eXpect delaYs Travel Delay Blog

Fast Park, an Off-Site Parking Facility at Miami International Airport (MIA) and Daily Bread Food Bank Join to Battle Miami Food Shortages

MIAMI, FL -- 10/02/08 -- Airport Fast Park, an off-site airport parking company located at the Miami International Airport (MIA), is offering its customers a parking discount in exchange for donated non-perishable food items. The food drive will take place from Monday, Oct. 6, through Friday, Oct. 31. All items will be donated to Daily Bread Food Bank, a member of Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest), the largest food bank network in the country. Miami Airport Fast Park travelers parking at the facility will receive $1 off per non-perishable food item donated, with a maximum discount of $3 per stay at the facility. Customers may combine other Fast Park coupons with this discount.

Miami ranks third among large cities in the United States with 35 percent of the population living in poverty. Forty-two percent of the children in the city of Miami live in homes with incomes below the poverty level and 59.8 percent of Miami-Dade County public school children were eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches last year. Food banks across the country are struggling to keep up with demand this year, according to a survey conducted by Feeding America. More residents are in need of help due to the economic slowdown, rising food prices and cutbacks at their jobs.

Fast Park has partnered with Feeding America's member food banks in each of its off-site airport parking facilities across the country.

Facilities are located at airports in Albuquerque, Cincinnati, Memphis, Orlando, Austin, Cleveland, Miami, Raleigh-Durham, Baltimore, Houston, Milwaukee, and Tucson.

Miami travelers are asked to bring their non-perishable food items to the airport parking facility and give them to a cashier upon exit. The cashier will then apply the appropriate food drive discount (up to $3).

Fast Park's Miami facility (4101 NW 31st St., Miami, FL 33142) located at the Miami International Airport provides a shuttle service that, unlike other parking facilities, conveniently picks up patrons directly outside their car door. The facility provides covered parking, complimentary jump starts and flat-tire assistance, free bottled water and free luggage assistance to get the whole family onto the shuttle as quickly as possible. Airportfastpark.com offers special Internet pricing for $7 per day (excluding tax) at the Miami International Airport (MIA) facility.

For more information about Airport Fast Park, visit their web site.

Fly US Helicopter Between New York/Newark Liberty Airport (EWR) and Manhattan for $45 one-way or for Free when Traveling on Continental Airlines

Valid  Thu., Oct. 2, 2008 - Fri., Oct. 31, 2008

Now through Oct. 31, 2008, Continental Airlines is offering a $45 one-way fare for US Helicopter service between New York/Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Manhattan.

Continental Airlines is also expanding their current offer of complimentary US Helicopter service for BusinessFirst to customers traveling on first class and full fare economy tickets. This promotions is valid for BusinessFirst customers traveling between Newark and Europe, Asia, Tel Aviv, Delhi, Mumbai, Brazil and Argentina only. Passenger must be booked in J, D or Z class of service to qualify and the customer is responsible for taxes. This offer is subject to cancellation or change at any time so check with Continental Airlines for details.

US Helicopter provides an eight-minute flight from Newark International Liberty Airport (EWR) to the Midtown Manhattan (TSS) or the Wall Street (JRB) heliport. To make your travel even easier, you can check in for your Continental flight and check your bag through to your final destination at the heliport. TSA security screening is conducted from the heliports and no further screening is required in Newark, allowing easy connectivity to all Continental flights. You'll also earn 500 OnePass miles on US Helicopter codeshare flights when connecting to or from a Continental flight.

US Helicopter flights operate hourly, Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:50 p.m. Flights connect to and from gate C-71 at Newark. To reserve flights, contact Continental Reservations or book your flights online.


Terms and Conditions from the Continental Web Site

Promotion valid for tickets purchased on US Helicopter codeshare flights booked in H class and when connecting to or from a Continental flight at Newark Liberty International Airport. Complimentary service applies to international and domestic flights booked in C, R, A or Y classes. [See Continental Web Site for Full Details]

Alterra Welcomes Travelers to Milwaukee

Coffee kiosks will open in Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport (MKE) in December, 2008. Kiosks will offer coffee and baked goods, and two will offer food items.

This December, three kiosks will open under the Alterra name at Mitchell International Airport.  Through a licensing arrangement with SSP America, the kiosks will serve Alterra’s signature Strong Coffee, specialty drinks, and homemade baked goods to thousands of travelers each day. The arrangement allows Alterra to be a key player in welcoming visitors to Milwaukee with a sampling of what our unique city has to offer.

Two of the three kiosks will offer select savory food items.  Travelers in a hurry can look forward to grabbing one of Alterra’s “world-famous” Chorizo Breakfast Burritos, made with locally-produced eggs, spicy green chiles and zesty chorizo sausage, wrapped in a fresh tortilla and oven roasted a.  Lunch sandwiches and wraps round out the offerings.
 

During the month of November, staff for the new kiosks will train at Alterra cafes in and around the city.  This experience will provide the opportunity for SSP America employees to truly understand Alterra’s commitment to quality, exceptional customer service and the unique culture that has grown with the company since its beginning in 1993.

Look for the new Alterra Coffee kiosks this winter in Terminals C and D, as well as the pre-security area of Mitchell International. For additional Milwaukee General Mitchell International Airport (MKE) concessions, check out the MKE airport interactive map.

Source (September 25, 2008): Alterra Coffee website

An exhibit of handcrafted bicycles is on display at Portland International Airport on Concourse E. Check it out soon as it is only scheduled to run until October 2008!

Handcrafted bikes tell Oregon story

A very cool exhibit of 10 handcrafted bicycles designed and built by Oregon craftsmen and craftswomen is now on display on Portland International Airport (PDX) E Concourse. Included are a broad range of machines, including a steel pursuit bike, folding bike, recumbent cargo trike, steel freakbike – also known as tall bike – and a bike with a frame made from Douglas fir.

The goal of the exhibit is to offer a glimpse into the role bikes play in the lives of Oregonians – racing, replacing a car, riding up and down mountains, or just riding for the joy of it. The exhibit is organized by the Port of Portland, Sweetpea Bicycles, the Regional Arts & Culture Council and the Portland Development Commission.

Just as Portland is a bike-friendly city, PDX is one of the few airports in the country with a multiuse bike and pedestrian path connecting regional trails to the terminal. Ride to the airport for lunch and shopping; there are more than 100 bike parking spaces for employees, travelers and recreational cyclists.

If you aren't traveling, you can still enjoy the display in a video that features the bicycles on display as well as interviews with the builders and others who value the emerging sustainable bicycle industry.

The exhibit is planned to run through October 2008.

Related Links:
Display Video
PDX Bike Map
Sweetpea Bicycles
Regional Arts & Culture Council
Portland Development Commission
Port of Portland

The Sports Illustrated Group Partners with Delaware North Companies to Open First SI Retail Store at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW).

The Sports Illustrated (SI) store at Detroit Metropolitan Airport is located in the new DTW North Terminal and features Sports Illustrated (SI) and local sports team branded products. Interactive kiosks are also featured allowing access to sports news and a large collection of sports media.

Boston, MA – September 2008 – The Sports Illustrated Group and Delaware North Companies have announced that the first SI retail store opened in the newly constructed North Terminal of the Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) on Wednesday (September 17). The new SI store features an array of SI branded consumer products (apparel, books, calendars, DVDs) as well as branded merchandise of the Detroit area’s professional (Red Wings, Tigers, Pistons, Lions) and college (Michigan State University and the University of Michigan) teams. “We constantly strive to create new, exciting ways for sports fans to engage and interact with our content and our brand,” says Andrew Judelson, Sports Illustrated Group CMO. “The new SI retail store is another example of our innovation strategy and it makes perfect sense for us to open in Detroit, one of the most passionate sports towns in America.”

In addition to consumer products, the store will feature interactive kiosks where fans can access the latest sports news at SI.com and visit SI Vault, the recently-launched online archive containing over 150,000 stories, 2,800 covers and more than 500,000 photographs from SI’s 54-year history. The Dan Patrick Radio Show aired in the store throughout the day as well.

The store bears the SI logo above the entrance and poster-sized Detroit themed SI covers at the main entrance. The covers – and SI imagery featured throughout the store – will feature current and iconic moments in Detroit sports history and will be maintained to reflect the current sports season. The 831 square feet of retail space will also include flat screen TVs airing local and national games.

In celebration of its opening, the SI store gave away Red Wings Commemoratives and the SI issue featuring the Stanley Cup Champions on the cover to over one thousand travelers on September 17.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport’s (DTW) new $431-million North Terminal will be Detroit’s home to Air Canada, American Airlines, AirTran Airways, Frontier Airlines, Lufthansa German Airlines, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, United Airlines, US Airways, USA 3000, and charter airlines. Northwest Airlines and its SkyTeam partners AeroMéxico, Air France, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, will remain in the McNamara Terminal.