Laptops at the Airport
Wireless Connections, Phone Etiquette and Getting Work Done
Most airports these days have free WIFI for your laptop, great cell phone connections and big chairs with tarmac views. The business traveler can get a lot of work done!
Used to be, I'd dread airport wait time. I'd cut my flights pretty darned close, before 9/11 and tightened airport security meant I had to actually be at the airport, at least an hour early. Then there are delayed flights, missed connections, and other unforseen events that cause hours-long layovers in airport terminals.
No longer do I consider airport downtime such a waste. Why? WIFI, mostly. But airports are actually great places to get a of of work done.
Most airports have free WIFI, and really great cell phone connections. I can sit in a decently comfortable chair, look at on interesting views of planes, runways and luggage handling people, and chill out - me and the laptop, in my own little bubble of privacy.
I can open my laptop, get a mostly solid, free WIFI connection, and talk on the phone all I want. It's not like a library or coffeeshop, where it's disrespectful to be loudly, obviously doing business. Airports are often chaotic places and no one minds if I yack away on my cell for hours.
Even if I'm trapped behind the "Gate Line", there's ready access to food and drink - even a midday business martini, if I wanted. Or a latte. It's pretty comfortable.
I hear there are other things to see, like artwork and museum exhibits, tucked into odd airport nooks.
The hardest part is deciding how to manage trips to the restroom. If you are alone, there is actually only one option - you have to pack up your laptop and luggage, and take everything with you. You can't just leave your stuff. Not only would that be an invitation to thieves, but for security reasons 'abandoned' luggage ends up confiscated. You are not supposed to ask strangers in airports to watch your personal effects, either - again, for security reasons. So don't spread your stuff out too much. Be portable.
If you really have to establish a tactical business headquarters on your layover, many airports have business centers you can rent by the hour - or the minute - with all the comforts of a real mortar and brick office.
That's really more than I need. I am pretty self-contained with my laptop, phone and MP3 player. Having free WIFI at the airports is a great feature for frequent flyers. Since I am stuck there anyway, with no one else and nothing really to distract me, I get a surprising amount of work done.
According to a poll I ran on this site, many of you feel the same way.
Related, on Suite101:
- Coffeeshop WIFI Laptop Etiquette
- Flying With Baby
- MP3 Player Basics
- Best Hotel Business Amenities
- Business Travel Forum
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