Zurich Airport

Edelweiss Air lands in Seattle

Airlines, ,

Lufthansa Group’s leisure airline, Edelweiss (operated by SWISS), touched down at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) on Monday and was welcomed with a traditional water cannon salute.

Edelweiss will now offer twice weekly summer seasonal service between SEA and Switzerland’s Zurich Airport (ZRH) on an Airbus A340-300 with 314 seats across three classes.

Edelweiss Business Class has 27 fully lie-flat seats. Economy Max includes 76 seats and there are 211 seats in Economy Class.

With this new flight, travelers can now travel from Seattle to Munich, Frankfurt and Zurich on Lufthansa Group flights.

SEA recently welcomed back SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) for flights between Seattle and Copenhagen after a ‘pause’ of 16 years and celebrated Alaska Airlines’ new flights on Hawaiian Airlines to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. So it’s been pretty busy around here.

But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a proper celebration for Edelweiss.

In addition to short celebratory speeches and a ribbon cutting, travelers waiting for the flight to depart were treated to a tasty snack of chocolate-covered pretzel sticks.

(Bernd Bauer, CEO of Edelweiss Air, with Lufthansa Group and SEA executives).

Fresh art, cool sounds from Miami Int’l & other airports

Art, , , , , ,

Heading to or through Miami International Airport between now and October 2019?

If so, look for the exhibition Destination Deco, by Gate D29, which is filled with cool Art Deco objects from the Wolfsonian-FIU museum’s current exhibition, Deco: Luxury to Mass Market.

Here are some notes about what’s on view:

Before traveling to the United States and becoming a mainstay of Miami Beach’s world-famous architecture, Art Deco was celebrated at the 1925 Paris International Exposition and then spread throughout Europe.

Designers in the United States turned to affordable materials and used aerodynamic forms and horizontal bands to convey speed.

From exquisite handcraft to streamlined product design, this installation reveals the multi-faceted character of the iconic style. 

The Wolfsonian museum sits just two blocks from the beach in the heart of Miami Beach’s Art Deco district and explores what it means to be modern through a great collection of art, design and everyday objects.

Listen to that airport

Radio Prague has gathered a series of videos comparing the look and sound of Prague’s Vaclav Havel International Airport (PRG) to others, including Zurich Airport (ZRH) in Switzerland, Montreal’s  Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL), and Bucharest’s Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP), named for the aeronautical engineer that Romania’s Space Agency, and others, claim invented the jet engine, although others give that credit to Frank Whittle.

Videos below:

Harley-Davidson motorcycles at Zurich Airport

Exhibits, ,

You’ll find Harley-Davidson shops at airports in Denver, Tampa, Milwaukee and several other cities, but not at the Zurich Airport.

No matter. Until August 7th, the airport is hosting a full-throttle exhibit of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

According to Clutch and Chrome magazine, the exhibition explores the Harley lifestyle:

“..Harley-Davidson’s history, which dates back more than a century; the strong sense of identity and community among its customers; and the powerful machines themselves, the two-cylinder driving force behind the “made in the USA” dream.”

Ten Harley-Davidson motorcycles are on display, along with panels detailing the history of the company and mannequins modeling accessories and clothing.

A slide-show of motorcycles at Zurich Airport – from the Moodie Report – has some great images of the bikes on display.

Souvenir Sunday: chocolate knives from Zurich Airport

Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs,

Sunday is Souvenir Sunday at StuckatTheAirport.com; the day we look at some of the fun, inexpensive souvenirs you can buy at airports.

This week’s pick: chocolate Swiss Army knives found at Zurich Airport.

You can’t pack the real thing in your carry-on anymore, but when you’re hungry, these might prove quite handy.

Do you spend time poking around airport shops when you’re waiting for a flight? If you find something fun, inexpensive and “of” the city or region, please snap a photo and send it along.
If your souvenir is featured on Souvenir Sunday, I’ll send you a fun airport-related souvenir.

Souvenir Sunday at Zurich Airport

Air Travel, Airport shops, Airports, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs, ,

It’s Souvenir Sunday; the day we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive and local souvenirs for sale at airports.

This week’s treats come from Zurich Airport, where there are plenty of things made of chocolate.

Zurich Airport macarons

And plenty of other souvenirs that a similarly Swiss, but less likely to be nibbled on during the long flight home.

Magnets from Zurich Airport

Magnets Swiss souvenirs

Souvenir Sunday is a regular feature here on StuckatTheAirport.com. So if you find a great airport souvenir that’s inexpensive (around $10), “of” the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along. If your photo is featured on Souvenir Sunday I’ll send you a special aviation-related souvenir.

Don’t leave your kids at Zurich Airport

Air Travel, Airports, family travel, Kids travel, , ,

 

Playroom_nursery Zurich Airport

When I walked into this bright playroom at Zurich Airport, it was hard to tell who was happier:

Two-year old Mattia, who was happily playing with the toys and stuffed animals in the room, or his dad, Stefano Schiavon, who was sitting quietly watching his son play.

“We flew in from Washington and have a long layover before our flight to Venice,” said Shiavon, “When I found the airport had this play area, I almost cried.”

Who could blame him?

Lots of airports have small play areas for children. In the United States, these spaces range from a corner with an activity table or two to larger spaces, such as O’Hare’s Kids on the Fly center, with aviation-themed climbing structures.

Zurich Airport not only has special play areas for children, the free facilities have lockers, lots of toys and dolls, books, computer games, painting supplies and building sets.

A separate room is a nursery, with diaper-changing tables, baby care products, cribs and rooms for breastfeeding. There’s also a kitchenette with a hotplate, microwave oven and cutlery so parents can fix a snack for their kids.

The staff on duty is multilingual and there to make sure to make sure everyone is playing safely and to help out with flight information and assist  with minor problems.

“Parents must stay with their children. It’s not a daycare,” my airport guide told me, “People can’t leave their kids here and go off shopping or on a 10-day trip.”

Although you can see how they may be tempted….

Play area at Zurich Airport

 

Zurich Airport has two Family Service areas:
In the Transit A area, between the entrance to gates 60-69. Hours: daily, 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m;
and on Pier E, level 3, above gate E45. Hours: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Zurich Airport family room