This weekend we take a look at sleeping in airports, unusual hotels and the future of aviation when it comes to checking baggage.
Sleeping at airports
While traveling internationally, it occasionally becomes necessary to sleep at airports. Believe it or not, there is an entire website devoted to sleeping at airports and this site just released its rankings of best airports for sleeping. The Top 10 follow, but other lists include best and worst organized by geography.
These airports are ranked based on comfortable chairs and seats for sleeping, shower facilities, WiFi, gardens, 24-hour food and, believe or not, swimming pools and exercise facilities.
1. Singapore Changi
2. Seoul Inchon
3. Hong Kong International
4. Amsterdam Schiphol
5. Kuala Lumpur International
6. Helsinki Vantaa Airport
7. Vancouver International
8. Munich International
9. Zurich
10. Toronto Pearson International
TripAdvisor lists 10 incredibly unique hotels
In a world full of Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Fairfield Inns and bed and breakfast sport out the wazoo, some hotels stand out for their uniqueness. This list, put together by TripAdvisor by mining its reviews, presents some of the most unusual. Here are the Top 5; click through for the rest of the list.
1. Kokopelli Cave Bed and Breakfast, Farmington, NM
2. El Cosmico, Marta, TX
3. Yankee Ferry, Brooklyn, NY
4. Dog Bark Park Inn, Cottonwood, ID
5. East Brother Light Station, Point Richmond, CA
The future of self-service bag drop – traditional, home-printed or permanent bag tags?
Self-service at airports is coming like a tidal wave. It seems that every time one returns to check in or visits a new airport, there is a new self-service system being tested.
Baggage is one of those parts of flying that is facing major changes. Airlines and airports are experimenting with having passengers print out their own baggage tags and, in some cases, testing permanent baggage tags that stay with checked luggage. These permanent baggage tags can be programmed by a passenger with their cell phone.
Exciting developments have emerged in the last few months, with the likes of Billund Airport and Iberia adopting home-printed bag tags, Edinburgh Airport becoming the first UK airport to make common-use bag drop available and British Airways starting a trial of permanent bag tags.
Although Edinburgh Airport’s self-service solution only went live last month, Sarah Gardner, Head of Terminal Operations, explained that passenger uptake has been positive. “It is still early days,” she explained, “but it has performed well in the past month and each day the passenger numbers using the facility have been increasing. As expected with new technology, it will take time for passengers to get used to it and to feel comfortable using it.”
So, what has the airport been doing to help passengers adapt to the new system? Gardner continued: “The machines are hosted, so there is always someone there to help the passengers and prevent them from attaching tags wrongly.”
Photo: Courtesy FlightAttendantLife.com
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
