Airport Check-in: Park and stride over to Seattle kiosk
Roger Yu, USA TODAY, 8/26/2007
Travelers at Seattle-Tacoma can now check in and print their boarding passes when they enter the main parking garage. The kiosks are located on the fourth floor of the garage.
The service is available for fliers not checking luggage if they're traveling on any of five airlines: Alaska, Continental, Horizon, Northwest and United. It may be expanded to other airlines.
AMSTERDAM: Babies can kick back in their own lounge
Amsterdam Schiphol has a new infant-care lounge. The 970-square-foot space offers bath facilities, changing tables and seven cubicles that contain a crib, chairs for adults and a microwave. Visual projections "stimulate baby's senses or calm them down," the airport says.
The airport also plans to open a 56-room branch of Yotel by the end of the year on the second floor of the main terminal. Yotel, a new hotel chain, offers small rooms at rates cheaper than at regular hotels. Developed for areas where space is scarce, Yotel recently launched its first airport location at London Gatwick.
DETROIT: Get a charge out of Smith Terminal
Detroit Metro has installed free laptop-charging stations in the Smith Terminal. Converted from unused phone banks, each charging area has a seat, a shelf and four electrical outlets.
A station is located near Spirit Airlines' gates in Concourse C. Another station is near the restrooms on the main level behind the check-in counters.
More are planned for Concourses A and B.
PITTSBURGH: Discounters bring in the fliers
A growing roster of low-cost carriers has helped cut fares and drive passenger volume higher at Pittsburgh International, says a recently released study commissioned by local officials.
Its average one-way fare to all destinations fell 27% from 2000 to 2006. Average one-way fares to Pittsburgh's top 15 destinations dropped 32% to $120.
The number of passengers has risen on average by 360,000 a year since 2000, it says. It also says discount carriers have saved local businesses $110 million in travel costs in 2006.
Four discount carriers — AirTran, JetBlue, Southwest and USA3000 — serve the airport. In 2000, the airport was the largest hub of the former US Airways. But the airline, which merged with America West, has dramatically cut back its operations there.
BOSTON: Public transportation gets you there
For air passengers who prefer not to drive to the airport, Boston Logan is the easiest U.S. airport to get to, says a recent ranking by travel website Aviation.com.
Boston is one of the few domestic airports that have shuttle, public subway and bus services and a water taxi.
Reagan Washington National, San Francisco, New York John F. Kennedy and Minneapolis-St. Paul round out the top five.
BALTIMORE: Rock the time away in new chairs
Baltimore/Washington International has installed 25 wooden rocking chairs in the main terminal's Observation Gallery, where visitors can look out onto the airfield.
The chairs were manufactured by North Carolina-based P&P Chair, which created the high-backed rocking chairs used by President John F. Kennedy to relieve his back pain.