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| Stars overhead in the new C North of IAH |
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| Scott Kirby, President of United |
It was a
star-studded night in IAH as special guests were treated a soiree
Texas-style in the new C North Terminal. Granted, these were mostly
stars hung from the rafters of the spacious new terminal, still being
finished out. Oh, there were stars from those closely related to the
building of the new United Terminal, as well as from the city, and
the airline, such as Scott Kirby, United Airline’s new President.
He touted the pride
felt in seeing this new facility, comparing it to another terminal he
was familiar with only several hundred miles north, referring to his
stint working with American Airlines at DFW. He drew applause when
commenting that he hopes to turn IAH into the number one airport in
the great state of Texas.
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| Penguin, Scott, Jason and Clinton |
It was a pleasure to
meet Mr. Kirby, who asked me to call him Scott, so I asked the same
of him. He was warm and personable, taking a moment for a photo and
talking about family and travel. I also enjoyed meeting other United
employees and corporate representatives from OTG. As the beverages
flowed, so did the good spirits of the attendees.
The event was as
grand as the space, allowing guests to sample the food. which in a
few short months will be enjoyed by the traveling public. Along with
an assortment of wines and specialty cocktails, we were treated to
panini sandwiches, tacos in the variety of chicken, shrimp and fried
avocado, seared tuna, prime rib, hand-tossed pizzas, sushi as well as
an assortment of
hors
d'oeuvres
passed
out on silver platters. For
dessert. there
were cookies and brownies, as well as a huge white cake shaped like
the new terminal building, upon which were projected images making
the edible building seem to come to life.
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| Enjoying some treats |
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As
with terminal openings I’ve attended in the past, there were also
lots of photographers taking photos of everything from guests, to
food, and of the ever so important amenities that will soon be open
to the traveling public. Guests
were offered photo flip books and professional take home images in
front of a banner wall of logos.
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| Penguin with ice sculpture |
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| Terminal-shaped cake |
The
terminal was grand and makes a wonderful first impression, with it’s
large space and central court spread out under a field of waving
stars. It was almost as if the space were created for aircraft
instead of people, it was so grand in scale. Large windows allow for
ample natural light, and when the Texas sun set, the space was warmly
illuminated in blue hues, seemingly picked from the color palette of
United Airlines, herself, aligning well with Polaris, the airline’s
new first class product.
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| Hues of blue |
|
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| Grand spaces |
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| Night lighting |
Not
all of the gates were available for viewing, and as witnessed from
looking out of the numerous windows, there is still a lot of
construction going on to get the facility ready for opening day,
billed as March
of 2017. This was, after all, a sneak peek, not an opening, but
the
peek
was impressive.
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| Special guests enjoy the evening |
Prominent
in the proceedings of the evening was OTG, a restaurateur
which operates more than 300 restaurants and retail concepts in ten
airports across North America. If
you’ve seen the upgraded Newark airport, you know what to expect.
The new Terminal C North has modern eating areas with electronic
tablets set up for placing food and drink orders and apps
to occupy the time of passengers in transit. The chairs were bolted
to the floor, so no worries about strangers elbowing you, here. If
the food served to guests is any indication, any discriminating
palette can be accommodated, but it has
the potential
to
leave the wallet a bit starved.
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| Bar | |
Guests
were presented gift bags, which contained
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| The paperweight commemorative sits on my shelves at home |
|
more food samples and a
paper weight to commemorate the building. It was red carpet from
start to finish and everyone seemed to delight in the spectacle. The
$277 million, 265,000-square-foot terminal was built by United in
partnership with the Houston Airport System will soon house
new United gates, including gates designed for the new 787 and
777-300 aircraft in her fleet. On one of the walls in the bar area,
it
was appropriately
stated, the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of
the Texas!
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| Texas pride |
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