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Tag: Airport News View All Tags

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Load Up on Pinkberry Before Your Southwest Flight

November 6, 2009 at 11:55 AM | by juliana | 0 Comments

It was only a matter of time before the faux fro-yo craze that is Pinkberry would hit the airports and we were oh so privileged to see it in action last night at LAX's Terminal 1, known to locals as The Southwest Terminal (although US Airways does have some presence here.)

Wedged in between a Starbucks, a California Pizza Kitchen ASAP and a Gordon Biesch brewery, the Pinkberry seemed to hold its own. We saw many a customer in our 45-minute wait in this airport fast food haven that solely came in to get some Pinkberry.

The bonus? You can also get Pinkberry as soon as you deplane as the location is right before the escalators down to the baggage claim.

Related Stories:
· Pinkberry Coverage [Jaunted]
· An Injection of Frozen Yogurt for Terminal 1 at LAX [Jaunted]

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Cops Nab Phoenix Airport Baggage Thief; Is Your Missing Luggage In His House?

November 5, 2009 at 10:34 AM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

There are baggage thieves, like these petty fellows, and then there are compulsive baggage thieves, like the couple who were just caught after having stolen 1,000+ checked bags from the carousels at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport.

Keith King and Stacy Legg-King lived in squalor amongst towers of stolen luggage strewn about their suburban home, the ill-gotten goods pinched by Keith straight from the baggage claims of arriving flights. He was spotted three weeks ago when an airport officer noticed King parking at the airport, taking a bag from the carousel, and then putting it in his car and leaving. After this incident, the police put surveillance on him and caught him in the act again this past Monday. And that's when the operation blew wide open...

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How Much Would You Pay For One Of London's Airports?

November 3, 2009 at 8:46 AM | by Omri | 0 Comments

The UK's second busiest airport— and a perennial frustration for delayed London travelers having to fly in and out on its single runway—Gatwick Airport is about to come under new management. BAA, which owns six British airports and is in turn owned by the Spanish firm Ferrovial, has sold the facility to Global Infrastructure Partners. Final price: a lot:

BAA has agreed to sell its 100% interest in Gatwick Airport Limited to an entity controlled by Global Infrastructure Partners for £1.51 billion. Of the sale price, £55 million is conditional on future traffic performance and the buyer's future capital structure... Colin Matthews, BAA's Chief Executive, said... 'BAA is changing and today's announcement marks a new beginning for both Gatwick and BAA. We wish Gatwick well for the future and are confident that the airport will flourish under new ownership.'

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Construction Under Way At Virgin America's Future Home: Terminal 2 At SFO

October 21, 2009 at 9:01 AM | by kjb | 2 Comments

Late last year, work began on renovating Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport. The terminal used to be the gateway to foreign lands, but after all the new paint and fancy lighting it will be primarily used for domestic adventures. The airport is shelling out nearly $400 million to revamp things, and when complete, it will probably make all the other terminals jealous. Virgin America is especially excited over all this construction, because this will be their official home when all the dust settles.

There will be 14 gates at the new terminal, which should leave a little extra room if another carrier or two wants to sneak into Virgin America’s home turf. The gates will be designed for narrow body aircraft, but they will have the capability for some bigger jets—just in case. Some of the cool new stuff that travelers will experience while waiting for flights includes a wine bar, spa, and over ten restaurants. The airport is even looking to recruit some slow food vendors to ensure travelers are eating healthy, locally grown food—does this include Cinnabon? There will be lots of public art, and for fans of green, the facility expects to get silver LEED certification.

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Sweeten Up Your Layover In Chicago-O'Hare At Vosges Chocolate Shop

Where: O'Hare International Airport [map], Chicago, IL, United States
October 16, 2009 at 1:44 PM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

Chicago's O'Hare International Airport might be known as one of the country's most congested airports, but thanks to the arrival of a new shop in Terminal 1 (B Concourse), ORD is also on the map for something else: designer chocolate.

The terminal has a Vosges Haut-Chocolat (pronounced "voge") shop, and although it was installed before Christmas last year. it's better late than never to pass on any chocolate news, especially with another round of holiday travel looming. Vosges, a Chicago-based company started by a world traveling woman inspired by the flavors of the world, now has two shops in NYC and one in Vegas in addition to the Windy City, and the treats continue to evolve.

Bacon and chocolate, after the jump.

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Glasgow Updates Airport Shopping With Snazzy 'Planeshop' Concept

Where: Glasgow Airport, Glasgow, United Kingdom
October 13, 2009 at 2:33 PM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

Everybody loves a good pop-up shop, but the possibility of limited-edition goods gets even more tempting when we're talking about travel products. Very soon, as the shop is due to open yet this year, "Planeshop" will debut inside of Glasgow Airport as a rotating retail concept. The shop will be permanent, but the brands for sale inside of it will alternate every so often to constantly keep the airport concessions fresh and interesting.

We love love love stuff like this because it helps to make an airport a destination in itself, giving you something to look forward and possibly counteracting the frustration experienced during the rigamarole of air travel. In addition to the limited edition items, Planeshop will provide travelers with Planemix, "a downloadable selection of global digital music tracks that rotates each month," and Foodflight, "a selection of tapas and sangria for takeout or in-store dining."

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Facial Recognition Technology Will Check You Out At Sydney Airport

October 1, 2009 at 5:24 PM | by amandak | 0 Comments

Sydney Airport has just gotten smarter: passengers with modern e-Passports arriving in Sydney now have the option of going through SmartGate, which means they can go through passport control without speaking to a real person.

At the 12 SmartGate kiosks now operating at the airport, travelers can insert their e-Passport to be scanned, then answer the standard declaration questions on a touchscreen. After that they are issued with a ticket, take it to the exit, insert it there and then the camera scans them to check they are the person shown in the passport.

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How Many All-Biz-Class Airlines Must Fail Before British Airways Understands?

September 30, 2009 at 12:18 PM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

Haven't we already worked out that All-Business-Class Flights just don't span out? Just look at the track record for these flights: Silverjet, Eos, and MaxJet all died in early 2008, ailing L'Avion was bought by British Airways shortly after that, and BA's own all-business OpenSkies took to their blog to beg passengers to book with them.

So why is British Airways making an additional attempt at the all-business, transatlantic route? Of course it's all about money, and the reasoning is that they think it'll be profitable in its first year—no word on further years. The newest route runs from London's City Airport (LCY) to JFK, but has to make a refueling pitstop in Shannon, Ireland because The Telegraph UK explains that "City Airport's runway is too short to handle an A318 with a full fuel payload." Bummer.

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It's A Sad Day For Frivolous Travel As US Helicopter Abruptly Shuts Down

September 28, 2009 at 2:03 PM | by JetSetCD | 1 Comment

US Helicopter, which ran Sikorsky choppers from the Wall Street and Midtown West heliports to JFK and Newark airports, shuttered its service abruptly on Friday. What a bummer for ballers in the NYC-area, and for Jaunted too since we've splurged on the 8-minute flight a few times—one review is here.

The 'copter company, which landed at Delta terminals at the airports and offered seamless transfers to your Delta flights, only began 3 years ago and yet has been plagued with financial problems from the first. Sometimes their desperation for cash would work out for us, since their $99 special would appear every so often and drive us batty with fantasies of flying in friends from the airport as a gift and totally blowing their minds.

The good news is, US Helicopter claims that this stop is only temporary for, as their Vice-President says, "getting our act together." Once they do get their act together, we hope that $159 one-ways that take 8 minutes to get to the airport still include a few specials.

Related Stories:
· US Helicopter Halts Shuttle Service To JFK and Newark [NYT]
· First-Person Flight Reviews: US Helicopter Is Real-Life Google Earth [Jaunted]
· US Helicopter Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: US Helicopter]

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The 2012 European Soccer Championships Will Get Their Own Airport

Where: Modlin, Poland
September 21, 2009 at 5:08 PM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

If you're already super-psyched about the big UEFA European Soccer Championship in 2012 in Poland and the Ukraine, we highly recommend holding off for a while on getting a jumpstart on your travel plans.

You see, if you plan it all out now, you could end up flying into Warsaw's congested Okecie airport rather than the brand-spanking-new airport they're just beginning now to build outside of Warsaw, in the town of Modlin. The $140 million dollar airport is being built specifically to ease the bottleneck of soccer fans arriving for the UEFA Championships, and will no doubt be fully kitted out in soccer regalia to get you in the spirit.

Related Stories:
· Poland To Build New Airport For 2012 European Soccer Championship [Today In The Sky]
· Sports Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: wikipedia]

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Volunteer At Your Local Airport For An Altruistic Staycation

September 21, 2009 at 8:53 AM | by cmb | 1 Comment

It's great to be able to take a volunteer vacation, see somewhere new and feel like you're doing good, but not everyone who wants to take such a trip can actually afford it. For those of you who are on more of a staycation budget, there is a way to combine altruism with your love of travel without having to leave town.

It's called Travelers Aid International, and they're located in airport terminals across the country, providing travel information, crisis intervention and general help for vulnerable or at-risk travelers. Their information booths are also located in several train and bus stations. With airports and other stations combined, they served more than 6 million people last year alone.

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Southwest Getting Serious About Logan, Launching Denver-Boston Route

September 17, 2009 at 2:43 PM | by Omri | 0 Comments

We'll say this for Southwest: when the Dallas-based LCC wants to start a fare war, they sure start a fare war. The airline just got done opening its first routes to Boston and now, less than a month later, they're already expanding their point-to-points into Logan:

Southwest Airlines says it will launch service from Boston to Denver with two daily nonstop round-trips starting Jan. 10. The announcement marks the second addition the Dallas-based, lower-price carrier has made to its offering of destinations at Logan International Airport since it began service here Aug. 16. Southwest has begun taking reservations for flights and is offering introductory fares from Boston to the Denver International Airport as low as $99 each way.

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