Enhancing Your Holiday Travel Experience—at the Airport
By Carol Margolis, Bizwomen columnist
As featured in Bizwomen, a NAWBO media partner
We plan out each and every…well, almost every…aspect of our travel. What to pack, how to get to the airport, where to sit on the plane, how to get to our destination…yet rarely do we plan out how to spend our time at the airport before leaving on our flight.
Many airports are like a shopping mall, restaurant row and cultural experience—all under one roof. Beyond crawling through long security lines and running to our gates, it can be surprising to discover all the experiences airports may offer.
During the holiday season, you’re likely to arrive at your airport earlier than normal, so why not add a bit of planning to this part of your travel? You’ll not only realize aspects to your airport you may never have known about, you may even find reasons to head to the airport on non-travel days to visit the pre-security amenities.
Also see:
ROAD WARRIOR: Where to start to find the best airfare
ROAD WARRIOR: 7 ways to pack smarter
ROAD WARRIOR: How to avoid the extra baggage of weight gain
Here’s a rundown of a host of U.S. airports with links to their websites, which offer a list of stores, restaurants and things to do:
Albany – Albany International Airport – ALB: Did you know they have a Departure Museum Shop?
Albuquerque – Albuquerque International Sunport – ABQ: Check out their meditation room—especially great during holiday travel stress!
Atlanta – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – ATL: Lots of art, stores, mother’s nursing pods…even a piano player.
Austin – Austin-Bergstrom International Airport – AUS: Check out their monthly music schedule of local musicians.
Baltimore – Baltimore/Washington International – BWI: Offers the Benson Hammond House, located on a corner of the airport grounds. The house is on the National Registry of Historic Places.
Birmingham – Birmingham-Shuttlesworth InternationalAirport – BHM: Check out their art display.
Boston – Boston Logan International Airport – BOS: In addition to eating great seafood, check out their rotating exhibitions and community art.
Buffalo – Buffalo Niagara International Airport – BUF: Many restaurants, stores, free electronic charging stations and this history of the airport.
Charlotte – Charlotte-Douglas International Airport – CLT: Sit for a spell in one of their many white rocking chairs or visit their arts and exhibits.
Chicago – Chicago O’Hare International Airport – ORD: Has a yoga room. Chicago Midway International Airport – MDW: Has public art and exhibitions.
Cincinnati – Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport – CVG: Their front-page display of the number of available parking spaces is helpful!
Columbus – John Glenn Columbus International Airport – CMH: View the walking timeline of the airport from its opening in 1929 to present day.
Dallas – Dallas-Ft. Worth – DFW: Offers a search feature for dining, shopping and entertainment, including family-friendly amenities. Dallas-Love Field – DAL: Offers an art program.
Dayton – Dayton International Airport – DAY: Offers a meditation room and cultural arts galleries.
Denver – Denver International Airport – DEN: Check out their Open Windows light display, an interactive digital experience combining art, entertainment and technology. And—get this—an ice skating rink.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport – FLL: Offers a full list of shops, restaurants and services for each terminal.
Greensboro, North Carolina/Greater Triad – Piedmont Triad International Airport – GSO: Offers an art walking tour.
Houston – George Bush Intercontinental Airport – IAH and William P. Hobby International Airport – HOU: Both offer a wide variety of dining choices. Hobby Airport offers an airport museum.
Honolulu – Honolulu International Airport – HNL: Offers a business center and a casual dining venue featuring local, farm-grown, sustainable products supporting local farmers.
Jacksonville – Jacksonville InternationalAirport – JAX: Features two art galleries with rotating exhibitions.
Kansas City – Kansas City International Airport – MCI: Offers restaurants and shops.
Los Angeles – Los Angeles International Airport – LAX: Has rotating art exhibitions featuring local and regional artists, permanent art installations and cultural performances, in addition to an extensive search feature to find various amenities.
Louisville – Louisville International Airport – SDF: Offers restaurants and shops.
Memphis – Memphis International Airport – MEM: Offers restaurants and shops and also a Blue Suede Service volunteer group that offers a wealth of local knowledge and aviation expertise.
Miami – Miami International Airport – MIA: Offers an airport app listing their services.
Milwaukee – General Mitchell International Airport – MKE: Offers the Mitchell Gallery of Flight, an aviation museum.
Minneapolis – Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport – MSP: Offers an airport app listing their services, “Fly”—a digital travel and lifestyle magazine, a video arcade and a great search engine for finding restaurants and stores by airport location.
Nashville – Nashville International Airport – BNA: Offers live music across four stages located in the terminal with 80 to 100 bands playing throughout the year. They also have rotating public art exhibits and permanent art acquisitions appearing throughout the terminal, including the ticketing lobby and even the rental car facility.
New York – John F. Kennedy International Airport – JFK and LaGuardia Airport – LGA: Both offer restaurants and shops.
Orlando – Orlando International Airport – Here’s info on MCO’s app, radio station, Delta’s “mini movie theatre” and more: Airport Secrets: Reduce Your Travel Stress Inside Orlando International Airport.
Philadelphia – Philadelphia International Airport – PHL: Offers a nationally recognized, award-winning visual arts initiative with its Art Exhibitions Program.
Phoenix – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport – PHX: Offers a unique artistic and cultural heritage museum.
Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh International Airport – PIT: Offers a list of quick dining and waited dining. Check out their Open House on Saturday, December 3, 2016.
Portland – Portland International Airport – PDX: Offers both rotating and permanent art collections as well as a weekly music schedule of local musicians.
Raleigh/Durham – Raleigh-Durham International Airport – RDU: Offers a full list of shopping and dining along with a flower shop and spa.
Sacramento – Sacramento International Airport – SMF: Offers a museum-worthy public art collection.
St. Louis – Lambert-St Louis International Airport – STL: Offers a full list of shopping and dining experiences, as well as offering special event, business and private gathering spaces.
San Antonio – San Antonio International Airport – SAT: Offers art in the airport, including the “Suitcase Wheel”—a 16-foot diameter wheel made of 75 vintage Samsonite suitcases stacked face to face together by an internal metal ring.
San Francisco – San Francisco International Airport – SFO: Offers tips for business travelers, traveling with kids and more. Also has an aviation museum and library as well as a reflection room.
San Jose – Mineta San Jose International Airport – SJC: Offers a public art display and massage chairs.
Seattle – Seattle–Tacoma International Airport – SEA: Offers a list of shopping both pre-security and post-security.
Tampa – Tampa International Airport – TPA: Offers a list of restaurants, shops and airport events.
Washington, D.C. – Reagan National Airport – DCA: Offers an exhibits hall and arts program. Dulles International Airport – IAD: Offers both an interactive and printable directory of their shops, restaurants and other offerings, including current promotions.
Wichita – Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport – ICT: Ranked among the best of the small airports in the United States, it offers massage chairs and a business center.
Enjoy the airports you’ll be traveling through in ways you might not have imagined!
To view the original article on Bizwomen, go to: http://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/news/latest-news/2016/11/road-warrior-enhancing-your-holiday-travel.html?page=all