Taking off Travel blog

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the new Indy Airport (and the new offsite airport parking facility we opened). But what’s it really like from the inside? If you’re planning on flying into Indy, then have a look at these videos.

First of all, here’s a view from the air:

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Indiana is home to the new Indy Park Ride and Fly which opened about five months ago and is currently getting great customer reviews. We’ve already looked at places to visit in Indianapolis, but now it’s time for some fast facts about the state. Some of these are quite fun!

Spot the tree growing from this courthouse!

• Indiana covers 35,866 square miles of land
• The population in 2007 was 6.3 million
• It’s known as the Hoosier state
• Its name means ‘Land of the Indians’
• Indianapolis became the state capital in 1825; before that first Vincennes, then Corydon, was the capital
• The highest point in the state is Hoosier Hill, which is 1,257 feet high
• The state song is On the banks of the Wabash (Listen)
• The state motto is ‘the crossroads of America’
• It became the 19th US state on December 11, 1816
• Largest cities are Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Gary, South Bend
• It’s bordered by Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio
• The state tree is the tulip tree
• The state flower is the peony
• The state bird is the cardinal, adopted in 1933
• There’s a town called Santa Claus Read more »

Entryway art for the new terminal by Joe C Nicholson

The new Indianapolis Airport opened in mid November. Here are ten things you should know about the new Indy Airport.

1. The new Indianapolis Airport has been planned for more than 30 years and cost $1.1 billion to build. No state or local tax dollars were used for this.
2. The terminal is 1.2 million square feet. You can see how it was built via the time lapse video here.
3. The airport is 16 minutes from downtown Indianapolis. The new address for the airport is 7800 Col. H. Weir Cook Memorial Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46241. Here’s a map.
4. The Indy Airport has special lanes in the security screening section for frequent flyers, travelers with special needs, families with young children and casual travelers. Once screened, you can move between concourses without needing to be rescreened. Here’s TSA’s guidance on technologies used at the new airport.
5. The Indy Airport was built with accessibility in mind to reduce climbing and walking distances.
6. There’s no need to park at the airport; valet parking is available for less just a short distance away at our Indy airport parking facility, Indy Park Ride and Fly.
7. It includes the first Indianapolis 500 Grill where you can eat and then shop for racing collectibles and clothes at Brickyard Authentics
8. The terminal has art by 15 artists – including local artists – showcasing a range of art forms and mediums. This includes poetry related to travel and flying. The original artwork cost almost $4 million
9. This is an environmentally friendly terminal, designed to reduce aircraft fuel use, use natural lighting where possible and promote recycling, with stations for glass, paper and aluminum throughout. There’s also no need for shuttles to rental cars.
10. Baggage handling is speedy, with bags checked in curbside screened and sent to the planes, and arriving baggage getting to the carousels within two minutes.  

Going on vacation is an exciting time, but one thing that takes the shine off is the hassle of airport parking. There never seem to be enough spaces and airport parking isn’t always convenient. You can spend a long time searching for a space before making the trek back to the terminal. Sure, you could take a cab, but when you get back from your trip, wouldn’t it be nice to jump into your own car and head back home without having to wait around? You can do that with offsite airport parking. Read more »

Indy Park Ride & Fly

Indy Park Ride & Fly and 1st Class Express Airport Parking, two offsite airport parking facilities servicing Indianapolis International Airport (IND) have merged to create a bigger, better Indy Park Ride & Fly in conjunction with the opening of the airport’s new Midfield terminal.

“After 11 years and over 1.5 million parking stays, we’re extremely excited to relocate to the new Midfield terminal,” says Amy Strohmeyer, Indy Park Ride & Fly’s General Manager. “Our new Indy Park Ride & Fly facility will hold more than 2300 cars, and will be the largest off airport parking operation servicing the new Midfield terminal.”

This Ronald Reagan Parkway facility offers the same outstanding, hassle-free service as before, plus more parking spaces, long-term or short-term parking, car care services, enhanced self-parking option, free shuttles to the airport and back, 24 hour surveillance, secure, fenced-in lots, complimentary luggage assistance and more. For an even faster airport parking experience, travelers can sign-up for the Indy BizXpress Fast Pass member program, which will allow them to simply drive in, park, ride & fly.

Another brand-new bonus offer  available at this new Indianapolis airport parking facility is Long-weekend Savings. When traveling from Thursdays to Mondays between November 13th, 2008 and March 2nd, 2009, customers will save more than 40% on Indianapolis Airport parking with discounted rates as low as $6.00 a day. Read more »