Posts in the category "Airport guides":

In my At the Airport column on USATODAY.com this month, I take a look at tiered Wi-Fi service being offered at some airports.  The big question is: should  you pay?

For years, one of the top if not the top amenity on many road warriors’ wish lists has been free Wi-Fi at the airport.

Slowly but surely, it’s happening.

Take a look at the USATODAY.com Airport Guides, airport websites, and various commercial and user-generated Wi-Fi directories. You’ll see there are now hundreds of U.S. airports offering travelers complimentary wireless Internet access.

San Francisco? Free. Orlando? Free. Seattle, Sacramento and San Jose? Free, free, free.

Washington’s Dulles and National airports? As of April, 2011, free as well.

Free Wi-Fi sounds great. But during heavy usage times at some airports, service often slows down. And some free airport Wi-Fi has strings. Most often, it’s in the form of advertising a user must view before getting online.

At Denver International Airport, “Sometimes it’s a session sponsorship, such as a video and then users are directed to the internet,” said DIA spokesperson Laura Coale. “Sometimes it is banner ads.”

At Boston’s Logan International Airport, where 198,000 free Wi-Fi sessions were logged during May, travelers must click through to a second screen before they see the button offering free Wi-Fi. “The user agrees to watch a short commercial or take a survey to gain access to the free site,” said airport spokesperson Mathew Brelis, “That times out after an hour and they need to log back on again.”

There remain some holdouts. Notable among airports that only offer paid Wi-Fi (outside of airline club lounges) are Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and JFK, except for JetBlue’s Terminal 5, where complimentary Wi-Fi is offered as an amenity by the airline. There’s a plan underway to provide free Wi-Fi at Los Angeles International Airport within a year.

Is a little Wi-Fi too little?

At some airports that cannot yet swing free Wi-Fi financially or contractually, there is a new model: hybrid, or tiered, service. Complimentary Wi-Fi with limited time and, often, limited bandwidth is available, but for a fee travelers can also choose more secure, robust and unlimited service.

Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City offers travelers 20 minutes of complimentary Wi-Fi. In Houston, travelers get 45 minutes of complimentary Wi-Fi at both Hobby Airport and George Bush Intercontinental airports.

“Some revenue needs to be generated by Boingo, our wireless vendor, to cover the costs of the Wi-Fi system,” explains Houston Airports spokesperson Marlene McClinton, “And charges for upgraded, faster downloads and beyond 45 minutes help.”

“The airport is weighing the possibility of offering entirely free Wi-Fi,” said McClinton, “But a timeline and strategy are still being discussed.”

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has had some form of paid Wi-Fi available since 2000, but in May it began offering travelers a complimentary 30-minute session. Once the free session expires, a customer must wait 24 hours for another, find one of the airport’s free internet kiosks, or purchase premium access from the airport’s Wi-Fi provider, Boingo Wireless, which has roaming agreements with a variety of partners.

“Austin’s airport has different customer groups,” said spokesman Jim Halbrook. “Our business travelers need and pay for a premium Wi-Fi product. The 30-minute complimentary Wi-Fi sessions are a convenient amenity for casual users,” he said. “It’s our way of fulfilling the needs of very different travelers.”

Nashville International Airport is currently evaluating its Wi-Fi options. During the winter, the airport complemented paid airport-wide Wi-Fi with 20 minutes of sponsored Wi-Fi in the Meeter/Greeter areas and in the food court.

“We are still determining the impact of the promotion to our business model,” said airport spokesperson Emily Richard. “Airport officials are studying how to continue to offer a complimentary service to customers that desire it and a level of service and security for those customers who require it.”

For now, sponsored, complimentary Wi-Fi continues to be offered in the food court.

Why just the food court?

“Anecdotal studies say free Wi-Fi may have an overall negative effect on airport revenue,” explains Boingo Wireless spokesman Christian Gunning. “If people are watching a movie on-line they’re not walking around the airport shopping or spending money in the food court.”

Do travelers care?

Karen Marmolejo, a career/life coach in Sacramento, won’t pay for Wi-Fi at an airport, but is grateful when free access is offered. “Generally I don’t need access to the internet for more than 20 minutes anyway as there are many things I can do on my laptop that doesn’t require me to be online,” she said.

But Forrester Research travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said hybrid Wi-Fi “is a way for airports to avoid building out the infrastructure to support travelers. It is cheap — and annoying… Shame on them.”

Annoying or not, hybrid Wi-Fi plans at airports may be sticking around.

“Consumers are familiar with these kinds of policies where the heaviest users pay higher fees,” said Amy Cravens, senior analyst for In-Stat. “The tiered pricing model has its place in the hotspot market, particularly in airports where the amount of time spent on the network varies so greatly.”

Outside airports, many travelers are already making those choices.

A survey by travel research organization YPartnership found that 67% of frequent travelers have had a bad experience with free Internet while on the road. “Nearly half of those respondents are willing to pay for Internet. They just want fast service to get their work done and to access the Internet for entertainment,” said David Garrison, CEO of iBAHN, the provider of internet service at 300,000 hotel rooms worldwide.

“[T]he explosion in the use of photos and videos — think Facebook, You Tube and devices like iPad — has caused the amount of data per session to go up 50% per year. So free is not free and it’s getting more expensive every year.”

Note: Every bit helps: after I wrote this article I noticed Boingo was celebrating its 10th anniversary by giving away free Wi-Fi minutes and assorted prizes. Get your free Wi-Fi code here.

Photo courtesy slambo_42 via Flickr Commons

Categories: Airport guides, free Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi
No Comments »

Each Sunday at StuckatTheAirport.com we take a look at some of the fun things for sale in airport shops.

Usually it’s an inexpensive item that’s a bit offbeat and “of” the city or town. Something like the  “Fly SUX” souvenirs for sale at Sioux Gateway Airport (SUX) in Sioux City, Iowa.

This week, the Souvenir Sunday pick is something that’s just fun and a very good fit for Orlando International Airport.

The first airport Build-a-Bear Workshop opened last week at Orlando International Airport. Customers are promised “an interactive make-your-own stuffed animal retail-entertainment experience,” and after making their way through a variety of  hands on stations (Choose Me, Hear Me, Stuff Me, Stitch Me, Fluff Me, Dress Me, Name Me and Take Me Home) they end up with their own custom-made bear, bunny, dog, kitty or other animal. The cost: between $10 and $25.

I’m not sure if we’ll be seeing the Build-a-Bear concept popping up at other airports. But it’s a great fit for Orlando International Airport, which welcomes so many families and already offers so many treats, including free Wi-Fi, fun art, theme-park character statues for free photo ops, two Kennedy Space Center gift shops and several game arcades.

Want to more about Orlando International Airport (MCO)? Take a look at the MCO airport guide I created for USATODAY.com.

Categories: Air Travel, Airport guides, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs
No Comments »

If you’re at an airport when disaster strikes, would you go hungry?

Not, apparently, at Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

According to the airport’s newsletter, there are always MREs (meals ready to eat) in storage in case there’s an emergency and people are stuck at the airport.

Happily, no recent emergencies warranted opening those packages, so as the expiration date on 1400 of the ration packages neared, the airport decided to donate the meals to the local food pantry.

MREs from Reno Airport on their way to the food pantry

Don’t worry: the airport has ordered a fresh batch of MREs to put back in storage in case there’s an emergency in the future.

If you’re stuck at Reno-Tahoe International Airport when it’s not an all-out emergency, there’s still plenty to do. In addition to slot machines, art exhibits, pubs, free local calls and free WiFi, passengers who show a same-day boarding pass can squeeze in some free skiing or snowboarding at nearby Squaw Valley USA.

Categories: Air Travel, Airport guides, Free Stuff, Gambling, Layover, Stuck at the Airport, Wi-Fi
No Comments »

Daneil Meek: TSA officer AND bagpiper

An artist, a baker and a bagpiper walk into an airport.

Is that the first line of a bad joke?

It could be. But it’s also a sampling of the hidden talents pursued by people who work at some of the nation’s airports. In some cases, only their colleagues reap the benefits, but from impromptu concerts to employee art shows, fliers across the country may encounter some fun and diversion in the midst of a stressful travel day.

Here’s the story I wrote about these talented airport workers for my At the Airport column in USATODAY.com.

When he’s not training for swim meets, Daniel Meek (above), the TSA administrative officer at Milwaukee’s General Mitchell Airport, plays the bagpipes (yes, in a traditional Scottish kilt) at events ranging from funerals to local, regional and national law enforcement ceremonies. “A group of TSOs [Transportation Security Officers] are going to ride motorcycles to the 9/11 ten-year anniversary ceremonies in Washington DC, and I’m going to join them with my bagpipes,” said Meek.

Special events at Los Angeles International Airport now often include a few tunes by a chorus of surprisingly sweet-voiced TSA employees. “Our goal is to put the human face of the TSA in the public. Not just the ‘Take off your shoes’ image,” LAX Terminal Screening Manager Raul Matute told me back in December as the group readied for holiday performances in several terminals.

LAX TSA CHOIR

At Denver International Airport, the contract manager can sing opera, the CFO plays trumpet, a member of the custodial staff leads an in-demand mariachi band and one of the customer service volunteers is a magician. “Maybe we should start a band or hold a variety show in the terminals each Friday,” said airport spokesperson Jenny Schiavone.

No joking around. Well, sometimes.

Don Steinmetz is a veteran Phoenix police sergeant assigned to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, where he supervises explosive-detection dogs and their police partners. “At the airport, our job is to deter, detect and keep people safe,” says Steinmetz. Outside the airport, Steinmetz performs on the stand-up comedy circuit, where his job is to make people laugh. “At the airport there are thousands of people and so many diverse situations. So there are plenty of hilarious things I can talk about from a police officer’s point of view.”

Kelly McCarron, a JetBlue employee at San Francisco International Airport, also moonlights as a stand-up comic. She interacts with the public at ticket-counters and gates all day but, unlike Steinmetz, doesn’t put many work stories into her act. “People in the audience have usually been on the other side of the airport interaction and I’m usually in the role of the bad guy. So it’s hard to get them on my side.”

On the serious side, Debbie Ramirez, spends her days marketing and promoting Phoenix Sky Harbor. But in her spare time, she and her horses are on-call for the posse that helps with search and rescue efforts for the Maricopa County sheriff’s office. “People go out hiking in the mountains and get lost or in trouble,” says Ramirez. “We’ve rescued a lot of people, but sometimes we can only help families find closure.”

Aerobatics and other art

When he’s not on the job, Mark Leutwiler, the Security Operations Manager at Portland International Airport (PDX) can be found up in the air practicing aerobatic art. “When I was young I went flying with someone and we went upside down. That’s when I realized that’s what I want to do. Now I fly loops and rolls and spins as much as possible.”

One of Leutwiler’s co-workers, Pauline Nelson, oversees security access for much of the terminal building and de-stresses by cooking, baking and building decorated cakes. She’s taken first prize at the Oregon State Fair numerous times, but it may be her co-workers who reap the rewards. “Basically, there aren’t enough people in my household to eat all the things I cook,” said Nelson, “So I bring things to work all the time.”

Reno-Tahoe International Airport hosts an annual Employee Art Show and this year the exhibit featured about 100 paintings, works on paper, photos, sculptures, crafts and mixed media entries by 59 airport employees and their family members. Similar art shows, supported by the National Arts Program are held regularly at airports in Orlando, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Dallas-Fort Worth.

And while Boston Logan International Airport has an official photographer, airport spokesman Richard Walsh calls landside operations manager Rudy Chiarello “the airport’s official, unofficial photographer.” Chiarello has been a Massport employee for 35 years and has amassed thousands of photos, many of them of airplanes taken from out on the airfield. “I was one of those people who thought my pictures sucked,” said Chiarello, “But after 9/11, I wanted to promote aviation so I started uploading my pictures to airliners.net and got great responses. I never knew people would be so crazy about airline pictures.”

Then there’s Art Cozart, who has worked as a baggage handler for US Airways at Charlotte Douglas International Airport for the past 29 years. “About ten years ago I had coffee in the break room and drew a picture on the Styrofoam cup with a pen,” said Cozart, whose art training consists of a ‘filler’ class he took during his senior year of high school. Cozart kept doodling and now estimates he’s covered about 1000 Styrofoam cups with his artwork.

In October 2010, a selection of Cozart’s cups were displayed during the grand opening of Charlotte’s Mint Museum UPTOWN and now there’s a website featuring his creations. Mostly, though, Cozart says he just draws cups for friends and family and gives them away. “I’ve done animals, boats, airports, landscapes and people, including Marilyn Monroe, The Munsters, Dale Earnhardt, and Laurel and Hardy.” As for his choice of medium? Cozart explains, “I can draw on paper if I have to, but this helps keep cups out of the landfill.”

Categories: Airport guides, Art, Entertainment
No Comments »

Heading to or through San Diego International Airport (SAN) anytime soon? Be sure to go early so you can enjoy the art.

In the Terminal 2 East/West corridor (post-security) from now through September 15^th, you’ll find Within the Heart of Time and Space, a temporary installation with 15 sculptures by San Diego–based artist Jeffrey Steorts,

Also, through July 2011 in the SAN Commuter Terminal (Pre-security) there’s an exhibit celebrating 100 years of naval aviation, measured from May 11, 1911, when Navy Capt. Washington Irving Chambers, Officer in Charge of Aviation, requisitioned the Navy’s first aircraft from aviator and inventor Glenn H. Curtiss.

For more information – and for more previews of the art and performance program at San Diego International Airport, check the art page of the SAN website. And for more information about services and amenities at SAN, see the SAN guide I created for USATODAY.com.

Categories: Airport guides, Art, Aviation history, Uncategorized
No Comments »