Recorded in the TravelCommons studio outside Chicago, I’ve been bi-coastal since the last episode, bouncing between New York and San Francisco. A side trip down to Philadelphia yields a great street-food breakfast when I take the time to walk outside my hotel. Delays in my flights between O’Hare and LaGuardia airports cause me to dig for the FAA’s latest airport capacity report and gnash my teeth against the NIMBYs standing in the way of reasonable fixes. Here’s a direct link to the podcast file.


Here are the show notes from TravelCommons podcast #57:

  • Intro music — Warmth by Makkina
  • Recorded in TravelCommons studio outside of Chicago, hopefully the home of the 2016 Summer Olympics
  • Continue to bounce between the East and West coasts
  • Bridge Music — Hear Me by DJ Blue
  • Made United’s top-tier status level in August. Get to walk on the red carpet all the time now, though it feels a bit dangerous cutting in front of other passengers
  • Not flying American that much anymore, so dropping my Admirals Club membership after 10 years
  • Leo Vegoda received a “close” patdown similar to the one I received in Schipol last month
  • Craig Martin of the Indie Travel Podcast gives a suggestion on Bluetooth keyboards
  • Bridge Music — Madrugada by Savoyard
  • After my morning workout in the Philadelphia Westin, I went for a walk looking for a breakfast place
  • Bought a real Philadelphia breakfast — an egg, cheese, and scrapple sandwich from a lunch truck
  • Takes time to find real local fare
  • A USAToday article says local restaurants make up 20% to 40% of all eateries at most big U.S. airports
  • On the same day, enjoyed a beer in Philadelphia Airport from Lancaster County and an espresso in Washington Dulles airport from a Maryland coffee roaster
  • Bridge Music — Crazy Love by DJ Lang
  • A trip from Chicago to New York gave me 2 hour delays each way, doubling the scheduled length of each flight
  • On my outbound flight, the United pilot sent back personal apologizes to top-tier status fliers, similar to his colleague who made the front page of the Wall Street Journal
  • BusinessWeek cover story from earlier this month says the Federal Aviation Administration predicts there will be 1 billion people a year flying by 2015, a 36% increase from today
  • FAA’s FACT 2 study predicts 18 airports will need additional capacity, and 7 metro areas will need additional capacity by 2015
  • The most important expansion — the O’Hare Modernization Program — is being held up by a suit over moving a cemetery
  • NIMBY-ism is responsible for much of today’s travel hassles
  • Closing music — iTunes link to Pictures of You by Evangeline
  • Bridge music from ccMixter
  • Feedback at comments[at]travelcommons.com, the comment board on podcastalley.com, or right here in the comments section below
  • Direct link to the show

4 comments on “Podcast #57 – Making Time for Local Fare; What’s Standing in the Way of Fixing Our Airports

  1. Dave says:

    One of my favorite local restaurants from my days in the DC / NoVA area is 5 Guys, the absolute best greasy hamburger joint I’ve ever been to. On a recent trip home to the US from Japan, my wife and I simply ran out of time to make a trip there. However, after we successfully navigated the TSA shoe shuffle (thankfully not done in Japan), we rounded the corner and to our surprise, they’ve opened up a franchise there in Terminal C at Reagan National Airport. With less than 15 minutes before we started to board our flight to Buffalo, we ordered, received, and choked down two burgers and their incredible peanut oil fries (and a diet coke). Best darn burger I’ve had in a long, long time.

  2. vocalo says:

    I was excited to find your podcast. It looks like you are based in Chicago. I am part of a new radio station called vocalo.org. It airs radio live on 89.5 in Northwest Indiana and streams off the website. We are building a strong listenership. We would love podcasters like you to add their stories, original music, and audio to the site. I would advise doing it in smaller clips, instead of entire shows, because it makes it easier for our host to put it on air. It’s a great way to get new people to hear your voice, and possibly start visiting your podcast. Once you have a clip on the site, be sure to direct your friends and listeners there to hear you. You retain all ownership of the material you post (unlike some social networking sites). Its also a great way to network with other people doing audio, from professionals, to podcasters, to people just starting out. Sometimes hosts even ask contributors to co-host.

    I look forward to hearing your work on vocalo.org. Please email me at shannon@vocalo.org if you have any questions.

    Shannon

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