Airport Vendor News

Editor's Note: today we kick off a new feature to highlight what airport vendors are selling.  I get so many of them, and I just don't have room in Aviation Daily's Airports to fit them all in.  So now every week I'll run this column to let you know what your airport may want to put in its shopping cart.  And if you have some you want to submit, just send me an email here with your release.

American Airlines has installed a 397-foot mural at its new terminal at JFK International Airport.  The airline commissioned New York artist and architect Matteo Pericoli to create the mural, entitled “Skyline of the World,”  located on the east wall of the main ticketing lobby.  The mural combines lesser-known architectural works with well-known landmarks from New York, as well as some 70 other cities around the world easily recognized by travelers.  It is believed to be the largest mural in an airport anywhere in the world.

HMSHost is working with award-winning chef and cookbook author Todd English to open Bonfire Steakhouse, a new 84-seat restaurant in Terminal 2 at JFK International Airport on June 1,  featuring a  fusion of Argentinean, European and American steakhouse influences. Two more Bonfire Steakhouses will open later this year at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport. Ozone-BOS, located at Logan, also features a Todd English-developed menu, including Lobster BLT, steak frites with Balsamic onion jam; and BBQ meat loaf. 

HMSHost has collaborated with chef and restaurateur David Wilhelm at John Wayne Airport on the Jetsons-themed Oasis Grill & Sky Lounge, the only full-service restaurant at that location.  The menu features fare such as Chilaquiles, a scrambled egg dish made with Ortega chiles, tortillas, cheddar and sour cream.  “All American Sliders” – mini burgers with bleu cheese dressing and onion fritters are served in an inviting and futuristic atmosphere.

Hudson News and Hudson Booksellers will sell an exclusive edition of the paperback version of Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters and Survival, by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, at its airport stores.  The special Hudson edition of the new paperback with a new afterward, published by HarperCollins, will include a free bound-in DVD with an exclusive interview with the globe-canvassing anchor in addition to video footage from Cooper’s Reporter’s Notebooks.  In May 2006, Hudson and CNN entered into a partnership to develop and operate exclusive co-branded newsstands in airports across North America.  Co-branded stores opened recently in Pittsburgh and JFK, with more coming soon. 

HMSHost is planning a $2.8 million upgrade of its offerings at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport. The Budweiser Brewhouse and Bayfront Restaurant will become a Dewar's Clubhouse Bar & Grille. A Dewar's "To Go" unit would replace the terminal's Fresh Attractions eatery.  The Dewar's Clubhouse would bring with it a golf course feel -- golf clubs for rails, carpeting resembling the grass on a course, and a projection screen displaying live or recorded tournaments.  A putting green would sit in the center of the dining area.

Air Canada is using ARINC’s iMuse Express service, a portable, secure Internet check-in solution that sets up in minutes wherever an Internet connection is available, to handle seasonal check-ins at its seasonal and Tier 3 airport locations.  The iMuse Express hardware fits into a suitcase, and consists of a laptop PC and two small printers for boarding passes and bag tags.

Auckland International Airport Limited has launched FlightTXT, a new Short Message Service (SMS) that will deliver flight status information as a text message to mobile devices, from the AIAL Flight Information Display System (FIDS). Each text costs 40 cents (GST inclusive) which is billed to the user’s mobile phone account.

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