Airport Check-in
Roger Yu, USA TODAY, 7/20/2009 and 7/27/2009 (excerpted)
ATLANTA: Free Wi-Fi on the way
Atlanta Hartsfield plans to introduce free wireless Internet access next year, but will keep fee-based Wi-Fi for those who prefer it. The airport has approved extending agreements with three Wi-Fi providers that offer fee-based service. But more travelers now expect free Wi-Fi in public places, so the airport will offer an option subsidized by advertising.
PARIS: de Gaulle worst for sleeping
Paris' Charles de Gaulle is the worst airport to sleep in, while Singapore's Changi is the best, according to a survey of more than 6,000 travelers by travel website Sleepinginairports.net. It looked at seating, cleanliness and general comfort.
Sheremetyevo in Moscow, New York John F. Kennedy, Los Angeles and India's Delhi airport rounded out the five worst airports.
Following Changi as the best, in order, are Incheon in South Korea, Amsterdam Schiphol, Oslo Gardermoen and Hong Kong.
INDIANAPOLIS: Second look at parking rates
Because of difficult economic conditions, Indianapolis International is considering rescinding an earlier parking-rate cut. The airport had lowered the daily rate to $16 from $22 when it opened its new terminal last year, but its parking revenue projection is falling short this year. The airport estimated about $17 million of parking revenue through May but is about $2 million behind.
SEATTLE: Light rail opens
Seattle's Sound Transit opened its new light-rail line this month, Central Link, which almost connects travelers from downtown Seattle to Seattle-Tacoma International. The line runs to Tukwila, a suburb about 3 miles north of the airport. Free shuttle service from the Tukwila station to Sea-Tac will run until the planned inside-the-airport station opens later this year.
NEW YORK: Airport in Central Park?
Manhattanites who hate long taxi rides to New York JFK, LaGuardia or Newark were intrigued last week by Internet reports detailing plans to build an airport in Central Park. Contrary to dispatches from some overeager bloggers and news websites, including The Huffington Post, the proposal to convert the park into an airport was an elaborate hoax. A "press release" by a group calling itself the Manhattan Airport Foundation issued a call to "transform this underutilized asset into something we so desperately need today."