There’s nothing I dread more than enduring a long flight then having to make a pit stop at the mini-mart on the way home (or to the hotel) to stock up on milk, coffee and diapers. So imagine my surprise when during a conversation with a friend (more complaint session than “conversation”) I found that I could eliminate the stop and purchase my items at the airport.
It’s true! In a handful of U.S. airport terminals you can pick up necessities from buttons to baby formula. In 2004, Dallas/Fort Worth became the first U.S. airport to add a convenience store, the DFW TravelMart in Terminal C. It stocks milk, bread, coffee, and other basic items that travelers need after a long trip. And just last year the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport opened Everything ASAP, which carries everything from maps to manicotti.
In fact the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport has some 125,000 square feet of space devoted to eating, drinking and shopping. That’s about half the size of City Center in downtown Minneapolis. The convenience store is just one of the airport’s 106 restaurants and retail spaces. (The Pittsburgh airport, which opened in 1992, became an industry role model. It boasts more than 100 shops and restaurants.) Frankly, the shops and restaurants located in my own city, pale in comparison to those found in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. From Lands’ End and Tumi Luggage, Wolfgang Puck, California Pizza Kitchen, Maui Tacos and Ben & Jerry’s… all my favorites, yet none of them are located anywhere near my home.
Not long after I got over the shock of what was available at the airport, I was stunned again… by the prices. These days, most airports (including Minneapolis-St. Paul) require merchants to provide “street pricing,” meaning prices paid inside the airport must be the same as those paid elsewhere. I was surprised that the gallon of milk I picked up didn’t cost me more than a dinner for four at Burger King. Personally, I like the idea of blending a shopping mall and an airport. If nothing else it’s a great way to kill time during a layover.