"E" is for exciting -- for fans of low-fare airlines Southwest
The still-snow-clogged City of Brotherly Love had something to celebrated yesterday as Philadelphia International Airport's (PHL) Terminal E expansion and renovation was dedicated yesterday with seven additional gates for low-fare Southwest, plus more seating, new restrooms, a mini-food court with three new concessions and an atrium flooded with natural lighting. By the end of March, Southwest is scheduled to consolidate its PHL operations in Terminal E. It currently occupies four gates in Terminal D and five gates in Terminal E. Passengers are excited with the additional space and delighted that construction is over. Click here for the Philadelphia Inquirer's story that includes all sorts of other PHL facts and figures.
Southwest is expected to dominate the Philadelphia-Boston route along the congested Northeast Corridor, taking market share from costlier carriers (notable US Airways), giving Amtrak a run for its money and hopefully getting more cars off Interstate 95. Southwest characteristically celebrated with an online fare sale with introductory one-way fares as low as $59 through April 18 for flights from June 27 through Aug. 13.
This $45 million expansion is part of a the city-owned airport's $300 million modernization program that includes the Terminal D/E Connector in 2008 and also a 14-lane security checkpoint equipped with state-of-the-art screening technology and increased ticket lobby space and more baggage claim carousels.
Terminal E now also houses the airport's newest permanent artwork, Cloudsphere by Philadelphia artist Mei-ling Hom, whose whose work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including exhibits at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Hom’s stunning creation was selected from a national Call to Artists by the City’s Percent for Art program.A small corner of the present airport was the city's first municipal aviation field dating back to 1925. Nineteen domestic and international carriers currently use PHIL.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
DIA Gears Up for Winter
New snow-removal equipment and practice runs ready crews for big snows
On December 6, my son is flying from Durango, connecting in Denver and arriving in Oakland to join his father and stepmother in Wine Country. They are flying from Portland, ME, to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and then connecting one more time in Salt Lake City to Oakland. I hope my son takes a good book, because he might have a long wait. I suspect that his travel will be seamless.
Since it opened in 1994, DIA has had only two major closures due to unusually heavy snowstorms, the first March 17-19, 2003, and the second December 20-21, 2006, when the airport received more than 20 inches of snow in 24 hours. In a feature called "Ready for Snow Biz," the Denver Post recently reported that the airport has taken delivery of the first seven of 30 high-speed, multi-function snow-control machines that can plow, sweep, air-blast snow and, in some cases, spray liquid de-icers too.
When a winter storm hits the Front Range, snow removal at DIA a considerable challenge. It has six runways -- five that are 12,000 feet long and 150 feet wide and the sixth, the world's longest runway at 16,000 feet long and 200 feet wide. During the unseasonably hot days of late October, these $709,000 behemoths were doing dry runs on the runways and taxiways. The first eight new machines to be delivered were made by Borschung of Switzerland; 22 are coming from Oshkosh Truck Company/M-B Companies. The total cost will be $32 million -- but for travelers to, from or changing planes in Denver, the investment is priceless.
On December 6, my son is flying from Durango, connecting in Denver and arriving in Oakland to join his father and stepmother in Wine Country. They are flying from Portland, ME, to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and then connecting one more time in Salt Lake City to Oakland. I hope my son takes a good book, because he might have a long wait. I suspect that his travel will be seamless.
Since it opened in 1994, DIA has had only two major closures due to unusually heavy snowstorms, the first March 17-19, 2003, and the second December 20-21, 2006, when the airport received more than 20 inches of snow in 24 hours. In a feature called "Ready for Snow Biz," the Denver Post recently reported that the airport has taken delivery of the first seven of 30 high-speed, multi-function snow-control machines that can plow, sweep, air-blast snow and, in some cases, spray liquid de-icers too.
When a winter storm hits the Front Range, snow removal at DIA a considerable challenge. It has six runways -- five that are 12,000 feet long and 150 feet wide and the sixth, the world's longest runway at 16,000 feet long and 200 feet wide. During the unseasonably hot days of late October, these $709,000 behemoths were doing dry runs on the runways and taxiways. The first eight new machines to be delivered were made by Borschung of Switzerland; 22 are coming from Oshkosh Truck Company/M-B Companies. The total cost will be $32 million -- but for travelers to, from or changing planes in Denver, the investment is priceless.
The Joy of Kirkwood
Lake Tahoe ski area's dynamite terrain and distinctive flavor
Kirkwood, the southernmost ski area in the Lake Tahoe orbit, is neither the largest nor the most famous resort in the region. Then again, it is not the smallest or most obscure either. Like Baby Bear's Porridge, it is just right. While it participates in the Ski Lake Tahoe interchangeable lift pass that includes free daily bus from South Lake Tahoe, it feels like a separate world apart. With the lakeshore more than 30 miles away,it feels Sierra Nevada summits and valleys. It is also a self-contained ski resort with lodging stretching between to base areas and a small mall that is designated as Kirkwood's village. Every ski resort now has to have a village, doesn't it?
The ski terrain is stunning and so are the views. Four skiable/snowboardable peaks. A wonderful set-apart beginner area with the children's ski school at the base. For intermediate, advanced and expert snowriders, trails, slopes and bowls facing in virtually every compass direction so it is possible to ski or ride in the sun. Abundant wide cruising runs. Plenty of places to go off-piste. Snowcat skiing beyond the lift-served boundaries. Natural half-pipes. Hike-to terrain for those willing to earn their turns. A fine cross-country and snowshoe center for guests who prefer gentler winter pleasures.
Kirkwood, 1501 Kirkwood Meadows Drive, Kirkwood, California 95646; 209-258-6000 (main number) 877-KIRKWOOD (snow conditions).
Kirkwood, the southernmost ski area in the Lake Tahoe orbit, is neither the largest nor the most famous resort in the region. Then again, it is not the smallest or most obscure either. Like Baby Bear's Porridge, it is just right. While it participates in the Ski Lake Tahoe interchangeable lift pass that includes free daily bus from South Lake Tahoe, it feels like a separate world apart. With the lakeshore more than 30 miles away,it feels Sierra Nevada summits and valleys. It is also a self-contained ski resort with lodging stretching between to base areas and a small mall that is designated as Kirkwood's village. Every ski resort now has to have a village, doesn't it?
The ski terrain is stunning and so are the views. Four skiable/snowboardable peaks. A wonderful set-apart beginner area with the children's ski school at the base. For intermediate, advanced and expert snowriders, trails, slopes and bowls facing in virtually every compass direction so it is possible to ski or ride in the sun. Abundant wide cruising runs. Plenty of places to go off-piste. Snowcat skiing beyond the lift-served boundaries. Natural half-pipes. Hike-to terrain for those willing to earn their turns. A fine cross-country and snowshoe center for guests who prefer gentler winter pleasures.
With a higher base elevation (7,800 feet) than other Tahoe-area resorts, it tends to to capture lighter, fluffier snow, and with more conventional-speed lifts than high-speed uphill people overs and traverses from one sector to another, powder at Kirkwood tends to linger longer than at other Tahoe resorts. I skied there recently several midweek days after a storm, and while I didn't find any untracked powder, a lot of off-piste acreage remained unpacked.
Like much larger and more elaborate Squaw Valley on Lake Tahoe's North Shore, Kirkwood is crowned by chutes, cliffs and cornices to lure thrill-seeking experts.
Kirkwood, 1501 Kirkwood Meadows Drive, Kirkwood, California 95646; 209-258-6000 (main number) 877-KIRKWOOD (snow conditions).
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Earthbound Friendships Can Start in the Travel Blogosphere
After Emailing back and forth, we met fellow travel bloggers in real life and real time
I can't recall whether I found Audre and Dimitri's A Traveling Love Affair blog, or whether they found mine, but I've been reading about the peripatetic life with a lot of admiration and a little bit of envy, and we have occasionally corresponded. They have been traveling the world since 1995, by plane, train, bus, motorcycle, bicycle and automobile. Their individual itineraries are epic, starting with a nine-month trip from Jakarta, Indonesia, where they had worked to Istanbul, Turkey, where they spent five months. Most recently they traveled from Santiago, Chile, to Denver for a planned half year in Colorado.
When I found out they they were her, we speeded up our correspondence with an intention to meet personally. Yesterday, the intention to get together became reality. We were expecting a FedEx shipment of four fresh lobsters from Maine, and when I learned in the last minute that there would be six, I invited Audre and Dimitri in the last minute. They were free and joined us. You can read about our dinner here, but the interesting part, for me, is how in the 21st century, people we meet in the cyber-community of travel bloggers can easily turn into face-to-face friendships. When we follow each others blogs, we know quite a bit about each other before we ever shake hands.
This was the third time this year that I met a fellow blogger. Last March, travel blogger and travel ombudsman Christoper Elliott and I happened to be in Durango at the same time. I managed to catch him and his wife at the tail end of their breakfast, and we spent a bit of quality time over a cup of coffee before we went our separate ways. You can read about our coincidental presence in Durango here.
And from the food blogging community, I met Massachusetts blogger Don Lesser and got together with him, his wife and his sister when they came to Colorado for a wedding. They wanted Mexican food, and I wrote about our dinner at Juanita's here.
It's wonderful to put faces to cyberspace relationships, which is yet another thing that I've learned to treasure about the travel blogosphere.
I can't recall whether I found Audre and Dimitri's A Traveling Love Affair blog, or whether they found mine, but I've been reading about the peripatetic life with a lot of admiration and a little bit of envy, and we have occasionally corresponded. They have been traveling the world since 1995, by plane, train, bus, motorcycle, bicycle and automobile. Their individual itineraries are epic, starting with a nine-month trip from Jakarta, Indonesia, where they had worked to Istanbul, Turkey, where they spent five months. Most recently they traveled from Santiago, Chile, to Denver for a planned half year in Colorado.
When I found out they they were her, we speeded up our correspondence with an intention to meet personally. Yesterday, the intention to get together became reality. We were expecting a FedEx shipment of four fresh lobsters from Maine, and when I learned in the last minute that there would be six, I invited Audre and Dimitri in the last minute. They were free and joined us. You can read about our dinner here, but the interesting part, for me, is how in the 21st century, people we meet in the cyber-community of travel bloggers can easily turn into face-to-face friendships. When we follow each others blogs, we know quite a bit about each other before we ever shake hands.
This was the third time this year that I met a fellow blogger. Last March, travel blogger and travel ombudsman Christoper Elliott and I happened to be in Durango at the same time. I managed to catch him and his wife at the tail end of their breakfast, and we spent a bit of quality time over a cup of coffee before we went our separate ways. You can read about our coincidental presence in Durango here.
And from the food blogging community, I met Massachusetts blogger Don Lesser and got together with him, his wife and his sister when they came to Colorado for a wedding. They wanted Mexican food, and I wrote about our dinner at Juanita's here.
It's wonderful to put faces to cyberspace relationships, which is yet another thing that I've learned to treasure about the travel blogosphere.
American Airlines Levies a Standby Fee
Leaving on an earlier flight now carries a cost on the country's second-largest airline
Another formerly free airline service will soon require payment of a hefty charge on one more carrier -- this time, the second-largest in the land. Starting with tickets bought from February 22, American Airlines will charge $50 to passengers standing by for an earlier flight. The exceptions, of course, are elite members of the AAdvantage program, first, business and full-fare coach class passengers and military personnel, who still can fly standby without a charge. In a great example of airline newspeak, American claimed that it wasn't about the money but to improve the the boarding process by reducing crowd of hopeful standbys around the podiums. Yeah, right!
But wait! There's more! American recently announced that after May 1, it would begin charging non-elite passengers $8 for the use of a blanket and pillow on domestic , Hawaii and Western Hemisphere flights. Cynic that I am, I wonder whether they'll begin cranking up the air conditioning (or heating the cabin less) so that more passengers will be chilly enough to be willing to fork over 8 bucks for the privilege of being comfortable in the air. In the first and business cabins, and on overseas routes, blankets and pillows will still be free.
Other carriers also charge standbys. The fine print varies, but airlines charging for non-elite-level standbys include Continental ($25-$50) and Delta ($50); United surprisingly allows passengers to stand by free but charges $75 for specific seat requests. At Southwest, some passengers may pay a fare differential fee. While American is not the only carrier sock standbys with this additional fee, but two add-on charges announced in less than a month really underscores how deceptive low fares can be by the time you finish paying all the add-ons.
Another formerly free airline service will soon require payment of a hefty charge on one more carrier -- this time, the second-largest in the land. Starting with tickets bought from February 22, American Airlines will charge $50 to passengers standing by for an earlier flight. The exceptions, of course, are elite members of the AAdvantage program, first, business and full-fare coach class passengers and military personnel, who still can fly standby without a charge. In a great example of airline newspeak, American claimed that it wasn't about the money but to improve the the boarding process by reducing crowd of hopeful standbys around the podiums. Yeah, right!
But wait! There's more! American recently announced that after May 1, it would begin charging non-elite passengers $8 for the use of a blanket and pillow on domestic , Hawaii and Western Hemisphere flights. Cynic that I am, I wonder whether they'll begin cranking up the air conditioning (or heating the cabin less) so that more passengers will be chilly enough to be willing to fork over 8 bucks for the privilege of being comfortable in the air. In the first and business cabins, and on overseas routes, blankets and pillows will still be free.
Other carriers also charge standbys. The fine print varies, but airlines charging for non-elite-level standbys include Continental ($25-$50) and Delta ($50); United surprisingly allows passengers to stand by free but charges $75 for specific seat requests. At Southwest, some passengers may pay a fare differential fee. While American is not the only carrier sock standbys with this additional fee, but two add-on charges announced in less than a month really underscores how deceptive low fares can be by the time you finish paying all the add-ons.
Free Airport WiFi Increasing
Weather-related delays spotlight the importance of this airport amenity
With storm upon storm crippling important Mid-Atlantic airports, on top of the chronic winter messes in New York, Chicago, New England and San Francisco, departure delays and missed connections seem more of a problem than ever. Reading a book or magazine, staring at CNN on monitors at the gate area or watching televised sports at a bar along the concourse is always an option, but in this obsessively wired time, there seem to be "better" ways to spend spare hours.
During the Thanksgiving to post-Christmas period when Google sponsored a very welcome "Free WiFi for the Holidays" promotion that ended on January 15, many delayed, stranded and connecting passengers got a taste of complimentary Internet access at airports across the land, even where they had not previous existed. Click here for my enthusiastic post when the service was announced. As I wrote then, I'm spoiled by Denver International Airport's free WiFi service, and whenever I have a spare half-hour or more in my home airport, I try to catch up on E-mail, write a quick blog post or do some quick research about wherever I'm heading. Last May, I had extra hours at San Francisco International Airport because of a lengthy mechnical delay. SFO did and still does have for-pay T-Mobil WiFi service. I paid but resented it.
Harriet Baskas, who covers airports for USA Today and also blogs at Stuck at the Airport, seems to be of the same mind as I. Her latest column, "Free Airport Wi-Fi takes Off," reviewed the status of others where WiFi is available. The USToday Airport Guide covers the country's top 25 airports with info about location, public transportation from the city parking, security checkpint, shopping food -- and WiFi and electronics charging stations availability. And happily, free WiFi is is become ever more prevalent. Maybe it will even eventually come to SFO.
During the Thanksgiving to post-Christmas period when Google sponsored a very welcome "Free WiFi for the Holidays" promotion that ended on January 15, many delayed, stranded and connecting passengers got a taste of complimentary Internet access at airports across the land, even where they had not previous existed. Click here for my enthusiastic post when the service was announced. As I wrote then, I'm spoiled by Denver International Airport's free WiFi service, and whenever I have a spare half-hour or more in my home airport, I try to catch up on E-mail, write a quick blog post or do some quick research about wherever I'm heading. Last May, I had extra hours at San Francisco International Airport because of a lengthy mechnical delay. SFO did and still does have for-pay T-Mobil WiFi service. I paid but resented it.
Harriet Baskas, who covers airports for USA Today and also blogs at Stuck at the Airport, seems to be of the same mind as I. Her latest column, "Free Airport Wi-Fi takes Off," reviewed the status of others where WiFi is available. The USToday Airport Guide covers the country's top 25 airports with info about location, public transportation from the city parking, security checkpint, shopping food -- and WiFi and electronics charging stations availability. And happily, free WiFi is is become ever more prevalent. Maybe it will even eventually come to SFO.
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