San Francisco’s new T2 terminal offers a variety of dining options

by McLean Robbins on

Gadling blogger Justin Delaney gave us a great rundown last week about what to expect at Virgin America’s new T2 home base at San Francisco International Airport. But there’s more – sure, it’s a shiny new terminal and you’ll be flying on one of the industry’s most loved airlines, but what are you going to do while waiting for your flight? Eat, naturally.

In keeping with Virgin’s reputation as the “Best Domestic Airline for Food,” (Travel + Leisure, 2009) the terminal will offer the following restaurants and dining destinations:

Napa Farms Market:
Napa Farms Market is a celebration of locally grown and produced artisan foods and wines. It celebrates the Bay Area‘s freshest culinary traditions by bringing such well-known artisan brands as Equator Coffee, Three Twins Ice Cream, Acme Bread, Cowgirl Creamery Cheese, Kara’s Cupcakes, Mighty Leaf Tea, Frog Hollow Farms produce, Napa Valley Vintner’s Association wines and Tyler Florence‘s Rotisserie of Napa together in one emporium. The market, an extension of the Bay Area‘s innovative food community, lets travelers create their own picnics-to-go, find special gifts to bring home a culinary memory of San Francisco or relax over a fine glass of wine.

Lark Creek Grill:
Lark Creek Grill, the 14th restaurant in the Lark Creek Restaurant Group, will offer many Lark Creek classic dishes and a wide-ranging menu to please all guests with choices from garden-fresh sandwiches to sustainable seafood to sizzling steaks. The offerings are designed with the airport passenger in mind – fresh, healthy and portion-appropriate. In addition to table service for approximately 120 guests, Lark Creek Grill offers takeaway options.

Vino Volo :
Vino Volo revolutionized the airport wine experience by developing comfortable post-security retreats for travelers combining a cozy wine lounge, restaurant and boutique wine shop. They offer wines by the glass, in tasting flights and by the bottle. In SFO, their home airport, they will offer a rotating menu of 22-24 wines grouped by tasting flights. The Vino Volo wine bar will be a part of Napa Farms Market.

Cat Cora:
The Cat Cora concept is a sophisticated culinary experience that focuses on using fresh and organic ingredients within its creation of innovative tapas plates and truly groundbreaking cocktails. The lounge has a strong emphasis on using locally sourced ingredients wherever possible. With its gorgeous views of the Bay Area hills, travelers will be mesmerized by the marriage of design, form and function.

The Plant Cafe Organic:
The fourth restaurant in the team’s portfolio, The Plant Cafe Organic will offer T2 passengers an almost entirely organic menu of juices and healthy meals with a focus on the local. Try the signature Plant Burger, made with lentils, mushrooms, bulgur, beets and cashews, garnished with avocado, roasted onions, aioli and cheese. It is “cooked by solar power.”

Pinkberry :
Founded in West Hollywood in 2005, Pinkberry offers the ever popular frozen yogurt stand to T2 customers.Pinkberry was rated the #1 Frozen Yogurt concept by Zagat in 2009 and is considered one of the hottest yogurt concepts in the world.

Peet’s Coffee:
Founded in 1966 in Berkeley, California, this specialty coffee roaster and retailer has a fiercely loyal and devoted following known as Peetniks . Peet’s in Terminal 2 will bake fresh pastries on site. Peet’s is also located in SFO’s Terminal 1 and Terminal 3.

The terminal opens to the public on April 14.

[Flickr via Franco Folini]

America’s Meanest Airlines

by Grant Martin on

2011’s Airline Quality Report came out this month, which means that it’s time to distill out the industry leaders in a variety of categories, from on-time departures to lost bags to general happiness among passengers. Reporting on the best of the best is only half as fun as vilifying the worst though, so Yahoo and US News took the liberty of sorting out the worst performers in each category and hanging their decapitated bodies in the public square for everyone to shame. Among the losers this year:

Meanest major carrier: United Airlines
Meanest regional carrier: American Eagle
Most complained about airline: Delta Air Lines
Most likely to be unsafe: Jetblue
Most likely to overcharge for bags: Delta / US Airways / Continental
Most likely to bump you: American Eagle
Most likely to be late: Comair
Most likely to mishandle your bag: American Eagle

Daunting stuff, right? Maybe. Bear in mind, that the AQR samples a limited data set over a limited market, and that the term “worst” doesn’t necessarily mean that service is bad. American Eagle, for example, mishandles 7.15 bags for every thousand that go through its hands. The best carrier? Air Tran at 1.63 per thousand. That’s 1 drop in the bucket versus 1.0002 drops in the bucket.

Our suggestion? If you really want to figure out why each airline performed the worst in its own category then download the AQR yourself and flip through the data. It’s the only way you can get an accurate gauge of quality.

AirTran helps this travel writer put the “fun” back in flying

by McLean Robbins on

Flying is not usually a fun experience, and, as a travel writer, I often dread the drudgery of airport security, limited fast food options and cramped middle seats. But sometimes, you’re surprised. After a marathon security line at Baltimore-Washington International airport and a trudge down to the end of Terminal D, I heard peppy music, which I thought was emanating from the rum bar a few gates down. I’d noticed the balloons at the check-in gate and spotted more ahead. As I rounded the corner, I spotted it. A full steel drum band, massive dance troupe, and cameras everywhere.

Had I accidentally wandered into a Make a Wish Foundation flight? (This had happened once before.) No – it was AirTran’s first flight to Bermuda, and I was apparently on it.

Passengers excitedly milled around the gate area and curious patrons strolled down from other flights to see what was going on. A large table was set up with complimentary bagged sandwiches, chips, soft drinks and cookies emblazoned with the AirTran logo. Employees in Bermuda shorts offered literature about the island, and the native Bermudian dance troupe, flown in for the occasion, performed a routine before boarding the plane in full regalia. Luckily the flight was only about half full and they were able to fit their four-foot tall hats in the overhead bins …

As we boarded the plane, each passenger was given a gift bag with a pink Bermuda tee shirt, literature about the island, and other AirTran swag. Passengers chatted excitedly, flight attendants were more friendly than usual, and behind me, a pilot told another passenger that he’d arranged to take this flight solely so he could say he was aboard the inaugural route. As we disembarked and headed towards customs, a group of flight attendants said the same thing.

When we landed, the city’s fire trucks greeted the plane with a “water gun salute,” essentially hosing us down from either side. The whole flight clapped.

And it reminded me as I typed this on the GoGo WiFi at 39,000 feet – this is why I’m a travel writer. Because sometimes, getting to the destination can be as fun as the destination itself.

The following nonstop flights between Baltimore/Washington and Bermuda will be available beginning April 7, 2011, through October 24, 2011:

Nonstop Service Between Baltimore/Washington and Bermuda

From To Flight Departs Arrives Frequency
Baltimore/Washington Bermuda 1811 12:55 p.m. 4:15 p.m. Daily
Bermuda Baltimore/Washington 1812 5:05 p.m. 6:40 p.m. Daily

Note: Subject to Government Approval

The following nonstop flights between Atlanta and Bermuda will be available beginning May 26, 2011, through September 6, 2011:

Nonstop Service Between Atlanta and Bermuda

From To Flight Departs Arrives Frequency
Atlanta Bermuda 1815 10:20 a.m. 2:20 p.m. Daily
Bermuda Atlanta 1816 3:10 p.m. 5:20 p.m. Daily

Virgin’s future lands at San Francisco’s new T2

by Justin Delaney on

It is not often that you casually glance out of the airplane window and see the future racing up beside you, glistening in the California sun like a joyriding space catamaran. This happened in San Francisco yesterday as Gadling took part in Virgin’s latest celebration of innovation. Virgin held an event to toast the evolution of flight as well as the opening of Terminal two at San Francisco airport. With plane interiors like neon rimmed London clubs and commercial plans to pierce space with their Galactic platform, Virgin is on an innovatory run that is making them look more and more like the airline industry’s version of Apple.

Our boarding passes listed the departing city as San Francisco and our arrival destination as the future. The flight would circle San Francisco and land at the sparkling new Terminal two. The departure gate teemed with excitement. Muffins were distributed, mimosas swished about, and Rocketman played predictably in the background. Buzz Aldrin rolled in sporting a watch on each hand – one no doubt keeping moon time. The Lieutenant Governor of California, who I first mistook to be Bradley Cooper, addressed the crowd with perfect diction, proclaiming California’s undying support for Virgin America. We were about to “Fly from the Jet Age to the Space Age.”


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The Flight
The plane boarded like any other flight. Groups were announced and everyone shuffled on. The flight attendants crept down the busy aisle offering champagne and water while dodging photographers angling to snap a shot of Virgin chief Richard Branson. Sir Richard ambled down the aisle like a man from the future forced to make his fortunes in a distant past. The throngs of media hung on each charming word he uttered while shuttering away to capture every smile. The pilot took us up into a clear California day that showcased epic views out over San Francisco harbor. White crested waves crashed peacefully below, and a little red bridge connected two landmasses.

As the plane banked a turn and leveled out, a glimmer quickly approached from a distance. The speck drew closer and my eyes adjusted to accept the sight of a spaceship pulling up beside our jet. It was White Knight Two with SpaceShip Two nestled between its massive wings. The spacecraft was unapologetically awesome. It lingered just off our left wing like a boasting UFO. It was the main act and a righteous glimpse into the future of space travel. We flew in formation for the rest of the flight. The passengers on our flight smashed up against the windows, hypnotically drawn to the sight of this strange craft effortlessly gliding through the cloudless day. It was a spaceship, and that is about as awesome as it gets.

The Terminal
The flight to the future touched down at San Francisco’s new T2. The terminal originally opened in 1954, and after many years serving as a relic of the past, was fitted with a $380 million modernist renovation. A press conference drove the point home. It is compared to a five star hotel by the mayor of San Francisco. It is striving to be platinum LEED certified. It glows like the future. The project is under budget and ahead of schedule. Politicians, architects, and airline executives all took their turn at the podium sharing their version of the same story – that Terminal two is the future of airport terminals.

The terminal had the anxious air of a play before the curtain is drawn. Workers hammered away at benches. The entire staff of a Pinkberry was being trained on the whims of demanding yogurt customers. Sticky plastic sheets were peeled off of metal surfaces by men in hard hats with great satisfaction. Everything smelled new. The terminal would open in just days, and everywhere workers were racing to meet this finish line.

Terminal two is considered the greenest domestic terminal in the United States. I heard the term LEED certified maybe a dozen times, either proclaimed loudly in the press conference or overheard from a passing conversation. Virgin America’s commitment to environmental responsibility is readily apparent in their influence over the terminal’s design. The Gensler designed space reflects Virgin’s style while adhering to the goals of sustainability.

The new terminal will be shared by Virgin America and American Airlines. AA was the original occupant of T2, with roots all the way back to 1954. American Airlines unveiled a stunning new Admiral’s Club, also LEED certified.

The terminal includes a “zone of recomposure” where weary travelers can gather themselves and continue on their mission. The zone hosts a massive art installation by Janet Echelman (above). Titled “Every Beating Second” after a line by beat poet Allen Ginsberg, the installations hang elegantly from the ceiling and add to the modern style of the terminal.

The terminal is an exciting glimpse into the future of airports. The cold utilitarian design of years passed is being slowly replaced with comfortable spaces filled with modernist accents and green ambitions. Virgin, American Airlines, and San Francisco should all be proud of their new terminal. T2 is an excellent use of space with no shortage of shopping and food options.


The Future
Watching history unfold can be as revolutionary as a kicked in door or as subtle as a whisper. With White Knight Two landing at a commercial airport yesterday, a new step in aviation was taken. Sir Richard Branson casually mentioned that it was likely the first spaceship to ever land at a commercial airport, as though the thought just passed through his head moments before he spoke it. Being casually brash is always a cool angle. It is this cool innovation that drives Virgin towards exciting new ventures. It was revelatory seeing White Knight Two land amongst the Boeings and Airbuses, and it looked a lot like the future gliding into the present.



All photography by Justin Delaney

United Airlines celebrates 85 years of flying with a retro livery Airbus A320

by Scott Carmichael on

At a special event at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, United Airlines took to a stage to unveil a special Airbus A320 repainted with a retro livery.

During the event, CEO Jeff Smisek also honored some of his colleagues with the longest history of representing United. The 12 staff members represented a combined 450 years of service. One of the longest serving employees is Captain Jack Lampe, who has been flying with United since 1961.

Also present were current flight attendants dressed in United Airlines outfits from the past. The 1970’s era jet livery was selected by airline employees as their favorite paint job. The plane will fly around the country, making its way to employee celebrations.

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