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The Wine-Friendly 'Starbucks Evenings' Concept Opens at the Airport

December 26, 2012 at 11:04 AM | by | Comments (0)

Not too long ago we heard about one of those special new Starbucks heading over to LAX—the kind of Sbux with the wine. While it will be a little bit more time before that sucker opens to the traveling public, in the interim we can take a flight over to Washington-Dulles International Airport because they just cut the ribbon on the very first airport location of Starbucks Evenings.

HMSHost—they’re the ones behind many of your favorite and not-so-favorite airport restaurants—partnered up with Starbucks for this spot at the airport. It’s kind of just like any other airport Starbucks in that they’ll still serve up lattes and frappuccinos, but there's a twist.

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Finally, Math Categorizes the Most Annoying TSA Checkpoints

December 7, 2012 at 2:20 PM | by | Comments (0)

Yes, the new Travel + Leisure survey of "Most Annoying Airport Security Checkpoints" is sort of kind of egregiously shameless link bait. Publishing top 10 lists on the Internet (or in this case top-14 lists) is basically cheating, up there with posting pictures of boobs and cats.

The only thing that's less subtle is putting in something that doesn't quite fit, so that people will argue about the list. Theoretically that's impossible to do on surveys, but that doesn't mean we can't still complain about the rankings. Can you believe they put Dulles TSA checkpoints as more annoying than the ones in Logan? Whoever thinks that's right has either never been to the airports or is an idiot or is a troll.

Also: well played, T+L.

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Design Under Your Derriere: The Eames 'Tandem Sling' Airport Chair

October 4, 2012 at 4:06 PM | by | Comments (0)

Look at your chair right now. What is it made of? What's its shape? Is it comfortable? No matter your answers, there's a good chance that chair pales in comparison to one most commonly found in airports. Hear us out.

The strikingly modernist terminal building of Washington-Dulles International may have been designed by Eero Saarinen, but...those stylish rows of black chairs inside? Credit for these goes to Charles & Ray Eames. Perhaps you've heard their names before? They were, after all, behind other iconic furniture designs such as the DAR and No. 670, but without a doubt it's their "Tandem Sling" you'll likely encounter the most in your lifetime if you fly through US airports with any regularity.

Dulles, believe it or not, was the first airport engineered to accommodate jets. It opened in 1962, the same year the Eames' Tandem Sling was copyrighted, which isn't a coincidence; the Tandem Sling debuted with the airport, also counting the freshly built Chicago-O'Hare Airport as a client.

You'll still see (and sit on) these chairs at these airports today, not to mention the fact that many, many other airports followed suit. We snapped the photos below just a few days ago at Detroit-Metro, for example.

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Watch a Boeing 747-8 Wing Flex on Takeoff in This Awesome Video

Where: 1 Saarinen Circle [map], Sterling, VA, United States, 20166
July 19, 2012 at 10:58 AM | by | Comment (1)

You know we love a window seat and the awesome views it offers. But one of the best parts? Watching the super-flexible new wing of the Boeing 747-8 raise up on takeoff.

With a seat in Business Class on the lower level, right in front of the wing, we set our camera to HD video mode, propped it up against the new larger windows and enjoyed the view.

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The Day We Burst Into Tears at Washington-Dulles Airport

Where: 1 Saarinen Circle [map], Sterling, VA, United States, 20166
July 18, 2012 at 12:01 PM | by | Comments (0)

Ever just started crying in an airport? Until this week, we'd have answered "no"—and even this week, it wasn't anything to do with our flight.

No, it was the sheer power of the blocks of the AIDS Memorial Quilt currently on display at Washington Dulles, and in particular this block, "Sewn with love by the flight attendants of Continental Airlines."

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Six Million Pieces and Three People: Inside the Boeing 747-8i's Redesigned Cockpit

June 5, 2012 at 10:57 AM | by | Comments (0)

New airplane alert! On Friday, June 1, Lufthansa sent the very first Boeing 747-8 for passengers on its very first regularly scheduled flight. Hopping from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington DC's Dulles Airport, the jumbo-jumbo jet made history with us onboard. Stay tuned the next few days for dispatches from the tarmac!

So yes, the world's first Boeing 747-8i is up and flying and, while it's fun to celebrate all the new seats and passenger-side comforts, real appreciation for the new aircraft must include understanding that most of the major improvements came for the technical, operational end of the jumbo.

This is a plane made up of over 6 million pieces, all controlled by a few men sitting up front, switches and buttons beneath their fingertips...fingertips that know the geography of the cockpit by heart. Welcome to the Boeing 747-8i's flight deck....where the magic happens.

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The Definitive Guide to Lufthansa's New Business Class, Onboard the First 747-8i

June 4, 2012 at 3:36 PM | by | Comment (1)

New airplane alert! Last Friday, June 1, Lufthansa sent the very first Boeing 747-8 for passengers on its very first regularly scheduled flight. Hopping from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington DC's Dulles Airport, the jumbo-jumbo jet made history with us onboard. Stay tuned the next few days for dispatches from the tarmac!

It used to be that flying in luxury on a jumbo jet meant somewhat wider seats with better recline, friendlier flight attendants, a spiral staircase to the upper deck and lobster on the menu. This was the premium class of the 1970s, when Pan Am took off with the very first Boeing 747 passenger plane, a 747-100. Fast forward to 42 years later (!!) to the new 747-800 Intercontinental and, as much as we bemoan the loss of the "jet set" glamor, stepping into Lufthansa's new Business Class forces the realization that—holy mackerel—these last few decades have actually produced a plane that can again cause passengers to mouthe "wow" (or "toll" if you're German).

The 747 has always been an impressive work of aviation engineering, but it's this 747-8i that Boeing is calling "a flagship aircraft that airlines will want to customize" and "a cornerstone of the Lufthansa fleet for years to come." So, no surprise that Lufthansa chose this baby for the grand debut of the new lie-flat Business Class seats, right? So let's check it out...

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Photos and Video: Onboard the Inaugural Flight of Lufthansa's Brand New Boeing 747-8i

June 1, 2012 at 7:31 PM | by | Comments (3)

New airplane alert! Today, June 1, Lufthansa sent the very first Boeing 747-8 for passengers on its very first regularly scheduled flight. Hopping from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington DC's Dulles Airport, the jumbo-jumbo jet is making history with us onboard. Stay tuned the next few days for dispatches from the tarmac!

"Haben Sie einen schönen Flug."

The captain's calm pleasantries were the usual remarks that come at the beginning of a long flight—the weather is cloudy and warm at our destination and he hopes all passengers enjoy the onboard services during the 10-hour journey—but this is where the "usual" ended and the extraordinary began.

You see, earlier today we participated in a little bit of aviation history. Take that back—what happened wasn't little at all, but JUMBO. Flying direct from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington, DC-Dulles, the very first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental completed its very first scheduled passenger flight. It is not the 747 you already know and love, but a fresher, faster, more technologically advanced and larger 747, and Lufthansa is the only airline with their hands on this new "Queen of the Skies."

Though the majority of the passengers had completely lucked out on booking this inaugural flight and only figured out something special was afoot when the airplane came under a firetruck water cannon shower on its creep out to the Frankfurt runway, our journey to the Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental began some time ago, and we'd already been in Germany for nearly two weeks, psyching up for this first flight.

So here's what went down:

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Oh, What a Ginormous Plane! Our Instagram Photos of Lufthansa's New Boeing 747-8

May 31, 2012 at 12:15 PM | by | Comment (1)


This was taken with an iPhone. Crazy, right?

New airplane alert! Tomorrow, June 1, Lufthansa will send the very first Boeing 747-8 for passengers on its very first regularly scheduled flight. Hopping from Frankfurt, Germany to Washington DC's Dulles Airport, the jumbo-jumbo jet is making history with us onboard. Stay tuned the next few days for dispatches from the tarmac!

First things first: the Boeing 747-8 is a ginormous airplane. So ginormous that we couldn't capture her in a single photo, even though we had the entire space of Lufthansa Technik's A380 hangar to work angles. Though you may see the 747-800 rolling out on the tarmac and not recognize her from her older sibling, the 747-400 you already know and love, this new jet has serious differences and all for the better.

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Where to Go with Your Tax Refund: Washington DC

April 19, 2012 at 12:38 PM | by | Comments (0)

Tax day has come and gone, and you're probably excited to get the direct deposit of your big fat tax refund. Probably. The economy may be on its way back up, but you should try to stretch that tax refund as far as you can...like with a little "you did a great job last year" trip.

Now that the stress and worry of tax day is over, you can focus on more important things, like where to go with that tax refund. Ultimately, the government returned your money, and it might be patriotic to spend that money in our nation's capital. Washington DC isn't all stuffy politicians, but it can require some stuffed pockets.

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Buying Flights in Bulk: JetBlue's New $699 'Go Pack'

April 10, 2012 at 10:40 AM | by | Comments (0)

Buying flights in bulk—is this the next new thing? Virgin America tried it out last year with a Gilt City deal that saw a pack of 3 roundtrip short-haul flights going for $427, all the way on up to 10 long-haul roundtrips for $3,585. Well, the originators of the All-You-Can-Jet idea—JetBlue—are kicking off spring travel with a bulk deal of their very own. The only catch? You have to really love flying between Boston and Washington DC.

The deal is quite simple:
· Buy a "Go Pack" of 10 one-way flights between Boston (BOS) and all Washington, DC airports—Washington-Reagan (DCA), Washington-Dulles (IAD), Baltimore (BWI).
· Pay $699, plus $7 in taxes for each flight (so it's $776 total).
· Fly your 10 flights between April 23 through June 27, 2012.
· Earn a lump sum 4,200 TrueBlue miles

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Six US Airports for Stalking the Airbus A380

January 11, 2012 at 9:28 AM | by | Comment (1)


Korean Air and Lufthansa A380s snuggle up at JFK Terminal 1

Look, if you're an airport and you want to have the superjumbo Airbus A380 flying in and out, you can't just be like "hey, airlines, bring that big thang on over." Nope. Instead certain preparations must be made to accommodate an airliner of the A380's size and heft. To effectively manage each plane's 500+ passenger load, more jetways are needed, plus support vehicles to reach the upper deck. In some cases, airport runway indicator lights may need to be moved and the tarmac reinforced.

In other words, A380s can't just fly anywhere and, although the massive planes have been in the air since Singapore Airlines took delivery of the very first in 2007, not all that many airports around the world are treated to them. At least some of those are the United States...

US airports where you'll find A380s:

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