MAG Archives - TravelSkills

Amex Platinum lands a new lounge at Reno-Tahoe

June 20, 2017

The developers of Oakland’s Escape Lounge, pictured here, are opening one in Reno, which will be part of the Amex Platinum lounge network. (Photo: K Taylor)

The folks who brought you the Escape lounge at Oakland International Airport will soon open another one at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

MAG USA, which also operates pay-per-use passenger lounges at Minneapolis-St. Paul International and Connecticut’s Bradley International, was picked by the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority to build and operate a $1 million, 1,700-square-foot lounge – the airport’s first — but with with vague opening date of just “this winter.”

The company is expected to charge a walk-up fee of $45 for use of the lounge, or $40 if the visit is booked online (www.escapelounges.com). Like the Oakland Escape lounge, the Reno lounge will offer free access to American Express Platinum Card members and up to two companions.

The company’s Escape lounges offer free hot and cold food and beverages, abundant power outlets, free high-speed Wi-Fi and flight information screens. “In addition, premium food and beverage options are available for a fee,” a spokesperson said.

Oakland’s Escape lounge made its debut last fall. Here’s a slideshow we posted not long after it opened.

The facility will be located at the connector between the B and C concourses, just past the airport’s security checkpoint, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

“Common-use airport lounges are still a relatively new concept in North America and we look forward to working with more airports as they improve their passenger amenities,” said MAG USA CEO Rosemarie Andolino.

Reno-Tahoe Airport, which primarily serves Nevada and Northern California, is the second busiest airport in Nevada and has seen impressive passenger growth with passenger numbers up 10 percent on 2016; this was also the highest year-over-year annual growth since 2004 for the Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you.

Don’t miss out! Join the 185,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Airports: Screening upgrades, Oakland lounge, National Car pop-ups + more

October 28, 2016

National is installing free popup lounges with wifi like this one at Washington Dulles (Photo: Jeff Pearce)

In airport news this week, new technology could soon be coming to TSA’s carry-on bag screenings; Oakland Airport gets its first premium lounge; National Car is opening “pop-up” airport lounges for Emerald Club members; San Jose introduces robots; and better Wi-Fi is coming to Boston Logan.

Starting next week, members of National Car Rental’s Emerald Club will have a new lounge option at five major airports. The rental firm said it will bring back free “pop-up” lounges for Emerald Club members at Boston Logan, Chicago O’Hare, Sacramento, St. Louis and Washington Dulles. They’ll remain in place through April, then move to other airports for the summer, National said. All will be located post-security in one terminal per airport; they’ll be open 24 hours, but only staffed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Users will get free Wi-Fi, charging stations, and access to tablets and TVs for checking flight status, sports, news and weather information.

For years, the Transportation Security Administration has relied on traditional x-ray technology to see inside travelers’ carry-on bags – not always with great results. But those machines could be replaced soon with a more effective technology, according to a report from Bloomberg News. It said that the CT scanners currently in use behind the scenes to inspect passengers’ checked bags could be adapted to serve the same purpose for carry-on bag scans. “Instead of the two views of a bag generated by the current machines, CT scanners shoot hundreds of images with an X-ray camera spinning around the conveyor belt to provide screeners with three-dimensional views,” Bloomberg noted. Among the benefits of using that technology for carry-ons: Passengers would no longer have to remove liquids and laptops from their bags.

A new pay-per-use Escape Lounge opens at Oakland in November. (Image: MAG)

A mid-November opening is expected for the first premium passenger lounge at Oakland International. Operated by the U.S. division of Britain’s Manchester Airport Group (MAG), the Escape Lounge will be available to all travelers on a pay-per-use basis, for a fee of $45 on site or $40 if booked in advance. The 2,700 square foot facility can accommodate 50 travelers, and will have separate zones for relaxing, dining/drinking and work. Food will be supervised by Oakland chef Chris Pastena, whose restaurants include Calavera, Lungomare and Chop Bar. Admission fees cover food, drinks and Wi-Fi. MAG also operates an Escape Lounge at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, and it just opened one at Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport.

San Jose International’s new robots Norma, Amelia, and Piper (Image: San Jose International)

Mineta San Jose International has rolled out – literally – a trio of friendly robots to help travelers find their way around the facility, giving directions to gates, shops and restaurants. Users can even take a selfie with the devices, which are equipped with 32-inch touch screens and were developed by a South Korean firm called Future Robot. You’ll find them at Gates 11, 21 and 25. Information can be displayed in six languages.

The board of directors at Massport, which oversees Boston Logan Airport, has voted to revise its contract with Boingo, the provider of the airport’s free Wi-Fi service. Massport said a new pilot program starting this month in Terminal E will increase the allowable free Wi-Fi session time limit from 45 minutes to four hours, and will also boost connection speeds. In addition, users will see a new single-click link to the Wi-Fi without ads. The pilot program will run through March. Massport said passengers at Logan currently make 24,000 Wi-Fi connections per day, with an average session time of 88 minutes.

Don’t miss out on these popular TravelSkills posts:

In the market for a new credit card?

Scroll up to our “Credit Card Deals” tab at the top to shop around! It helps us help you!

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 150,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Airports: Atlanta’s airport hotel + Speedier Boingo + New Oakland lounge + more

December 26, 2015

Rendering of the hotel planned for Atlanta’s airport. (Image: Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport)

In airport news, Atlanta officials have reportedly selected a brand for their new airport hotel; Boingo boosts Wi-Fi speeds at a number of U.S. airports; a new passenger lounge is coming to Oakland Airport; Chicago airports now offered reserved parking spaces; and Tampa adds a huge number of charging outlets for travelers.

The new hotel planned for construction near Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson’s domestic terminal is expected to be an InterContinental, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 300-room high-end hotel is envisioned to be part of a $600 million “Airport City” project that will include commercial space, retail outlets and a travel plaza, and perhaps even residential space. The newspaper reported that renowned Atlanta architect John Portman will design the hotel, which will have meeting rooms, a restaurant, lobby bar and grill and other amenities. It is expected to be built within three years.

Boingo, the leading airport Wi-Fi provider, said that its paid subscribers can now select from options that will give them speeds of up to 20 Mbps at seven major airports, with more coming soon. The highest-speed airports include Baltimore/Washington, Boston Logan, Chicago Midway, Chicago O’Hare, New York JFK, New York LaGuardia and Newark. The company said all travelers can now get free Wi-Fi, and “power users” can select from a number of paid options, including speeds of 20 Mbps, bursting to 50 Mbps. “All Boingo subscribers, including those enrolled in the American Express Preferred Plan, will automatically receive the highest tier of speed when they log in,” Boingo said.

Oakland International Airport said that the U.S. subsidiary of U.K.-based MAG will develop a new passenger lounge at OAK that should open in June 2016. The 2,600 square foot Escape Lounge will be open to all passengers for a per-use fee, offering free food and beverages, Wi-Fi, and other amenities. Earlier this month, MAG opened its first U.S. airport Escape Lounge at Minneapolis-St. Paul International.

Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports this month introduced a new option of reserved parking spaces close to the passenger terminals. The reservation fee is $10 per space, per day (plus parking charges, taxes and fees). All spaces are inside the garages, and are guaranteed even when the facility is full. Parking spaces can be booked at https://ord.clickandpark.com/ for O’Hare or at https://mdw.clickandpark.com/ for Midway.

Tampa International Airport next year will make life easier for power-hungry business travelers and their devices. The airport is planning to install thousands of power outlets and USB ports for passengers — 4,683 of them, to be exact. Some will be at 299 new work stations the airport will install; the rest will be on towers wedged between seat rows at gate areas. Currently the airport only offers 237 outlets at work stations scattered around the terminal.

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Delta free upgrades disappearing + Shipping vs. checking a bag +_San Francisco’s new long-haul routes + Is Newark our worst airport? + Delta, United forge new international partnerships

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 100,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!