Wines of T5

Well, most of this blogging Crew has been here over 13 hours and a post that we definitely have been looking forward to is one on the wines that are available here at T5. Thanks to OTG for creating a fancy little flash site dedicated to all of the wines offered in T5. At http://www.t5wines.com you can check it out, and plan which of the:

• 400 wines available by the bottle
• 150 by the half bottle
• 200 by the glass

that you have the option to moderately consume in T5 before your flight.

Dinner Time!

“Where can I get a smoothie?”

“I want something all-american like a burger?”

“Just a sandwich.”

So I went from Wal-Mart greeter to Zagat Guide. It seems everyone wants to know where to go to eat, drink, and wait for their flight. Aside from the pizza place being closed and Jamba Juice not making smoothies yet, things are truckin right along and the fabled food offerings of T5 sure are delivering.

Crewmembers lovin’ T5!

Back from Buffalo

It’s fitting that the first of our five specially branded “Jetting to T5″ Airbus A320 jets took off for Buffalo this morning — after all, Buffalo Niagara International was our first-ever airport and remains one of our most important cities (in the peak summer season we fly more flights JFK-BUF than any other route). The plane is back at JFK after a quick turn to my fav city (seriously, I love Buffalo!) and is already en route to Burlington. Watch for it in your BlueCity!

T5 Greeters!

So I have to admit, I kind of feel like a Wal-Mart people greeter. And I love it!

I have taken “Just Ask” to a whole new level. I am trained to spot confused looking jetters. And it’s so easy!

So far, I’ve run three people to a gate, let college kids call home to England on my cell phone and offered to mail a Customer’s NetFlix so she can be sure her next movie (“Iron Man”) is there when she returns to NYC. Awesome.

Crewmember Review: CIBO Express: ­Asian Signature Dishes

Thanks to Crewmembers John, Seamus, Boris and Anditi who took the time to try CIBO Express ­and some of their Asian Signature Dishes.

Review from IT Business Partner Aditi: “The first thing that comes to mind is the presentation. A pyramid of rice paired with the entrée, beautified with a simple purple orchid; the presentation was classy, eye catching and pristine. Serving the food in pure white plates and cooked fresh in an open kitchen takes “eating at the airport” experience to a new level. This is not something you expect at a quick stop type airport eatery.

The food was perfectly portioned and served fresh and hot. Entrée tasted every bit the combination of its ingredients; high quality produce and no funny additions! When they said “Vegetable Stir Fry” they meant it as the entrée contained a blend of about 7 vegetables, which is a fry cry from the usual Asian takeouts.

Overall the presentation was very appetizing and food was thoroughly enjoyable and satisfactory.”

Places to go from here

Some great reads elsewhere in the series of tubes about T5 today…

Buffalo News | Globe and Mail | Jaunted | New York Times

Blue + Orange = Happy Jetting!

Spotted this afternoon at T5 is this celeb of college athletics, Syracuse University head men’s basketball coach, Jim Boeheim. We’ve got a big and faithful Syracuse contingent here at JetBlue in New York. They like the blue and we like the orange! Go SU!

Reviewed: Piquillo’s egg salad sandwich

They say “write what you know,” so it’s time for a sandwich review. When I’m off the clock, I run the sandwich-themed blog “It’s What’s Between.” Therefore I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try a brand new restaurant and a unique sandwich today.

After much staring at various menus, I settled on Piquillo and their Ensaladilla de Huevo con Anchoa y tomaquet Bocadillo. That’s an egg salad sammy with anchovies and tomatoes to you and me. Piquillo is T5’s Spanish restaurant, which is both named for and shaped like a type of Spanish chile pepper.

(L to R) AeroNuova, Piquillo and 5ive Steak

The interior is autumn in restaurant form. It features copper-colored leaf-printed counters, gold place mats, soft candles and muted tiles lining the arch interspersed with abalone-like iridescent panels. The hangar-shaped building even produces a wind tunnel effect, creating a constant but not-unpleasant breeze.

I eat a lot of egg salad sandwiches, but never would it have occurred to me to top one with fish. And I expected little anchovies like the ones that come with mustard in a tin, but these guys were big.

Biting into the sandwich, I was struck by the creaminess of the egg salad, which contrasted nicely with the crusty baguette. It’s rich and smooth and has distinct bits of egg white and yolk to bite into. Instead of slices like I’m used to, the tomatoes were rubbed onto the interior of the bread. I thought that might make the bread soggy but it didn’t, and gave a noticeable tomato flavor without taking up valuable sandwich real estate.

And then there’s the anchovies. The Ninja Turtles wouldn’t approve, but I can vouch for the fishes’ deliciousness on this sandwich. They make it fishy and oily and salty and that’s a good thing. What tastes like mustard in the egg salad adds just enough tang to keep the fish from overwhelming.

My only knock on the sandwich is that it’s not quite big enough to be a lunch by itself. But I’ll happily pay the $6 for quality over quantity — 15 bites of Piquillo’s egg salad awesomeness beats my corner bodega’s 30 bites of eggy mayo on a hero any day.

Shop till you drop (or at least until your plane leaves)

As Alex mentioned earlier, many of us are the type who time our home-to-airport travel just right so we pass through security and hit the gate just as the door to the plane is closing. With T5, you’ll actually want to spend a bit more time at the airport…there is limitless shopping to be had. Check out some of the cool names:

Burning Questions

In my first hour, the most common question I’ve been asked is: Where are the pay phones?

(Which of course begs another question: who uses pay phones???)

The answer is tricky: half of them have been installed but few seem to work at this time. I’ve been letting folks use my cell phone. Who knew there were still people who weren’t connected with cell phones?

Renderings come to life

I have to admit, when I first saw the renderings for T5’s restaurants, I was a little skeptical. Would those images, so artfully done, really translate into an airline terminal? Good news: they have.

Deep Blue, right in the heart of the Marketplace, is a true stand-out:

Next door, La Vie looks lifted right out of Paris. Super cute…

Going south for winter

Thanks to Inflight Crewmember Susan Davison for getting a this shot of some special guests hoping to save some energy and hop on a flight to Disney World. It’s every kids dream to jet down to Orlando to visit the Magic Kingdom — why wouldn’t it be for these guys too?

Need your ’script filled before your flight?

Look no further! Hamony is here to save the day. Harmony — pharmacy and health center is a one stop shop for all of your needs.

I ventured in to find some hand sanitizer (yes — I have just a slight aversion to germs) and walked into a store full of fruffy soaps and other relaxing smelling things on one side and everything a forgetful traveler would need from toothpaste to deodorant. While perusing the massive selection of products I came across a counter not unlike what you would see in the back of a CVS or a Duane Reade — a pharmacy counter. Upon quizzing people who work in said pharmacy I found that they are able to fill prescriptions right here in T5. This floors me — I didn’t know such a thing existed! Harmony said they have five stores in airports right now and plan to open several more in ‘09!

Ambassador Reporting for Duty

Since I’m supposed to be helping the Customers find their way around T5 today, I forewent (is that a word) the usual shuttle and opted for the full Air Train experience instead.

As I’m walking up, my iPod is playing the Eagles’ “No More Cloudy Days” and it’s perfect actually. Even though I’ve worked at JFK for 4 years, I feel like it’s my first day all over again. That kind of new-hire nervous energy is just what I need to recharge me.

So, look for me in the JUST ASK shirt until 7 p.m. tonight. I’ll be the guy looking as awe-struck as our Customers.

We’ve sprung a leak!

Every opening has its hiccups. Is it a new water art installation? Nope. It’s a fully functioning detector at Roma pizza that did what it was supposed to do. It detected smoke and went off. Unlike how it may be in other buildings, only the area impacted by the smoke or fire goes off — not all of the sprinklers. The water has stopped and now it’s all mopped up.

Overheard in T5: Hi-la-ri-ous

File this under “You can’t make this stuff up!”

I was just speaking to Jessica, one of our Crewmembers, who had finished helping a Customer headed to Fort Lauderdale with her reservation. Here’s roughly how the conversation went:

Woman: “You guys must have done something with the place. Did you give it a facelift or remodel it a little bit? The last time I was here it didn’t look this good!”

Jessica: “Umm, this is our brand new terminal.”

Woman: “Oh, when did you open it?”

Jessica: “Six hours ago.”

Woman: “I had no idea! I just thought you gave it a facelift.”

Little touches: Big bags of chips

This one’s not as big a deal as some of the other features at T5, but it caught my eye nonetheless. At the main Cibo Express Gourmet Marketplace, they sell full-sized bags of chips. Good ones, too — they have my favorite: “Dirty” brand salt and vinegar kettle chips. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything but the snack bags for sale in an airport until today, and certainly not an assortment like this. I like the prospect of getting a bag of Pirate’s Booty or chocolate tortilla chips to share before and during a flight.

Little touches: Plugs everywhere

As I mentioned earlier, T5 is full of well thought out, subtle features that will make traveling a more pleasant experience. They’re the kinds of things you don’t notice until you actually use the terminal; touring T5 on Sept. 22, I was too overwhelmed by the larger spectacle to notice something like electrical outlets.

Today, with the T5 Blogging Crew taking over a section of the grandstand with its heaps of cameras and electronics, the abundance of outlets is evident and much appreciated. And we’re only using four of the nine laptops set up on this platform right now.

On my way back from a coffee run (you’d better believe I’m getting properly caffeinated following a 2:30 a.m. wake-up), I noticed that the steps leading to the top of the grandstand include plugs as well. So even if the tables are all taken, Jetters can still have a seat on a step and charge their laptop before the flight — perfect for checking some email before taking off without worrying about sucking up too much battery power to watch a movie en route. Of course, in the event of a dead laptop there’s always JetBlue Features.

The big grandstand we’re on has at least 37 plugs (Justin counted) and the smaller one nearby appears to have about the same amount.

Jetting means not having to hunt for a place to plug in.

The adventure begins in T5

Since I work for an airline I tend to try to travel as much as I possibly can. When I’m heading out on an adventure, it’s nice to see that my forgetful self can get outfitted from head to toe at T5!  At ExOfficio (a long time favorite of mine) I can get clothes engineered for the active traveler in me. One of my favorite weekend getaways is hiking through the Puerto Rican rainforest El Yunque. Several times a pair of their mosquito repellant pants have saved me from an itchy recovery the next week!  Now it’s nice to knowthat I can stop by the pharmacy for anti-allergy medication and dramamine for motion sickness expecially when your adventure entails lots of bumpy 4-wheeling to get to one of my favorite destinations in the Caribbean  — the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world — located on the south side of Vieques, PR!