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Feb 28

Airports get into fitness game with workout spaces, healthy food – Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Features

By Kelli Kennedy, Associated Press

Posted February 26, 2017

February 26, 2017

Updated February 26, 2017 12:05am

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A traveler walked past the ROAM Fitness gym at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum, Md., that opened last month. It is the only gym at a U.S. airport that is located past security checkpoints, and there are plans to open 20 more at airports by 2020.

Work out while waiting for your flight? Thats an option now at Baltimore/Washington International Airport, where the only gym at a U.S. airport past security opened last month. There are plans to open 20 more at airports by 2020.

Its the latest example of how fitness and health trends have started showing up at airports. Yoga rooms and walking tracks have opened at airports around North America over the past few years, and healthier food options are also easier to find in airports now. You can even get a kombucha to wash down a salad made with locally sourced produce.

The ROAM Fitness gym at BWI includes an attendant who monitors guests flights and will alert them if theres a delay. Theres even free luggage storage, options for renting workout clothes and shoes, and showers. Fees range from $40 a day to $175 a month.

The concept was initially envisioned for international travelers and others with long layovers, but research revealed that many other travelers wanted to squeeze in a workout before or after landing.

A lot of people coming from the West Coast taking red-eye flights are going straight to their business meeting but they land at 6:30 in the morning. They cant check into their hotel yet so it just gives them the opportunity to clean up before they head to that meeting, said ROAM Fitness CEO Cynthia Sandall.

Roughly 4,000 travelers a month use the GoodLife Fitness gym at Torontos airport, a 33 percent increase from when it opened in 2014, the company said.

But the concept might not work everywhere. The airport at Las Vegas had a gym that closed. Christopher Berger, who chairs the American College of Sports Medicine task force on healthy air travel, says the gyms success may depend on the destination. He thinks they may be best suited for hubs with long layovers.

You take someplace like (Chicago) OHare, Minneapolis, Portland (Ore.), Seattle I think youve got a real chance of selling it, he said.

San Francisco International Airports yoga room has been so successful that a second one opened in 2014. Airport officials say its used daily. After a few downward dogs, yogis can also order a green juice or curry bowl at The Plant Cafe, where everything is made with local and organic ingredients. Theres also Napa Farms Market, Joe & the Juice and new vending machines offering organic, gluten-free and sugar-free snacks.

Other amenities in the pipeline as major airports look to become destinations in their own right include movie theaters, more fine dining and better shopping, says Lorraine Sileo, a senior vice president with travel market research firm Phocuswright.

But fitness and wellness offerings may be especially appealing to travelers getting on or off cramped planes.

At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, theres a yoga studio with free mats, a walking path and two 55-foot staircases for an extra cardio challenge. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has a 1.4 mile walking path. Philadelphias airport had a temporary program where passengers could cycle on stationary bikes while waiting for their flights. Baltimore/Washington International also offers bike rentals and a 12.5-mile trail just outside the airport.

While airports still sell plenty of greasy fast food, many airport eateries also now feature local, organic ingredients and vegan and gluten-free options. Icebox Cafe at Miami International Airport, which uses locally sourced food, reported above-average sales of $3.1 million last fiscal year. Other examples of vendors bringing healthier fare to airports include Natures Table in Atlanta and Orlando, Fla.; Elephants Delicatessen at Portland International Airport in Oregon; and French Meadow Bakery, in four airports including Minneapolis and Salt Lake City.

Ann Gentry, founder of the popular vegan eatery Real Food Daily, has an airport location in addition to two others in the Los Angeles area.

I knew it was going to be a hit because in our (two other restaurants) people were coming in getting bags of food for the plane, so we were very accustomed to packing up food for the plane, she said.

But not everyone who patronizes Real Food Daily at the airport location realizes its vegan. Some order a spicy lentil burger and bring it back complaining they didnt know it wouldnt have meat. On the flip side, some travelers say they enjoyed her airport grub so much they sought out the restaurant while in town.

AN AIRPORT GYM AT HNL?

While there are no plans for fitness amenities at Honolulu International Airport, the recently revitalized Asian and Hawaiian cultural gardens provide a space for passengers to get fresh air and stroll while waiting for their flights, according to Department of Transportation spokeswoman Shelly Kunishige.

As far as health-conscious dining, concessionaire HMSHost is updating menus at its airport eateries to include more healthy options and locally sourced ingredients.

Some places already do so. For example, the PGA Tour Bar and Grill in the Central Concourse has vegan and gluten-free dishes.

Nancy Arcayna, Star-Advertiser

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Airports get into fitness game with workout spaces, healthy food - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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