"Plenty to do in airports to kill time before takeoff"

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Enjoy airport attractions before takeoff
By CLARA BOSONETTO MAERZ 
The Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution


It's wise to get to an airport early, but what do you do with an extra hour
or two before flight time? Plenty.

. Be entertained in the passenger check-in areas and the Great Hall (the
central space of the terminal) at Denver International Airport through Dec.
31 (8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.) with music and dance performances. Entertainers
include area school choirs, Gospel, classical flute, a Brazilian quartet,
Dixieland jazz, Irish dancers and reggae music. www.flydenver.com .

. Purchase a book (hard or paperback) at a Paradies Shop, read it, and
return it within six months to the same or any other shop and get half of
the original purchase price back. The shop then resells good condition books
at half price or donates ragged ones to local literacy programs. There are
more than 500 Paradies Shops in over 60 airports and hotels across the U.S.
and Canada that participate in this "Read & Return" program. (There's no
shop at Atlanta Harsfield-Jackson Airport.) www.theparadiesshops.com

. Get fit. At Chicago's O'Hare Airport, a day pass to the Hilton Athletic
Club costs $11 and includes use of a weight room, treadmills, elliptical
machines and towels. The Northwest Terminal at Detroit's airport offers a
$15 pass for 24-hour access to the Westin Fitness Center's weight room,
treadmills and locker room. A $10 fee gets you into the 14,000-square-foot,
24-Hour Fitness Gym at McCarron Airport, Las Vegas. The fee includes use of
locker room, shower facilities, Pilates classes, sauna, free weights and
options for massage.

. Get groomed. About a dozen express nail salons, :10 Minute Manicure, are
in major airports across the states and Canada. Prices vary by location, but
the services are consistent and include 10-30 minute manicure; 15-30 minute
pedicure; 10-30 minute chair massage, 15-30 minute hand or foot reflexology
and other spa services. www.10minutemanicure.com

. De-stress at a massage bar in six airports (D.C.-Dulles, Nashville,
Newark, Port Columbus, Sacramento and Seattle). A 15-minute "Single Shot"
costs $21; a 30-minute "Double Shot" is $39; a 10-minute foot massage $18 or
$36 for a combo "Single Shot" and foot massage. www.massagebar.com

. Upscale spa services are offered at 13 airport XpresSpa's with a 101
percent guaranteed traveler satisfaction. Choose from various massages,
manicures, pedicures, facials, waxing and more. www.xpresspa.com

. Watch a movie. Rent a portable DVD player (7" screen) and a movie from 40
of the 50 airport InMotion locations. Watch the movie in the airport
terminal or in flight and return the goods to any InMotion location or send
it back with a prepaid UPS shipping label and packing materials. The rental
equipment includes a y-jack headset splitter (so two can watch the movie),
two digital headsets, a rechargeable battery, an AC adapter and a carrying
case. Rentals are from $15, including one movie. Additional movies are $5.
www.inmotionpictures.com

. Reflect or regenerate in an airport chapel. There are about 150 chapels at
most major airports around the world and many offer Bibles, the Koran, other
prayer books and prayer mats. A number of Catholic chapels offer Saturday
evening or Sunday morning mass. New York's JFK Airport has four chapels (one
multi-faith, one Protestant, one Jewish, one Catholic) in the international
Terminal 4. A blog site offers details on most chapels in the states. The
listing for Orlando, for example, details the location (behind security for
Gates 1-59); opening times; Sunday mass times and the name of the chaplain.
members.iinet.net.au/~holloway1/LIST.html


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