Passengers are expecting to find more thancheap airplane tickets, cheap vacation packages and discount hotel rooms when they travel these days. Twelve of the 20 largest U.S. airports, responsible for almost 60 percent of domestic travel, charge for wireless Internet access.
Airports that offer free Wi-Fi service include Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoenix, and Seattle. Boston and Seattle just started offering free Internet service earlier this year.
Other airports have been hesitant to offer Internet access for free because of the costs involved in owning and operating the necessary equipment as well as handling customer service. Also by offering this service for free, they not only have to pay these costs, they also have to give up revenue previously earned by charging for Wi-Fi.
Free Wi-Fi airports accept ads to help offset the cost of this service, but most are not making any profit. Instead of this being a profit motivated decision, these airports see this as an important airport amenity that may impact certain travelers decisions as to which airport to use.
Some airports argue that they can provide greater Wi-Fi network capacity so long as it is a charged service. Denver International is the biggest U.S. airport offering free Wi-Fi and has received numerous complaints concerning user experiences.
The Houston Bush Intercontinental is trying a hybrid approach. It offers fee Wi-Fi for the users first 45 minutes after they have viewed a 30 second commercial or allows them to pay to skip ads and be able to stay connected to the Internet for a longer period of time.