Jaunted

TSA / Airport Security / Drug Travel / Crimes / DEN / → All Tags

TSA Agent Leaves Exasperated Note in Rapper's Drug-Filled Luggage

Sometimes (most of the time) TSA agents make a point of being studiously straight-laced. That's more or less how we prefer our airport security officials, and we still reference this very matter-of-fact story from last year. Somebody was ejected from San Diego International Airport for refusing to choose between a full-body scan or a patdown. There's a job to be done; TSA agents intend to do that job; and they get sad and grumpy when you don't let them.

It's also worth noting that when TSA officials decide to show off their freestyle improv skills, things tend to go awry. Last October, a TSA agent searching journalist Jill Filipovic's checked baggage found a vibrator and left Filipovic a note encouraging her to "get her freak on." An angst-filled blogosphere firestorm immediately erupted and the agent was duly punished. We personally weren't really offended because we suspected that the note might be a failed attempt at being sassy.

Now a TSA agent has left another destined-to-go-viral note in another piece of checked luggage. We anticipate that, in contrast to the incident with Filipovic, the Internet will respond with something less than outrage.

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Airport Food / Airport Restaurants / Football Travel / Denver Travel / DEN / → All Tags

John Elway Will Be Slinging Steaks Soon Enough at Denver Airport

For football fans—and those who enjoy a juicy steak—one of the best airport restaurants is now on the drawing board. Former NFL great John Elway—quarterback of the Denver Broncos—has a couple steakhouses in the greater Denver area. Apparently the restaurants—known as Elway’s—are pretty popular and very tasty, so the plan is now to expand Elway's to the airport.

There’s still a lot of paperwork to be completed and plans to be finalized, but it sounds like Denver International Airport is getting ready for plenty of steak and excited for the opening late next year. The plan is to build the restaurant in and around the existing United Airlines gates within Concourse B.

Of course we were thinking about how the steakhouse is going to handle the lack of metal knives after security, but they’re not too concerned. One member of the restaurant group commented on the tenderness of a steak from Elway’s remarking that cutting one of their steaks doesn’t require a knife. However, if you need one, they do have plans to source some pretty descent plastic knives.

[Photo: RLEVANS]

Airline Mergers / Airport News / CLE / DEN / SFO / Airports / Airline News / United / Continental / Airlines / → All Tags

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like United Airlines Everywhere You Go

United and Continental have slowly but surely been aligning their services over the last few months, and they’ve been doing so through goodie giveaways, updated apps, and of course plenty of new signage. We were checking out the changes at Chicago-O’Hare at the beginning of the summer, but now as the season is winding down the changes have begun elsewhere.

Upgrades and updates have arrived in San Francisco, as they got their new signs and stanchions in the middle of July. You still should check-in with United for their flights and with Continental for their flights, but the new branding has certainly arrived.

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Airport News / Airports / DEN / FAT / IND / Indianapolis Travel / Green Travel / Technology / → All Tags

Airports Get in the Hot Solar Energy Biz to Make Cold, Hard Cash

Dear airports: it's about time you started exploring the possibilities of alternative energy, like solar energy via solar panel farms, for instance. The Indianapolis Star reports that, like Fresno-Yosemite Airport and Denver International Airport, the Indianapolis Airport is outfitting itself with the latest in solar power in a bid to generate "10 megawatts of electricity an hour -- enough to power up to 6,000 homes." There's just one problem here; the airports aren't using the energy to power themselves, but selling it to the grid in a bid to make cold, hard cash. it's estimated to pull in some $190 million just at Indianapolis over the next 30 years. That better become one bangin' airport with all that moolah.

It's actually a pretty genius idea—that the fancy airport Sbarro's from which you're ordering was partially funded by the sun—and empty lots of land or unused runways are now being given a somewhat altruistic purpose. Homes get energy, airport gets money, and fossil fuels are eliminated from the equation. Rah! Rah! Sis-boom-bah.

[Photo: CFBsr]

Airport Lounges / DEN / American Airlines / British Airways / Airlines / Airline News / Oneworld / → All Tags

Denver is the Lucky Airport to Get the First American-British Airways Joint Lounge

For those flying through Denver this holiday season, there’s more to be excited about than just the airport’s freaky art installations. American Airlines and British Airways—since they’re like best friends—have partnered up to create the first joint Admirals Club lounge. It just opened last week, so if you hurry you might even be able to take a whiff of that new airline lounge smell—and take advantage of seating surfaces without beer and red wine stains.

Don’t look forward to anything spectacular here as it still is just a US domestic airline lounge, but we’re all in favor of anything that takes us away from the Sbarros and screaming babies of the main terminal. Expect about 5,000 square feet of hanging out space with touches of Colorado-inspired architecture and design. There’s seating for around 125 guests, and a quiet area where you can escape the ringing and buzzing of electronic devices. There are also computers available for use, food for purchase, and plenty of TVs to watch. And as with pretty much all airline clubs you can expect free booze as well.

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Stupid Ideas / Crimes / DEN / Skywest / Airport Security / → All Tags

The Quickest Way to Go from the Airport to Jail Is...

The quickest way to go from the airport to jail is...by claiming that you put a bomb on a plane. Heck, any mention of a bomb onboard a plane can get you pulled to the airport jail faster than you can say "body cavity search," so then why did a Utah traveler decide that claiming there was a bomb in his checked luggage was the easiest way to stop the plane he was too late to catch? Mystifying.

The man, who was late to the gate to board his plane at Denver International Airport for a short Skywest flight to Salt Lake City, "grew angry and made the comment about a bomb in his luggage already on the plane." This is according to Denver Post, who explain what delightful formal charges and jail time now await this business traveler:

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Airports / DEN / Airport Heaven / Airport Art / → All Tags

Denver Airport May Not Have The Best Food, But It Sure Is Pretty

Why, isn’t this the prettiest little airport you ever did see? We’ve heard lots of good things about Denver International Airport being up there in the stylish airport ranks, but we’d assumed its fashionista status was confined to its outside appearance of the snowy peaks on top of the building.

Not so! There was, as we found out last week, art everywhere, from the peak-shaped tiles on the floor to the train-off-the-rails-type installation at the shuttle station.

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Airports / Cigarettes / Smoking / Airport News / CVG / TPA / DEN / IAD / ATL / → All Tags

Five US Airports That Still Have Smoking Lounges

We’re not here to give you a lecture on what’s best for your health, as we realize after a stressful flight the only way to make things better might be with a cigarette. Smoking is a big no-no at most airports across the US, but there are still some where smoke in the terminal doesn’t require a police investigation. Here are five airport smoking lounges where you can still light up:

· Denver International Airport:
Colorado seems like a pretty healthy place, but they still have a spot for cigarette smoking at the airport. Don't hesitate to bum a smoke off a fellow passenger at The Aviator's Club on the west side of Jeppesen Terminal. If that’s not convenient for your layover, there’s the Mesa Verde smoking lounge within the A gates on the mezzanine level of the airport. The B gates have a smoking lounge as well, and the Smokin’ Bear—awesome—is located in the center of the C gates. Just keep track of time if you decide to try out more than one lounge, as your flight is not going to wait.

· Tampa International Airport:
Airports in Florida have the best smoking areas in the United States, as they usually have outside options so you can get some kind of fresh air at the same time as you ruin your lungs. We’ll pick Tampa International Airport as the best, since it boasts observation decks that double as smoking lounges on the airside of A, C, E and F. There are plenty of benches and ashtrays to make you more comfortable, as well as plenty of taxiing airplanes to check out. Although we're non-smokers, we kind of want to check this one out on or next trip to the Sunshine State.

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Travel Hell / JFK / ATL / DEN / SJC / DFW / Airports / Lists / → All Tags

Five U.S. Airports with Bigger Issues than Flight Delays

Airline delays are always a bummer, and there are certain aiports that seem more prone to issues than others. We're talking about airports with problems bigger than weather delays. Cockroaches and leaky ceilings? Check.

Here are our picks for airports with problems greater than just flight delays:

· Roaches and Filth at DEN:
We’ve got a strange fascination with airline meals, and if a flight attendant tosses one onto our tray table we feel obligated to dig in; however, we might want to stay clear of the options at Denver International Airport. An FDA report told LSG Sky Chefs that they operated gross kitchens, complete with details about dead roaches, bacteria, and possible homes for rodents. Now that things have been revealed, we’ll assume the areas have been somewhat cleaned up, but Just in case we might stick to prepackaged Snickers and Doritos—so healthy.

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Airport News / DEN / Airports / Travel Ads / Museum Travel / Denver Travel / Art Travel / → All Tags

The Egyptian God Anubis Freaks Out Travelers at Denver Airport

It’s only a few weeks until King Tut and his treasures arrive in Denver for a stop at the Denver Art Museum. Starting June 26, the boy king will be on display, but you’ll actually be able to see some of his possessions and history as soon as you arrive in the city. Officials with the traveling exhibit have installed a 26-foot statue at the airport, but the thing is kind of a downer.

It’s a replica of Anubis—that’s the god of the afterlife for these that don’t remember—and this creature from beyond weighs in at seven tons. It’s definitely large enough to provide an interesting welcome for travelers around the country. Many are already questioning why on earth they’d throw up a huge monument to the underworld at a place like an airport, especially with Anubis being the one responsible for helping out the newly dead on their final journey.

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Travel Health / Airport News / Airline Food / DEN / Airline News / Airport Food / → All Tags

Denver Airport Receives Warning For 'Roaches Too Numerous To Count'

Every big airport has a series of kitchens where food is prepared for the major airlines. At Denver International Airport, those kitchens are currently operated by German company LSG Sky Chefs. How much longer the company will have their contract is an open question, since apparently their Denver facilities are roughly as hygienic as an unrefrigerated Calcutta food truck in the middle of summer flooded with stagnant monsoon water from two years before.

The controversy began when the FDA, after an inspection of the kitchens, sent a warning letter to LSG Sky Chefs. That letter outlined a diversity of health code violations, going on for about 15 paragraphs and stretching over 1,000 words. That's four to six blog posts worth of disgusting disgustingness, all describing food that literally millions of people have consumed.

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Airline News / Southwest Airlines / BOS / DEN / Airport News / Airlines / → All Tags

Southwest Getting Serious About Logan, Launching Denver-Boston Route

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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