Category Archives for Airports.
The Transportation Security Administration has an almost ‘through the looking glass’ way of describing what they do and do not permit, going so far as to redefine physics to their liking.
Washington National airport will be closing its main runway for reconstruction work overnight in the coming weeks.
Aviation watchdog JonNYC flags “nothing bigger than an A319 will be able to land after 10pm” at Washington’s National airport during runway work.
One dad was “attempting to get his bags through” the x-ray machine in Nashville while singing Morgan Wallen’s “Chasing You” while re-arranging his electronics and liquids.
The man next to him started singing it, too: Morgan Wallen.
It seemed pretty obvious that the airport manager didn’t resign, but rather “got resigned.” It turns out there’s not even a resignation letter.
Some of the most successful airports in the country are also frequently considered to be among the least well run or most corrupt. I’d put the New York area airports (Port Authority of New York New Jersey), Washington Dulles and National Airports (Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority), Atlanta and Detroit in this camp.
So does it matter if an airport is well run?
During Senate confirmation hearings for President Biden’s nominee to lead the FAA, Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) asked a rapid fire set of questions that amounted to a knowledge quiz. It was awkward both listening to the questions, as Budd tried to appear as though he’s an expert in the asking, and listening to the answers as Washington knew the answers to exactly zero of them.
And in answering it was clear he didn’t have enough familiarity with the issues to speak about them more generally, even if he didn’t exactly follow the questions.
The reason I shrug my shoulders a bit at the new Kansas City airport terminal is because it’s Kansas City. You go there if you want barbecue that hides the quality of meat and the cooking technique with a thick tomato-based sauce.
If you’re Kansas City and want to be part of the national conversation, you make sure your new airport terminal has… gender-neutral bathrooms.
The fastest way down to baggage claim, though, if you’re in a hurry is to go through the ceiling. At least that’s what one man discovered at the Tampa airport. He “fell through the ceiling and landed in [Southwest Airlines] baggage claim” on Monday evening, according to a passenger who reported witnessing the event.
Airports started out close to the city center but the need to expand for more travel and bigger jets, combined with NIMBYism of local residents, pushed airports out to the exurbs. Entire cities built up around the commerce of the destination airport, from shopping to dining in newly planned communities. The aerotropolis was born.
But far from the futuristic vision of perfection, there’s a darker side.
Priority Pass cards from American Express and Capital One no longer include $28 credits at participating airport restaurants but you can still use Chase-issued Priority Pass cards for this.
My favorite is Bobby Van’s in New York JFK’s terminal 8 (the American Airlines-British Airways terminal), because the food is actually pretty good. They have surprisingly decent steaks for an airport, good appetizers, and like the chili and tuna burger too. Decent nachos, though I haven’t tried the crab mac and cheese or crab cakes.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
