T2

SFO shows off renovated T2

April 7, 2011Harriet BaskasAirports, ArtAirport art, San Francisco International Airport, SFO, T2

Look what showed up for official unveiling of the newly renovated Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport:

A new Virgin America A320 with White Knight 2 carrying Spaceship 2

StuckatTheAirport.com readers have gotten a sneak peek of many of the features of T2 over the past two weeks (see here and here and here) but the completed facility was officially shown off today to dignitaries and media folks.

Passengers flying on American Airlines and Virgin America will be the only ones who get to enjoy the new terminal, but in addition to the art, amenities and services described here earlier (see the links above), here are a few more photos of what’s inside.

Many works of art that were in the original Terminal 2 have been reinstalled, including this piece from 1983 by Dan Snyder:

Welcome North, Welcome South, Welcome East, Welcome West

(Photo by Bruce Damonte, courtesy San Francisco Arts Commission)

The terminal has a ‘recompose’ area just past the security checkpoint:

Restrooms with Ann Sacks tiles, Dyson hand dryers and, space to put down your stuff.

Plenty of “Egg” chairs and other comfortable seating areas, work spaces, free Wi-Fi and (yes they counted them) 341 duplex outlets in the main hold room at at the communal tables:

There are also outlets on each column in the terminal and on some of the walls.

An audio tour of T2 has been commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission and will be available shortly.

SFO’s new Terminal 2: preview part 3

April 5, 2011Harriet BaskasAirport shops, Airports, Art, Bathrooms, Food, Renovations, ShoppingAirport art, Airport food, San Francisco International Airport, SFO, T2

San Francisco International Airport will re-open its newly renovated Terminal 2 to the flying public on April 14, but first there will be a media day (April 6th) and a community open house (April 9th.)

For those who can’t attend the open house or who won’t be flying to or from San Francisco on American Airlines or Virgin America – the two airlines that will be using T2 – anytime soon, StuckatTheAirport.com has been offering previews of the terminal.

Part one was about the artwork in SFO’s T2.

That artwork includes a fun piece by Charles Sowers that includes mechanical butterflies.

Elsewhere in the terminal, sound artist Walter Kitundu has installed interactive benches that double as musical instruments.

The wings in one of the birds in Kitundu’s mural can also be played.

Part two of our SFO T2 preview focused on some of the special touches, such as live plants, living-room style furniture, work areas, generous restrooms and those handy water bottle refill stations.

There’s more…

The dining options – which were still under construction when I toured the building – will include: Andale – made-to-order Mexican food
Burger Joint
A restaurant/lounge by Cat Cora, one of the Food Network’s Iron Chef judges
Lark Creek Grill
Napa Farms Market
Vino Volo
Peets Coffee & Tea and Starbucks
Wakaba Sushi & Noodle
and The Plant Organic and Pinkberry frozen yogurt

Shops will include:
Compass Books
Greetings from San Francisco
I-Tech X-perience
Kiehl’s (skin and hair products)
Mango (clothing)
Mosaic Gallery
Natalie’s Candy Jar
Pacific Outfitters
Sunset News
and a branch of XpresSpa

Here a few more photos of what you’ll see in T2:

Artwork that was been stored away during renovation:

Fun seating – even in the baggage claim area:

And plenty of places to plug in and get to work.

Souvenir Sunday: showers and sundries at SFO

April 3, 2011Harriet BaskasAir Travel, Airport shops, Airports, Art, Baggage, Exhibits, Health, Layover, Massages, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs, Stuck at the Airportairport showers, San Francisco International Airport, SFO, sundries, T2

Every Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com is Souvenir Sunday: a day to unpack our carry-on and take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive goodies you can find for sale at airports.

This week’s souvenirs come from San Francisco International Airport, which is getting to ready to open the new and very much improved Terminal 2 to the flying public. They will be a grand opening celebration for T2 on April 9th (anyone can go, but you’ll need to sign up for a free ticket). Virgin America and American Airlines begin using the terminal for regular flights on April 14th.

I’ve already posted a sneak preview of the terminal. See SFO T2 sneak peek -Part 1 and SFO T2 sneak peek part 2 – and check back later for more.

When I visited the new T2, the shops were not yet open, so I wandered over to the SFO International Terminal to see what I could find. Sadly, the Sephora store is gone, but Freshen Up! is still there.

Located right next door to the Airport Travel Agency (on the Departures/Ticketing Level of the International Terminal, near the entrance to Gates G91-G102) and open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., this no-frills spot offers shower rooms, massage chairs, a place to iron your clothes and a wide variety of travel-sized items at surprisingly reasonable prices.

In addition to things like toothpaste, diapers, shaving cream and other sundries they also stock underwear, socks, shirts, pantyhose and other items travelers might find useful when they’re stuck at the airport on a long layover or while waiting for that delayed flight.

A 20 minute shower at Freshen Up! will cost you $11. A 30-minute “deluxe” shower is $15 and includes shampoo, lotion, shower shoes a towel and nice soap. Store your bags at the travel agency next door and they’ll give you a coupon good for an upgrade from the standard to the deluxe shower.

Now that you’re clean – go shopping!

And if you see a great airport souvenir that’s inexpensive, ‘of’ the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along. If your souvenir is featured on Souvenir Sunday, I’ll send you a special travel souvenir.