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Corrected: New Home for STUCK AT THE AIRPORT

Harriet Baskas — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:23:59 +0000

Here’s the corrected link to the new home for the Stuck at the Airport blog. Really.

A giant thanks to Randy, Mikel, Tim and others at Boarding Area for helping me get the Stuck at the Airport blog up and running.

Now it’s time for it to be out there on its own. Please check here for new entries and be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any news of note about airports and air travel.

Harriet Baskas

New home for Stuck at the Airport

Harriet Baskas — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:46:09 +0000

A giant thanks to Randy, Mikel, Tim and others at Boarding Area for helping me get the Stuck at the Airport blog up and running.

Now it’s time for it to be out there on its own. Please check here for new entries and be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss any news of note about airports and air travel.

Harriet Baskas

Happy Birthday to the First Lady of Flight

Harriet Baskas — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:10:48 +0000

Amelia Earhart, one of the world’s most famous aviators, was born on this day in Atchison, Kansas in 1898.

You can learn all about “the Golden Girl of Aviation,” or “Lady Lindy,” and see statues of her in various spots around the country, including the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison and at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, where Earhart honed her skills before heading out to set and smash records:

In 1928, Earhart – flying as a passenger – was the first woman on a transatlantic flight

In 1932 she was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic;

In 1935 Earhart was the first pilot to fly from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland and;

In 1937, sadly and mysteriously, she and navigator Bill Noonan disappeared somewhere in the Pacific during an attempt to fly around the world.

Bonus: Here’s a link to a search that turned up a great photo of Ms. Earhart standing in front of her plane Lockheed Electra at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, back when it was called Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport.

DFW scores a touchdown

Harriet Baskas — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:30:36 +0000

On Monday, at Big 12 media days in Kansas City, Mo, Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach told reporters that he thought DFW airport was “a confusing mess.” Connecting to Lubbock through the smaller Love Field, he said, was a better option for those hoping to interview his team’s two Heisman Trophy candidates.

As you might imagine, that comment didn’t sit too well with the folks at DFW. So airport officials sent out an open letter inviting Leach to stop by for a visit. The letter said “Your comments hit home because we’re very proud of DFW — and most of us are big time college football fans!” and went on to offer the coach and his family a complimentary flight to DFW on American Airlines, a tour of the facilities, and a steak dinner.

Coach Leach called the invitation a “thoughtful gesture” and said he might have time to stop by next December.

The Dallas News has all the details.

Jay Leno’s take on the naked American Airlines guy

Harriet Baskas — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:27:19 +0000

I’m not sure how Terry Maxon and the folks at the Airline Biz blog do it. But long before the Tonight Show airs out west, they’ve got the (very funny) text of Jay Leno’s take on the American Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing because a guy took off all his clothes and went running up and down the aisle.

On behalf of those of us who have to get up early in the morning, thanks!

Greetings from Spokane International Airport

Harriet Baskas — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:29:06 +0000

After a lovely week touring Spokane, Washington, I spent a few hours hanging around Spokane International Airport.

While disappointed at having to pay to use wireless Internet at the airport (I was spoiled: all downtown Spokane is a free Wi-Fi zone) I was delighted to find the Simply Northwest shop filled with a surprising selection of local and regionally-made items.

I learned that Spokane is the home of those still-somewhat-hard-to-find Bumble Bars (organic, gluten-free, vegan), and had fun choosing a few Papa Ray’s muffin and scone mixes that come packed in cute carrot and apple-shaped fabric containers.

And when I couldn’t quite decide which bottle of local wine to buy (the shop is post-security) the sales clerk suggested I go next door and taste a few of them at Vintage Washington.

How to avoid getting booted off an airplane

Harriet Baskas — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:17:43 +0000

Earlier this month, Wendy Slaughter, her four young kids and her pregnant sister were scheduled to fly on Southwest Airlines from Detroit to Seattle via Phoenix.

They got as far as Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. That’s where airport police met the flight and informed Slaughter that Southwest had deemed her family’s onboard behavior too disruptive to fly. Citing concern for the children, other passengers and the flight crew, the airline refused to let the family board their connecting flight.

Find out why they got booted and get tips on how to avoid getting booted in my Well-Mannered Traveler column posted this week on MSNBC.com.

(Column illustration by the very talented Duane Hoffman, MSNBC.com)

Heads up! Volleyball Tournament at Munich Airport

Harriet Baskas — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:57:23 +0000

750 tons of sand will soon be trucked into the Munich Airport Center forum for a volleyball tournament.

From August 1 through the 17^th, the Munich Airport Center Forum will host “Rio on Tour,” which will feature professionals and amateurs “digging, volleying and smashing on three courts.”

(Photo courtesy Munich Airport)

For the first three days, volleyball professionals from the “smart beach tour” will be showing spectators how it’s done. Then there’s a week-long tournament for company-sponsored teams, followed by a Family Day (August 10^th) when players from the “Rote Raben”, the reigning champions of the German women’s volleyball league will teach visitors the finer points of the art of volleyball.

To close out the Airport Beach Season, from August 15-17, the top volleyball teams in Bavaria will face-off for a three-day tournament for the state championship.

Sounds like a great use for airport facilities. And it’s free! For more information see:www.airport-beach.de.

Want your name on an airport?

Harriet Baskas — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:15:00 +0000

In an effort to replace the revenue they used to get from airlines, some airports have found they can earn cash from slot machines, t-shirts, oil rigs and acres of hay.

In my article about this for Portfolio.com, I also found two airports where the naming rights are up for sale.

Why should you mind your manners on an airplane?

Harriet Baskas — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:42:31 +0000

For starters, air travel is frustrating enough these days. So it just makes things worse if you insist on fully reclining your seat back when the person behind is already squished. Or if you walk down the airplane aisle letting your carry-on bag smack into the faces of folks already seated.

And then there’s this: if you get really out of hand, say by getting into a fistfight with another passenger over the armrest, you may have to answer to a Federal air marshal – perhaps the one who recently set a new world marksmanship record for shooting the “Roundabout” in 8.08 seconds during the “Speed-On-Steel Championships.”

The TSA is very proud.

(From TSA site)