In her Forbes article titled “America’s Most Time Draining Airports,” Rebecca Ruiz reports on the Forbes analysis of 2007 Bureau of Transportation statistics for 100 of the largest airports. (The full table of delay statistics is here.)

No surprise – Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) tops the list as “the nation’s worst airport for delays.” In defense, airport officials tick off a list of things passengers can do while they’re stuck at O’Hare: get a massage, shop at the Field Museum kiosk, or eat at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant.

That might keep you amused for about an hour.  In the Top 20 list of airports with the worst delays there are few that offer far more entertainment: San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and DenverInternational Airport (DEN) have lots of artwork to see and at Minneapolis- St. Paul International Airport (MSP) there’s oodles of great shopping.

(World Civilization,” by Viola Frey, is located in Boarding Area A. Courtesy SFO airport)

There’s a new piece of public art at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

Inspired by the patterns of jet mist across a blue sky, Guy Kemper’s 50-foot long, 12-foot high, “Jet Trails” is made of hand-blown painted glass in soothing shades of blue, green and violet.

Kemper designed the mural to be “suggestive of many things related to flying-such as a kite, or the tail of an aircraft.”

(Photo courtesy: James Steinkamp, Steinkamp Photography)

See what you think: the mural is just past the south security checkpoint in Terminal 1.

Next time you travel through O’Hare International Airport, Chicago’s Midway International Airport or the O’Hare Air Transit System (ATS), listen up.

The Department of Aviation just launched a re-vamped overhead music program – Terminal Tunes - that features instrumental versions of songs by blues, jazz, country and classical artists who are either from the Chicago area or record for Chicago-based record labels.

That’s great news. As I wrote in a recent USATODAY.com column, there are just a few airports where local music is front and center.

Chicago’s new overhead music program replaces and old one which dated back to the early 1990’s. The new program includes a high-tech twist: artist and album information, audio samples and play list logs will be posted on the Chicago Airport System’s website, www.flychicago.com.

So if you hear a catchy tune while rushing to catch a plane, you can go on-line and track down the music. Soon, you’ll also be able to purchase Terminal Tunes CDs from shops in the airports as well.

On Wednesday, April 23rd, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is celebrating the launch of its new overhead music program with a free live music showcase featuring four nationally-known Chicago-area musicians:

Blues singer and guitarist Lonnie Brooks

Polka artist Eddie Blazonczyk, Jr.

Singer-songwriter Kelly Hogan

Classical violinist Rachel Barton-Pine

The concert will take place between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. airside in Terminal 2, in the main corridor connecting Terminals 1 and 2.

Photo: courtesy Lonnie Brooks Web site