Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is not a large airport, but it is an airport with a large volume of travel. You need to know some information about getting to the airport, as well as what to do and expect once you arrive.
The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport Hotel is located on the grounds of the airport. This makes it easily accessible for travelers coming and going from the airport. The Hilton Austin Airport is only two minutes from the terminal. A complimentary bus shuttle picks you up at the passenger terminal and drops you off at the front door of the hotel.
You will find the rooms oversized with two double beds or one king size bed. The guest rooms have a desk for working and Internet access. The hotel has a fitness room, a beautifully designed bar in the lobby, as well as a ballroom for up to seven hundred people and several smaller meeting rooms and hospitality suites. If you need to travel to downtown Austin, this hotel is only about six miles away.
The restaurant, located on the first level of the hotel, is casual dress serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The restaurant opens at six in the morning and stays open until ten at night. You will enjoy the fine Texas cooking prepared by the onsite chef. There are no pets allowed at this hotel, but children are welcome, although there are not many things to keep them occupied. You may want to pick up some things at the airport to occupy them while staying at the hotel.
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There are some restaurants at the airport before the security checkpoints and some after you pass the checkpoints. If you do not have a ticket to pass through the security checkpoints, there are some places located on the upper level by the American Airlines desk. Harlon’s Expresso has beverages and light snacks. On the concourse upper level, there is a Fara Café and Sports Bar by the Southwest Airlines desk. They have a full service bar; the café has sandwiches and light snacks.
In the Food Court located in the west concourse area, you will find a Mangia Pizza, Schlotzsky’s Deli, and Matt’s Famous El Rancho with chicken and tacos. The Salt Lick has delicious barbecued foods found only in Texas. Angie’s Ice Cream is located in this area as well, serving homemade ice cream in all different flavors. The times of operations do vary from place to place, but most are open at five or six in the morning.
In the Food Court in the east concourse, you will find an Auntie Anne’s with soft pretzels, Waterloo Ice House with hamburgers and soups, and a Wok & Roll for some Chinese foods. Harlon’s Country Breakfast and Barbeque is open at six in the morning and uses wood to grill the foods. In the Central Marketplace, you will find a Highlands Lake Bar and an Austin Java. Lefty’s Bar and Grill, as well as Earl Campbell’s Sports Bar, are found in the west concourse.
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The shops at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport are found in the west concourse and the east concourse. In the west concourse, you will find a Barton Springs Dry Goods with unique gifts. The Longhorn Store has shirts, mugs, and specialty items. DVD’s and other videos and music are found at Austin City Limits/Waterloo Records & Video. Austin Chronicle has gifts and something for everyone to read.
The Austin Connection located in the west concourse has four stores in one. You will find a Gadgets2Go with luggage, and all your travel gadgets and accessories as well as games and accessories for electronic gadgets. Austin City Limits has music, and the Blue Bonnets Gifts and Collectibles has clothing, collectibles, and culinary supplies. Texas Sports Unlimited has everything from jerseys to sports gear with a variety from professional and college teams.
In the east concourse, you are going to find an Austin Article and a specialty shop called Stars of Austin with three stores in one. There’s an Austin’s Attitudes, Austin Artifacts, and an Austin Market with sweets for everyone’s taste. Sierra News has reading material, and In Celebration of Golf has golf items and clothing for men, women, and children. You can find everything you need for your travels after the security checkpoints at the airport, which means they do not have to pass through the security checks.
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Taxis, limousine services, and the super shuttle as well as the Metro Bus Service, provide public transportation to and from Austin Bergstrom International Airport. The bus route servicing the airport is number 100. It departs from various areas throughout Austin heading for the airport. If you stay at a local hotel, you can check with the concierge desk to find out the appropriate locations for pick up. You can check the bus schedule before you leave the airport terminal as well.
Yellow Cab services the Austin area with computer-dispatched cars to and from the airport. With this cab service, four people can travel for the price of one. You can schedule pick up time ahead of time by calling the main office. The cabs pick up at the passenger terminal and take you directly to your destination. There are over twenty limousine services that operate in the Austin area, and some that operate outside the Austin area.
The super shuttle is a share ride service that requires you to contact the office to arrange for pick up or for drop off at the airport. You may share the ride with others going to the same location. If you prefer your own ride, the airport does have nine car rental agencies to provide you with a car rental. This service is found at the airport near the parking garage.
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Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has many different parking options. The valet service allows you to pull up to the upper level terminal and leave your car with the valet attendant for a specific daily fee. If you prefer to park your own car, the airport has a parking garage located across from the terminal for easy access to the parking garage and the airport. There are shuttles that run throughout the parking garage if you want a ride to the terminal door.
If you need to pick up or drop someone off at the airport, they have a thirty minute parking area in Lot A. This is the only area that has an hourly fee structure. The rest of the parking garage has a daily parking rate. The parking garage is monitored by airport security twenty-four hours a day for your safety. Disabled parking spaces are located throughout the parking structure for convenience.
If you do forget where you parked your vehicle or you need a jump-start, the airport parking attendant can arrange this free service for you. The attendant can also call for fuel and tire inflation, if your tires are low from sitting. You will find the garage to be well lighted and clean. The garage does have a program called Parking Buddy, which can help you with locating your vehicle.
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The recently built airport includes all the necessary requirements for persons with disabilities. The bathroom, elevators, ticket counters, and water fountains are all designed to accommodate a wheelchair. The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has signs throughout the airport with raised lettering or Braille for those who need to read with their hands. The airport does provide assistance for those who need help maneuvering through the airport.
If you are using a wheelchair, the security checkpoint attendant will take you off to the side and use a handheld scanner to scan you. This is done because the wheelchair will set off the alarm on the walk-through scanner. Your belongings will still pass through the x-ray machine and be returned to you after you pass the scan. If you have an airport escort, they will help you with everything at the security checkpoint.
Airport staff members are trained for sign language to accommodate passengers that cannot hear or speak. Telephones are available for those who need TTY services when departing or arriving at the airport. If you own a wheelchair, it will travel in the cargo area of the plane, and you can use a wheelchair owned by the airport through the airport to your departure gate. When you reach your destination, you will have access to another wheelchair until you claim your chair in the baggage area.
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At the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, you will find a full service United Heritage Credit Union. At this bank, you can exchange currency, obtain travelers cheques, money orders, and prepaid cards. You can find ATM machines on the concourse level by Gates 6 and 13. There is one located by the baggage claim area near the information desk as well.
The airport has a family viewing area, where you can sit and watch the plane take off. The area has picnic tables and is open from 6 in the morning into the night hours. The location is at the east runway of the airport. This is a great experience for those who have never flown before. It offers you a way to see how the airport operates with incoming and outgoing planes.
The airport has a dog walk area with bags for waste pick up, a drinking fountain, and lights for those late night arrivals. If you are departing or arriving, you can use the dog walk to exercise your dog. It is located outside the lower level of the airport just past the number 6 column on the east side. Animals are not allowed into the terminals, unless they are in proper pet carriers, or are dogs for the disabled or police dogs that are working.
Need Transportation? Call 617-848-2689
If you are driving to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, you will find that getting there is rather easy. If you are coming from the north, you will take the IH 35 going south, following that until you reach the 183 south exits. You take the 183 to the exit for highway 71 and stay on it until the Airport Cargo exit sign. Make a right onto Spirit of Texas Drive and keep driving until the New Airport Drive where you will take a left. From the south, you will take the IH 35 north.
If you are traveling from the east, you will take highway 71 west, and from the west, you will take highway 71 east. If you are taking the highway 71 east, you will merge with the Airport Cargo exit and make a right onto Spirit of Texas Drive, then a left on Newport Airport Drive. If you are taking highway 71 west, you will make a left at Spirit of Texas Drive and a left at New Airport Drive.
These directions will take you right to the terminal parking garage. If you are departing from the airport, you can follow the signs to the level of the garage you wish to park on. If you’re picking up or drop someone off, you will follow the signs to the thirty-minute parking area.
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If you arrive at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, feel a little sore and stressed, you might enjoy a massage at the Knot Anymore. The Knot Anymore has massage chairs that relieve aching muscles. The parlor is located at Gate 13 by the stairs leading to the mezzanine area. You can enjoy a chair massage from ten to twenty-five minutes, or longer if necessary.
Shoe Shine booths are located on the concourse level by Gates 9, 13 and 14. On this level, you will find a postal box and a stamp machine, as well as baggage carts if you need them. In the baggage claims area, you will find a first aid center, a police center, and the lost and found. The visitor information center can provide you with all the information you need to know before leaving the airport.
The airport offers businesses and other organizations a unique way to welcome guests to the area. You can have a banner displayed on the stairwell, set up a welcome station, or have a live music stage. These services are some of the unique ways the airport provides a warm welcome or a good-bye for passengers who are arriving and departing. If you are interested in this service, you can find out more information at the customer service desk.
Need Transportation? Call 617-848-2689