Southwest Airlines is sponsoring an ice-rink in downtown Denver this winter and that means free ice-skating for all.
The Southwest Rink at Skyline Park is next to the historic Daniels and Fisher Clocktower and will be open weekdays from noon to 10 p.m. and weekends from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Don’t have your own skates? No problem. You can rent skates at the rink for just $2.
Pillows? You’ll have to bring your own.
Photos courtesy Flickr Commons.
This is a truly great endeavor by some inns and B&Bs across the country.
On November 10th, in observance of Veterans Day (November 11th), more than 300 B&Bs and Inns in more than 40 states around the country will be offering a free night’s stay to active and retired U.S. military members. Here’s the list of participating properties.
Each property is committing to offer at least one room, and many properties are already full. But the program is getting a lot of attention, so check back to see if other properties join the list.
Here’s something sure to be controversial: Singapore Airlines has partnered with OnAir to offer passengers Wi-Fi Internet and mobile services – including the option to make and receive phone calls. The service will begin being rolled out in the first half of 2011.
What do you think?
Get ready: winter is coming and for outdoor fans Southwest Airlines will be hosting free ice-skating in downtown Denver.
The Southwest Rink at Skyline Park will be next to the historic Daniels and Fisher Clocktower, right next to the recently opened Southwest Porch.
Free skating starts November 26th. You can bring your own skates or rent some there.
Dance at O’Hare
It’s Unity Month in Chicago and to celebrate, both O’Hare and Midway International Airports are treating travelers to live entertainment on Friday afternoons.
Chicago Samba
From 2 to 5 pm this Friday, September 17th, there will be dance and music groups performing on the secure side of the domestic terminals and on the lower level at the international terminal at O’Hare, and on the secure side at Midway. Friday’s line-up includes five different groups: M.A.D.D. Rhythms, Big City Swing, Chicago Samba, Big Slim Steppin’ Network and Cu’Roi.
The entertainment stages at O’Hare are in Terminal 1, B Concourse across from Duty Free; Terminal 2, across from CIBO Market; Terminal 3 near Concourse L and in Terminal 5, on the Lower Level across from the Information Booth. At Midway, the stage is near the Battle of Midway exhibit in Concourse A.
Sip with Southwest
Southwest Porch at Skyline Park - Denver
In Denver, Southwest Airlines opened The Southwest Porch at Skyline Park. Much like the ‘porch’ Southwest opened in Bryant Park in New York City in June 2009, this outdoor venue has comfortable seating as well as a restaurant and bar serving pizzas and drinks. You can read more about it on the Nuts About Southwest blog.
Try the train in Miami
And this week Miami International Airport (MIA) opened the mile-long Concourse D skytrain. The four-car, four-station train runs along the roof of the mile-long concourse, making the trip from one end to the other in about five minutes.
Peanuts on a plane.
For a lot of people, that’s a more frightening scenario than snakes on a plane.
And a lot more likely.
And as I wrote in my msnbc.com column this week – Passengers peeved about peanuts on airplanes – a lot of travelers think the best way to enhance airline passenger protections is to ban peanuts on planes.
Through September 23rd, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is taking public comment on a wide range of issues affecting airline passengers. Everything from peanuts on planes to involuntary bumping policies to surprise baggage fees.
Of the nearly 1,300 public comments submitted so far, the majority are focused on peanut allergies.
One problem though.
Technically, DOT doesn’t have the authority to change in-flight peanut policies. That’s because an appropriations law from 2000 prohibits the agency from passing peanut rules until a scientific study proves a rule change will actually benefit airline passengers with allergies. And no such study has been completed or commissioned.
Still, the agency is trying to gauge public opinion on ways to handle in-flight peanuts.
“We haven’t said we won’t do anything,” said DOT spokesperson Bill Mosely. “We haven’t ruled anything in or out. So we still do want to hear public comments about peanuts. We plan to read and review them all.”
The problem with flying peanuts
Peanut allergies among children have tripled between 1997 and 2008, and peanut allergies, tree-nut allergies, or both, are reported by 1 percent of the U.S. population, or about 3 million people, according to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), a group that supports discontinuing serving peanuts on planes.
The fear of having a severe reaction from exposure to peanuts while locked inside an airplane keeps some allergy sufferers grounded. Under DOT’s rules, passengers with severe peanut allergies have a qualifying disability covered by the Air Carrier Access Act, which prohibits discrimination by U.S. and foreign carriers against individuals with disabilities.
As far back as 1988, DOT advised airlines to make reasonable accommodations for passengers disabled by their peanut allergies. Most airlines voluntarily comply, but no formal rules have been put in place.
Now, DOT is asking the public to comment on three alternatives to accommodate peanut-allergy sufferers on airplanes:
DOT is also asking the public to comment on how peanuts and peanut products carried on board by passengers should be handled.
Peanut protections for airline passengers
If you’ve got a problem with peanuts, here’s what you need to know:
AirTran, Alaska/Horizon, American, Continental, JetBlue and United are among the major domestic airlines that do not serve peanuts. However, most airlines also post notices saying they can’t promise that some items served on board won’t contain nut products or that other passengers won’t bring their own nut products on board.
Two domestic airlines continue to ladle out legumes.
In 2009, both Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines served about 92 million bags of peanuts. “That does sound like a lot of nuts,” said Patrick Archer, president of the American Peanut Council, “But the airline portion of the overall U.S. peanut business is really very small.”
If alerted, Delta Airlines will accommodate a passenger with a peanut allergy by creating a peanut-free buffer zone for three rows in front of and three rows behind their seat. The airline’s website also notes that when advised that a passenger with peanut allergies is flying, “Gate agents will be notified in case you’d like to pre-board and cleanse the immediate seating area.”
And while Southwest Airlines can’t guarantee a nut-free airplane, it will suspend peanut service on an entire flight if a passenger with an allergy requests it. See Southwest’s peanut dust allergy page for more information.
Want to share your thoughts about peanuts-on-planes? You can leave a comment below.
You can also file comments for the DOT to read (through September 23, 2010) here.
Denver-bound this weekend? Then be on the lookout for this:
200 professional and amateur chalk artists will be creating temporary, dusty masterpieces as part of the eighth annual Denver Chalk Art Festival this weekend (June 5 and 6, 2010) on Larimer Square.
To promote the event – and have some fun – Southwest Airlines (the official airline of the Denver Chalk Festival) invited 17 chalk artists out to Denver International Airport on Wednesday and asked them to create a pair of chalk masterpieces on the ramp between two Southwest gates.
Curious about the chalk art and the Denver Chalk Festival ? Here’s some ‘chalk talk’ from the event organizers:
The event follows street painting traditions that originated in 16th century Renaissance Italy when artists began transforming asphalt into canvas using chalk. The artists were called “madonnari,” after their customary practice of recreating chalk paintings of the Madonna. Historically, madonnari were known for their life of travel and freedom, making their living from coins received from passers-by.
With World War II came many hardships, greatly reducing the number of these artists. The art form was not officially brought back to life until 1972 when the small town of Grazie di Curtatone in Italy started the first International Street Painting Competition. Today, artists worldwide are taking to the streets, bringing with them new ideas, techniques, and excitement for this ancient form of expression. Handmade French pastels have replaced the simple chalks previously used and the paintings have become complicated images of traditional master-style works, modern pieces, and surreal chalk originals.
…..[O]one might ask, ‘why street paint when the artists’ efforts disappear immediately?’ As avid street painters will tell you, this is performance art, where the process of creating the work is more important than the finished piece….
To celebrate five years of service to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT), Southwest Airlines will be throwing a little party at its PIT gates starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Gate games and decorations are promised, but with Southwest, well, you never know quite what will happen.
Even without a Southwest party, Pittsburgh Airport has a few special amenities worth applauding. There’s this giant aluminum and iron mobile by Alexander Calder suspended over the air-side central atrium:
PIT also has free Wi-Fi, exhibits from The Andy Warhol Museum, a T-Rex model on loan from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and an exhibit honoring Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers Neighborhood.
My Well-Mannered Traveler column on msnbc.com this week –Are airlines cashing in on your kids? -addresses some of the new fee airlines will charge you to put your kid on a plane as an unaccompanied minor.
Southwest Airlines gets kudos for not charging customers a fee to take along two checked bags. But the “Bags Fly Free” airline has a different attitude about kids: starting Friday, April 23, 2010 Southwest Airlines is doubling the fee it charges to transport children age 5 to 11 as unaccompanied minors. The new UM fees — $50 each way, up from $25 each way — are still on the low end of a fee scale that can top $300 per round-trip. But as we learned last June when one airline “misplaced” very young travelers on two much-publicized occasions, parents don’t always get what they think they’re paying for when they fork over these fees.
So as summer travel planning gets underway and kids start looking forward to camp or a visit to a friend or relative in another city, it’s a good time to review airlines fees for unaccompanied minors and the tips for making sure your little solo traveler flies safely.
Bags may be free; your kids aren’t
The news isn’t all bad: Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are actually lowering the fees they charge for accommodating unaccompanied minors. Starting with tickets purchased May 1, 2010 for travel after June 16th, customers will pay a $25 fee per child for direct flights and $50 per child for connecting flights. This is a reduction from the current $75 fee.
What about other airlines? Prices and rules are always subject to change, but here are the current charges for unaccompanied minors on most domestic airlines. Fees listed below are one-way.
Airtran Airways: $39 for non-stop/direct flights; $59 for itineraries with connections. If two or more children travel together, only one fee is charged.
Alaska/Horizon Airlines $75 each way for children ages 5-12. This fee is for up to three children. Effective May 1 for travel after June 16: $25 fee per child for direct flights; $50 per child for connecting flights within the Alaska/Horizon network.
American Airlines: $100 each way. Covers two or more children from the same family.
Continental Airlines: $100 each way. Covers children traveling together.
Delta Airlines: $100 each way, per child.
Frontier Airlines: $50 for direct and non-stop flights; $100 for connecting flights. One fee per family.
JetBlue Airways: $75 per child.
Spirit Airlines: $100 each way, per child.
Southwest Airlines: $50 each way, each child.
United Airlines: $99 each way; covers 2 or more children traveling together.
US Airways: $100 each way; non-stop only. Covers two or more children.
Virgin America: $40 one way; non-stop only.
Some details to keep in mind:
Be sure to check for updates, rules and additional fees, which can vary widely and often change on short notice.
For example, some airlines waive the UM fee for children who have achieved frequent flier status. Some airlines do not allow unaccompanied minors to fly after 9 p.m., on the last flight of the day or if bad weather or some other condition (i.e. impending strike or volcano eruption) might cause delays.
Several airlines promise to give your child a snack; others will waive the checked bags fees; and a few charge just a single fee for two or more children traveling together, which can offer significant cost-savings.
And be sure to check those age restrictions: some airlines charge unaccompanied minor fees only for children aged 5-11. Others might insist on collecting an unaccompanied minor fee for teens 14 or even 15 years-old.
Airlines take the fee; you keep the responsibilities
There’s that old saying, “You get what you pay for.” That rule doesn’t necessarily apply when it comes to picking an airline to transport your young solo flier. Remember those ‘mis-delivered’ kids? They were flying on Continental Airlines/Continental Express, which levies a $100 UM fee. Last June, the airline sent a 10-year-old girl to Newark, N.J. instead of Cleveland and flew an 8-year-old girl to Arkansas instead of Charlotte, N.C.
Mistakes happen, of course, and millions of kids fly alone each year with no problems. But there’s plenty you can do to tip the scales in favor of your little unaccompanied minor having a smooth flight.
Make sure you’re prepared:
Nancy Schretter of the Family Travel Network urges parents to do their homework. “Avoid airlines that have had problems [caring for unaccompanied minors] in the past. … Choose larger aircraft and, if possible, stay away from small regional jets. … And think about everything that could happen and be ready to deal with problems.”
Some of those problems could crop up with the all the paperwork associated with sending a child as an unaccompanied minor. Study the rules, have the required phone numbers and identification information ready when you go to the airport and make paper copies of everything, including the airline’s posted unaccompanied minor policy. In researching current fees and rules, I discovered that the advice of reservation agents can conflict with an airline’s posted rules.
Make sure your child is prepared
Arm your child with snacks, some cash, a charged cell phone, emergency phone numbers and books, games and other activities to keep them entertained. And make sure your child knows what to do if things go wrong.
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!
A couple of fun and possibly useful notes:
Southwest Airlines begins service between New York’s LaGuardia Airport and both BWI and Chicago’s Midway airport at the end of June (2009). To celebrate, the airline is sponsoring the Southwest Porch in New York City. It’s in Bryant Park, at appropriately enough, the park’s southwest corner and has porch swings, rocking chairs, Adirondack chairs, umbrellas, and space for about 175 people.
Also, those crisp white Westin Heavenly blankets and pillows that travelers on some United flights have been getting to snuggle up with are now being made in a travel-size version that the rest of us can buy.
And, if you’ve been irritated by all those new (and old) checked baggage fees airlines are now charging, keep in mind that some hotels, most notably the nationwide chain of Kimpton Hotels, offer a $25 room credit if you show a receipt for a checked bag. Kimpton’s “We’ve Got Your Bag” promotion has been extended indefinitely.
Today ( Saturday, June 6, 2009) if you’re flying to or through Seattle-Tacoma (SEA), Portland (PDX), and Spokane (GEG) airports, go over to the Southwest Airlines gates and ticket counters and see if you can get it on their party.
The airline is celebrating 15 years of service to these airports with history and trivia “gate games” that give customers the chance to win prizes, including free tickets.
Maybe there’ll be cake.