Hartsfield-Jackson
International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia
85,907,423 total passengers
Secured
Wi-Fi-enabled Internet access is throughout the main
terminal building, all concourses and the connecting
transportation mall -- comprising a 5.8 million square
foot "hot spot." Prices for a day pass or a monthly
subscription range from $7.95 to $38, depending on Wi-Fi
providers. Laptop Lane (Concourses A, B, T) also offers
Internet access, photocopies, phone calls and faxes for
55 cents/minute, with a $5 minimum.
Business
travelers can access the Executive Conference Center in
the airport's atrium for computer workstations, meeting
rooms and video conferencing abilities. Business
Traveler Services -- with everything from prepaid phone
cards and expedited visa/passports to faxing
capabilities, Internet access and flight insurance --
are available throughout the airport.
Atlanta-based Delta Airlines provides free recharging
stations (Concourses A and B).
Music/Film/Art: A pianist plays from 3:30 p.m. until 10
p.m. Monday-Friday at Houlihan's (Atrium), among 200
concession outlets at the airport.InMotion
Entertainmentrents DVDs and portable players. An art
exhibit on Concourse E features rotating artwork
submitted by grade school students.
Web site:
http://www.atlanta-airport.com
O'Hare International
Airport, Chicago, Illinois
76,510,003 total passengers
Free
Wi-Fi-enabled Internet is available everywhere to
subscribers of the following providers: AT&T/SBC
Freedomlink; Boingo; GoRemote; iBAHN/STSN; iPass; Orange
France; Sprint; T-Mobile and WeRoam. For others, an
Internet Day Pass is available for $6.95, payable
through the network.
GateStation
Internet Kiosks (T1 near gates B11 and C9) provide 15
minutes of Internet access for $5. Laptop Lanes (located
in the Business Center in T1 across from gate B6 as well
as the B/C Walkway) provide full business services,
including faxing, printing, long distance calls and
plug-ins for laptops. The airport also is installing
"relax and recharge" stations for devices.
For $11,
travelers can hit the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport
Hotel's health club for its workout area, swimming pool,
Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and showers with free use of
towels and lockers. Get a massage here for a separate
charge or at Back Rub Hub (Terminal Three).
Entertainment: Art exhibits and performances, including
Jazz Fest Entertainment on August 31 in Terminals 1-3
and 5.
Web site:
http://www.flychicago.com/ohare/home.asp
Heathrow Airport,
London, England
67,915,403 total passengers
The airport
just opened the Rejuve club in Terminal 1's
international departure lounge, where travelers can
receive massages, get a shave and haircut, work out,
relax, get nutritious snacks or a "well-being"
consultation. Prices start from 25 pounds ($47) at what
Heathrow calls the world's first airport "Wellbeing
club."
Also a
"Shop and Collect" service allows passengers traveling
only within the EU to buy -- and leave -- purchases
behind at the airport and collect them upon return to
London.
Heathrow
also offers two fee-based services to access the most
up-to-date flight information: Flying Messenger (which
gives flight status) and Flying Messenger Plus (which
gives flight progress).
Web site:
http://www.heathrowairport.com/
Haneda Airport, Tokyo,
Japan
63,282,219 total passengers
The
airport's two domestic terminals have more than 80
restaurants and coffee shops, offering Japanese to
Western fare, fine dining to sweet cakes. Relaxation
spots in each terminal ("Feiyokan" and "Grand Raffine")
offer massages for 1000 yen ($9) per 10 minutes.
The Wing
Oxy Bar draws travelers who seek some fresh air or
aromatherapy. Like a drinking bar, this oxygen bar
allows you to select your favorite "flavor," from "Mint
& Rosemary" ("cooling, refreshing, invigorating") to
"Lavender, Balsam Fir Needles" ("calming, soothing,
warming"). Insert your nose tube and breathe in.
Los Angeles
International Airport, Los Angeles, California
61,489,398 total passengers
All
terminals will have Wi-Fi access sometime in the early
fall, thanks to a T-Mobile contract, said Nancy Castles,
public relations director at LAX. Users will have to pay
$9.99 for a 24-hour period, while T-Mobile customers are
charged according to their own wireless plans, she
added.
The Travel
Right Cafe in Terminal 4 allows travelers to eat and
work. Each table has ports/phone jacks for travelers
with laptops, personal digital assistants and cell
phones. Internet kiosks are also available throughout
the airport.
Web site:
http://www.lawa.org/LAX
Dallas/Fort Worth
International Airport, Texas
59,176,265 total passengers
Travelers
can learn about their dining and tour options at the
airport by downloading podcasts from www.dfwairport.com
-- what DFW calls the first airport-provided podcast
service in the world.
The
airport's $6 million public art program showcases the
work of more than 30 local, national and international
artists at International Terminal D and the Skylink
train stations. The DFW Sculpture Garden is outside the
Terminal D parking garage.
Wine can be
sampled at La Bodega, which DFW bills as the world's
only airport winery.
Bear Greek
Golf Club, located on airport property, offers an
18-hole round of golf for $50 plus tax during the week.
Web site:
http://www.dfwairport.com/
Paris Charles de Gaulle
Airport, France
53,798,308 total passengers
All
terminals are on a free Wi-Fi network. Terminal 1 also
has a business center. Workspaces -- with desks,
Internet access and electric plugs -- are available in
Terminals 2C, 2D and 2F.
The airport
also just opened what it bills as the "first airport
beauty parlor for men" in Terminal 2D, offering beauty
treatments and advice as well as massages with names
like "decompression" and "anti-jetlag." The Men's Lounge
also has an interactive cologne "alcove," where you can
choose a scent based on profiles. (Think "Rebel
Attitude" or "Urban Modern.") Ten- to 30-minute
professional massages can also be found in all terminals
(starting at 15 euros/$19), and some boarding lounges
offer auto-massaging chairs (2 euros/$2.50)
Web site:
http://www.paris-cdg.com/
Frankfurt Airport,
Germany
52,210,412 total passengers
"You can
gamble, you can go to the hairdresser, you can get a
manicure. ... There is a dentist. It's almost an airport
city," said Roland Weil, assistant vice president of
traffic and terminal management at Frankfurt Airport.
Admission is free to the airport casino in Terminal 1;
monitors display flight times.
The airport
is just 15 minutes from downtown. A high-speed
Inter-City Express (ICE) train station in the airport
will put you in Cologne or Stuttgart in about an hour,
should you decide to ditch that flight.
Web site:
http://www.airportcity-frankfurt.de
Amsterdam Airport
Schiphol, Netherlands
44,163,098 total passengers
This
"Airport City" has a supermarket, three casinos, a
travel clinic and shops and catering outlets, some of
which are open 24 hours a day. Two communication centers
offer Internet and postal services at Departure Lounges
1 and 2. People who wish to watch planes take off and
land for free can go to sites along the Kaagbaan and
Buitenveldertbaan runways or to the terrace on the
terminal roof. Inquire with the airport information desk
before setting out.
In
celebration of Rembrandt's 400th birthday, fans can view
mini-exhibitions of his life and work at locations
around the airport through December 6. The Rijksmuseum
Amsterdam Schiphol, between Piers E and F on Holland
Boulevard after passport control, is a free branch of
the famous museum and features his masterpiece
"Oriental" this summer as part of the "Really
Rembrandt?" exhibition. Works of modern art can also be
seen throughout the airport.
Web site:
http://www.schiphol.nl/
McCarran International
Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada
43,989,982 total passengers
McCarran
boasts 24 Hour Fitness, which the airport bills as the
first fitness center of its kind at a major U.S.
airport, offering exercise equipment, massages, shower
and locker room facilities, a steam room and sauna. The
airport also offers free Wi-Fi everywhere in the
terminal and Internet kiosks for passengers without
laptops.
| Travelers
can also view an art gallery and a
24-hour-a-day aviation museum, try a hand at
casino games or get a shoe shine.
Web site:
http://www.mccarran.com |
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