year old was arrested for suspicion of Unlawful Discharge of a Laser – 1st Degree, a Class “C” felony.

criminal6