The airport that serves the greater Seattle area—Seattle–Tacoma International Airport or Sea-Tac—is already a pretty decent airport, but now they’re bringing a taste of the local music scene to those arriving for the first time. The airport is spending some cash on a slice of musical marketing, and they’re hoping that the "Sea-Tac Airport Music Initiative" will have passengers humming long after they've passed through the concourses and terminals.

Passengers can use the airport’s free WiFi to access the airport’s official webplayer, where they can tap into airport-approved tunes, and of course there have been more than a few live concerts right in the middle of the airport. Local artists have been reading the overhead announcements, and there are even music videos streaming on the monitors near the baggage claim area. Sir Mix-A-Lot, Jerry Cantrell, and Macklemore are just some of the artists lending their voices to remind passengers to watch their baggage at all times. ]]> kjb 2012-02-10T09:50:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/9/85019/27762

Work on the new international arrivals hall at Nassau's Lynden Pindling International Airport is still underway—but the departures areas are looking pretty nice and, as far as we could tell when flying out on Monday, functioning faster than they did in the past.

One improvement you may be interested in if you like a cigar or a stiff drink before waving goodbye to the Bahamas is the Graycliff Divan Airport Lounge.

This spinoff of the Graycliff hotel, restaurant and cigar company opened its double lounge—one smoking, one non-smoking—last spring opposte Gate C41 in the US departures terminal.

You may not realize it's an airport lounge at first because it looks like a tschotske-filled boutique—and in fact it is. To register for access to your lounge of choice, you must enter through the gift shop.]]> MsRebecca 2012-02-09T13:45:43-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/9/62835/52727

We're not going to lie, but Angry Birds might still be our favorite game to play on a plane. It can be played when in airplane mode (ahem, Alec Baldwin) and is the only game that makes us occasionally laugh aloud, all while flinging birds towards mean little pigs. Well, the creators of the game have already announced opening up theme parks designed around the game, but there's more (of course).

If you're huge fan and you've already got Angry Birds flip flops, hoodies, keychains and all those little tchotchkes, our recommendation for your next layover in Helskini is to stop pulling the slingshot and hit the new shop for your favorite characters. The Finnish masterminds behind the game have opened up a little plane-shaped Angry Birds kiosk-shop in the middle of Helsinki International Airport. ]]> jetflyboy 2012-02-09T11:40:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/9/787/51326

If you’re flying next week, beware the red and pink cheap chocolates of the Hudson News airport outlets. While sending something in advance of Valentine’s Day is probably the best idea, you can always grab something nice for him or her on your way home from the airport, and no we're not talking about flowers from an arrivals hall vending machine. Here’s five airport candy shops that should satisfy any sweetie’s sweet tooth:

Sugar Pop - Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

Even if you don’t need something for the upcoming Hallmark holiday, it’s worth it to stop in at Sugar Pop within the mall section of Terminal 1-Lindbergh. The place is loaded with different colors and sugary options, and they even have some teddy bears and other cuddly critters to go along with all those calories. This isn’t exactly the place for gourmet confections, but if you’re looking for oversized lollipops or personalized treats, it'll more than do.

Candy Empire – Singapore-Changi Airport

Sitting within the basement level of Terminal 3 is the spot you need to visit for chocolates, cookies, and everything in between. They promise stuff from Australia, Europe, and the United States, so if you can’t find something that fits your needs, you don’t know what you need. A few pieces of foreign candy from Candy Empire should hopefully smooth over any sort of trouble caused by not being home on Valentine's Day.]]> kjb 2012-02-09T09:30:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/7/51253/46945

It seems so long ago that American airports began introducing full-body scanners for passengers to be randomly selected before passing into the secure gate area. What also seems from long ago is the issue of privacy the machines posed with the revealing images. Well, after our outright concern, abhorrence, acceptance, and return to the concern, another continent joins the scanner controversy: Australia.

Down Under follows the US and Europe, and will adopt the same "gingerbread man person" technology, which displays an outline of a gender-less person only highlighting areas of risk. Parliament also promises that all images are discarded after each passenger. We have heard this all before.]]> jetflyboy 2012-02-07T09:16:52-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/6/152122/2862

We said they were coming, and lo, they have come. Yesterday, flying from Chicago-O'Hare, we encountered the dreaded advertising mirrors—bathroom mirrors that double up as screens for advertisements.

How are they in real life? Way more imposing/annoying than you'd expect. They work by sensing when someone's at the mirror, so if you're waiting in line for a cubicle, all you see is moving adverts. Which, we suppose, isn't too irritating, but it does mean you can't check yourself out carry out quick makeup touch ups as you wait. ]]> juliab 2012-02-06T16:56:57-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2012/2/6/135646/4398

Hey, remember when journalists started weirdly declaring that everything was fine with the airline industry? And then travelers took that to mean that good times were here again while the government swooped in with expensive new regulations? And then remember how American Airlines went bankrupt and then Spanair shut down and then Hungary's Malev shut down? Good times.

There's not much to say about this latest casualty of the global economic crunch. Hungary really, really wanted to keep Malev operating, with the government declaring the airline to be a "priority objective." But they just couldn't make the carrier viable—specifically, they couldn't convince suppliers that the government would be able to pay them for services—and thus ended the Malev's 66 years of almost continuous service. Sad.]]> Omri 2012-02-06T13:56:46-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/