Slashdot Mirror
Survey Finds Airport Wi-Fi More Important Than Food
Ninjakicks writes "For the business traveler (and the traveler in general, really),
Wi-Fi is important — crucial, even. But more important than sustenance?
That's exactly what was found in
a recent survey by American Airlines and HP, where some 47% of business
travelers responded that Wi-Fi was the most important airport amenity,
outscoring basic travels needs such as food by nearly 30 percent."
I wonder who conducted the survey really.
Airport food is expensive and usually bad. It's much easier to pack a lunch or just eat when you arrive then it is to pack a WiFi base station.
-- "So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated." - Bill Gates
Seems pretty normal to me, you don't need to eat on a plane, you can do that before or after the flight, but wifi will keep you entertained during the flight. If they had asked "what is more important in life: wifi or food?" I'm sure the answers would have been different.
restrooms would be my number one airport amenity ..
Personally, I find it easier to pack food to bring with me than an ethernet cord long enough to get from my cable modem to the airport.
But that's just me.
The reason is simple, I can bring food, and get fed on the airline (usually). I can't bring wifi.
(wireless modems excepted)
I'd rate wifi above food. I'll eat before or after. Give me a bathroom, accessible AC outlets and wifi and I can sit in an airport for 24 hours straight. Of course after that I may want to foray out for food, but any less and I'm good.
The people answering the survey recognize -- apparently better than the people who looked at the results -- that every airport has some food in it, but not every airport has acceptable Wi-Fi. No one answering the survey was thinking "I'd rather starve on the net than feast without it!"
WIFI in airports would mean different things to different people: it would give the serious businessman a chance to catch up on his work, it would give the budget traveler free entertainment, and it would give the average person something to ease the boredom.
Eat a big meal beforehand, and a big meal after the fact, and maybe - just maybe splurge on a small snack between long connecting flights. $10 for a meal is a bit much for fast food.
Boredom is by far harder to cure (especially in a fast-paced society) than a hungry tummy. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has skipped a meal just because.
There are no perfect answers, only the right questions. More questions at http://foresightandhindsight.blogspot.com/
First, food in airports is notoriously bad, stale and generally nothing you'd want to eat, even when coming back from a famine-struck land. My personal theory is that this is the crap that they salvage from planes after the flight, the gunk not even the sardines-in-a-can class dwellers could stomach.
So what does the knowledgeable traveller do? Right. He brings his own food.
It's kinda hard, though, to bring your own WiFi AP with you...
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
If I answered the survey while on a business trip, my answer would have been WiFi. If I was on vacation, that last thing that I want is WiFi, (A good supply of beer would be a better choice) The fact that we now live in a connected world cannot be ignored. Ask people if they would prefer WiFi or power stations to charge thier DVD's and see what answer you get. Most of the people using their computer (that I see are using it to watch a movie). Wifi is simply there for entertainment for a number of people. But as far as expenses go, it would probably be expensive for the airports, and more and more people are getting their own connection through their Cell phone etc. If my company requires I need internet away from the office, there are too many solutions now available. I would rather see airports spend money on efficiency, ease of travel, REAL security, maintenance.
"a recent survey by American Airlines and HP"....
I bet "a recent survey by American Airlines and Pizza Hut" would have come to the opposite conclusion.
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
UMTS (G3) data access is becoming affordable and ubiquitous, so there is limited use for spotty network access through WLAN access points. WLANs could have played a much more important role if venues had not tried to milk a simple convenience service like a product in its own right. The future of WLAN access is "free, just works" or just for home use.
My next toy will be to setup Microsoft's Direct Access replacement for VPN's and I will never be disconnected from my network. When more people become aware of Direct Access, that is going to put a dent in those who say they cant innovate in Redmond. This is some bad-ass technology.
I absolutely hate how many US airports don't provide free Wifi for travelers (free Wifi seems to be more common abroad). For a minuscule fraction of their budget, airports could provide an invaluable service. It must change.
Hey, it's important to me!
"The only legitimate use of a computer is to play games." - Eugene Jarvis
Including myself actually, don't even like to eat before flights. I must have a weak stomach because I can't stand eating before going on a flight - my stomach gets tied in knots! Drinking is ok though.
Wifi though, if it's cheap (or even better, free) I'll be a happy camper.
If you were offended by anything I said... No, I'm not sorry. Please lighten up.
If Internet access is that important, get a broadband wireless card for your laptop or a cell phone you can tether. My Verizon EV-DO card is more reliable and typically provides better bandwidth than whatever Internet access is available in airports or hotels (especially in the evening when everyone is stuck in their rooms being bored).
In almost all western counties.........but check out Changi in Singapore. A GREAT airport. You don't get ripped off the food is fantastic!
http://www.changiairport.com/changi/en/index.html
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
If they price it the way they price airport food, they won't be getting many customers. Airport WiFi pretty much only flourishes in places when its free. Airport food is usually stupidly overpriced since they think they've got a captive audience, then when they don't sell enough food to pay for running the business, they stupidly raise the prices even more in a vain attempt to stay fiscally afloat.
to this article i say: why is Wi-Fi becoming a necessity in our modern day life? If someone were to take away computers you (the readers) and I both know that people would have to go back into the dark ages. Think about it computers run our world. Don't live life on a keyboard it does things to ya.
Even for a "business" user, you should be well enough organised that your employer can afford to be out of touch with you for a short period, without suffering catastrophic business failure (if not, they should fire you immediately as you are obviously a single point of failure and as such a total liability to the organisation).
If you do suffer symptoms of stress or anxiety when disconnected from the 'net this sounds a lot like a personality disorder - even if you do use the old line: "No, really, I just like the internet. I could give up any time".
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
Yes, a working connection is more important than food, and on par with beer.
Find the airline "club" and free wifi usually leaks out...
is the second most important thing. I'd even say it's the first one: I can live without internet, but to work offline I need to charge the laptop.
At most airoports a few outlets in the waiting areas are at best inconveniently located (being designed for plugging cleaning machines rather than for traveller's use), and at worst unavailable. I've spent more than a few strolls down the halls trying to find a free outlet and a seat withing the reach of it.
17779 eligible voters in a district, 17779 'vote' as one. This is Russia.
Jezus. IPv6 is cool and all, but it is hardly a SERIOUS ADVANCE over traditional and SSL VPNs. It's more like a dead obvious extension that nobody bothered with earlier because the OS support remained a moving target.
It's like those studies that found out that, under the right circumstances, EVERYTHING causes cancer in lab rats.
All the airport food is going to do (by its' high price and low quality) is remind you that you're STUCK IN A DAMN AIRPORT.
In a related survey - "70% of people surveyed prefered New Coke - the other 30% chose airport food, broken glass, or suicide." It all depends on how you ask the question.
Here's a warning not to use Boingo for wifi access at London Heathrow Airport (or anywhere else, IMO).
The sign-up form told me it would be UKP4.95 for 24 hours, but they dinged my debit card for the princely sum of UKP13.95. A totally ridiculous sum to charge for 24 hours internet access, knowing you're only likely to use it for a couple of hours anyway.
I haven't got anywhere getting a response from the buggers either.
... but when you traveling for the hell of it and have been stuck in the same airport for a day decent food becomes way more important that wifi and internet access.
Sometimes, you just don't have a choice as to whether you need to take a trip, and whether you need to have a deliverable (report, email, presentation) delivered. Or, sometimes, you find that on the first leg of your N leg outbound journey that you've been able to make room for Important Graph 14 in your presentation, or you call your assistant back in the office and they've been able to dig up Important Table 3. These are just a couple of scenarios where, between flights, connectivity is, in fact, important.
The idea that there's any idle time left at all in the business day is archaic. Lean staffing means everyone is carrying two or three times the normal workload, and, in turn, that means that any available moment needs to be used to advantage
Sounds more like "Work Addiction" than "Internet Addiction" to me. I hope you are being paid handsomely (and hourly) for your willingness to sacrifice every free second of your day, so some presentation you make to a room full of other burnt-out employees is just right.
Just an observation. The rest of your post was insightful and well-thought out.
Why father, I love you more than salt...
Every flight I've been on in the continental US has been short enough that it didn't seem necessary to stop for food (although sometimes I did anyway). I can easily live with skipping a meal, but sitting down and doing nothing for several hours on end gets pretty boring.
On the average, I'm not flying with a new laptop, and unless I'm on a short-haul flight like San Jose - LA, I'm likely to need to plug in my computer while I'm waiting at the airport. I can bring many hours worth of data with me, but only an hour or two of electricity, and while it's sometimes convenient to use Google Maps at the airport instead of before leaving, I'd much rather have an airport that had decent electric sockets instead of being one of the couple of people sitting on the floor near the vacuum cleaner socket. San Jose finally installed lots of power strips near most of the seating - yay!
Of course, bathrooms and coffee are usually the higher priorities.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
As someone who flies at least twice a week (with more than 45 trips already this year), I have a slightly different view.
I've dietary restrictions (I'm a vegetarian and I'm allergic to eggs), but I still find a lot of good airport food. It's really not all that bad as people make it out to be. You just need to look in the right places, and there are plenty of good options. Similarly, water and restrooms are also taken for granted.
Also, most frequently flier business travelers that I know have EVDO cards installed, so they don't necessarily care about WiFi. If anything, a lot of companies explicitly prohibit using public/free wifi for work out of valid, security concerns.
So, my biggest need that most airports lack is power sources. Places where I can plug in my laptops, my blackberry or my bluetooth headset and charge it. If anything, most international airports are really good about this -- it is only US airports where I find this severely lacking.
I don't remember having any trouble finding bathrooms at CdG - and since I do remember finding the pub there, and having several hours of waiting on some trips, I probably did need to find one. Was the problem on the international side of the customs inspectors?
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
I haven't had any problem doing that in a while, though maybe that's because empty bottles aren't very visible on xrays. It's of course guaranteed that if the TSA thugs want to confiscate it, they'll claim that it's *always* been the rule, everywhere in the country, but usually you can bring them.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
There was somebody who got busted because they thought his homemade chocolate was hashish. I read it on the internet somewhere a year or two ago, so I don't remember if it was an airport or somewhere else, but they arrested the guy and harassed him for a while before finally deciding it was actually chocolate.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Both the linked articles say "30 percentage points" which is significantly more than 30 percent.
47% say WiFi most important.
17% (47-30) say basic travel needs such as food is most important.
47 * 100 / 17 = 276.5%
So it is outscoring basic travel needs by 276.5% or 30 percentage points.
An airline conducted a study by emailing a tiny subset of their frequent fliers and inviting them to get online to take a survey...
The results showed that of those users who got online and took the survey a clear majority thought that being able to get online was very important.
Oh, and incidentally, AA has upgraded their infrastructure and while it's almost too trivial to mention, WiFi is being deployed at their hubs, in-flight Internet is being trialled on their international flights and power-jacks for laptops are available in business-class and first-class... but those people who authorized those projects don't need to justify it with some bogus study.
Really. This is hard science.
Really.
(^_^)
If they would just put us in stasis pods we wouldn't need food, restrooms, extra leg room or wifi.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
I fly a lot more than most people out there, even more than most biz travelers, and the instant I got a EVDO modem I stopped caring about WiFi on the road.
"Stealing is taking something away from you that's exclusive (you and I can't both have it) without your consent. It's not a synonym for "conduct I dislike" or "conduct I find unethical".
How about accessing and then downloading copies of high security US military data? I am sure some gentlemen from the CIA might dispute your argument that this is not stealing on the grounds that they still have access to the original copies of their data.
You and I could both have copies of how to make a nuclear bomb, for example, from your original data. You could still make a nuclear bomb, but I can now also make a nuclear bomb.
Though I have to say a more basic philosophical discussion could be started here... :-)
*freaking* Power Supplies!!
It's amazing how many recently built terminals lack power supplies near the gates.
I am now typing text in this box because Slashdot can't handle a one-line response in the title.
This result is actually not surprising. Note that "air" doesn't even make the list.
Food is available in virtually every terminal of nearly all airports. It's no big deal because you always have it.
By contrast many Airports do not have WiFi and of those that do, many attempt to charge for the service.
So when you open your Laptop in Fort Lauderdale and see skype connected right away, it feels like a big deal. I don't know about other people but since this year I have chosen 2 flights that stop in FLL over comparable flights which stop in MIA, because of the Internet access.
Granted on one of those flights the price of the ticket was far lower but on the other I actually payed $5 more and spent 90 minutes extra in the airport.
As any Slashdoter can attest a 5 hour wait with internet is a lot shorter than a 3 1/2 hour wait without it.
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
Microsoft has a very detailed white paper on the subject, and there are numerous reviews of the application on sites all over the web. I think, you will find it interesting.
Don't they have aircards? I am not a business traveller, but when I DID travel, I found wifi not important at all -- it was slower than my air card anyway. What kind of cheap businesses expect people to be online at the airport but don't provide a means to do it?
I would therefore rate food WELL above wi-fi for airport amenities. More power outlets would be great though. And nicer chairs.
Is that about free wifi or pay-to-use wifi?
Pay-to-use wifi is useless, I'm never gonna pay for that.
Wait, did this guy just do what I think he did? He is adding hardware MAC collisions on _top_ of all the WiFi channel overlap? Yikes!
Imagine for a moment that airports suddenly removed all of the bathrooms. Where do you think Wifi would rank on the next survey?
As long as security keep providing plastic bags and confiscating any liquids a lack of bathrooms would not be too much of a problem.
Their utility at that moment is for a preference of WiFi, however that doesn't mean they wouldn't have another preference in another situation.
This is my footer. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
... because they either tether to their blackberry or they are packing a mobile card for their laptop. I travel 50%+ of the time and I can't remember the last time I bothered to notice whether there was wifi -- paid or free -- because I have a mobile card with me and thus have connectivity almost everywhere I go... I once did a demonstration to a team in Hong Kong using my mobile card while I was a passenger in a vehicle traveling westbound on I-80. Bottom line is, you can't expect the wifi to be where you want to be, you have to take measures on for yourself if you need constant mobile connectivity.
What kind of airports do you fly out of?
Most 'airport food' that I've had is on par with Mall food and frequently, there's a midline restaurant or too. Perhaps 25% more expensive than Mall fare - not cheap but you can usually get a sub sandwich for around 8 dollars or so.
Add a beer for 2 dollars and I'm happy.
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
I'd rather have free wi-fi at the airport than get food poisoning (again) while stuck in a layover for ten hours.
Nobody with brains would pay the ridiculous prices for airport "food" which usually sucks anyway. Anyone with an ounce of sense would bring their own food.
Whenever I get stuck on layover between flights, I always find myself wandering around some crowded seating area at some gate trying to find some way of setting up a laptop comfortably and plugging it into a power supply. I am not alone, you usually find others who have sneaked a cord behind the check in desk, or similar, so they can stay online for a couple of hours.
Given the lousy flight overbooking policies of airlines and the fewer and much more crowded flights, on smaller planes, the likelihood of getting stuck in some area near a gate for 3 hours, perhaps more than once on a trip, is quite high; especially as no one sane is going to leave the security zone after passing through our TSA's overlords latest Guilty until Proven Innocent Security Theatre and random traveller abuse process...
IMHO airport designers are ignoring a clear and obvious opportunity. Simply provide seating with basic power supply and a basic foldout that can hold a laptop securely. Make a simple and free WIFI connection setup available, not some intermittent, weird signup / login process that gives my info to some bizarre company I will never use again and don't trust. I gave up on expecting wifi service long ago, I now use a broadband card for that exact reason.
Business travellers, most with laptops are the target market for airlines and airports, so why is providing such a basic and obvious service so hard for the airports to understand? My conclusion is that it's not hard to see the need, they just don't care. Their goal is not to provide any actual services or facilities, because their few remaining customers are considered to be TSA captive targets to be overcharged for food and other abuse, as much as possible.
For me, the bottom line is that the public needs move away from our ridiculous dependence on airports and airlines, which is why I support building a high speed rail network to directly compete with the continuously worsening service the airline industry provides. Let's have an alternative system of transport... then the free market will deal with the airports...
There is no god; get over it already! Never exchange a walk on part in the war, for a lead role in a cage.
"47% of business travelers responded that Wi-Fi was the most important airport amenity, outscoring basic travels needs such as food by nearly 30 percent"
I would argue that the restroom is, and will remain, the second most important amenity for the foreseeable future, particularly since beer is the first.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
I do not know if this point has been covered in TFA (which I did not R, in case anyone cares to ask) or in other posts here (did not go all the way into troll and flamebait territory but I did read a lot of posts and found nothing on it): Exactly how important a part of the air travelers' universe is made up of people who: a) Travel with a laptop in tow, and b) Feel the need to whip it out at every waiting lounge? Speaking for myself, I have never bought a laptop for personal use, although I have one belonging to the company I work for which I carry around on work-related trips. I have never bothered to open it up in an airport because I don't want to go down as the idiot who inadvertently smuggled a virus into the company intranet because he couldn't wait a couple of hours to check his e-mail. The bottom line is, does anyone know what percentage of air travelers would really give a damn whether this or that airport has wi-fi, on account of actually having a laptop to connect to it? And no, I do not consider this so-called survey a reliable source because it was done by people who were interested in a specific outcome.
It is news to me that airport food is bad.
Having travelled to around 20 countries, perhaps close to 60 different airports, in the last 10 years I think I would know about it.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
And IP address space.
The company pays a certain amount for the links they use and they may be charged also by the amount of data they allow to pass through their networks.
If you think the suggested method is not immoral or unethical, then please post your full name so we know the kind of professional you are, just in case.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
I have eaten in many airports, and there is food for all budgets (hint: good food is not cheap normally).
IANAL but write like a drunk one.