PNS envy
Pensacola Regional Airport has free wireless Internet service. In fact, 122 out of 218 U. S. airports offer free wi-fi to travelers.
Tulsa doesn't. Although the Tulsa Airport Authority provides its own wireless service to passengers (as opposed to working with a national provider like Boingo or T-Mobile), it charges $5.95 per hour, $9.95 for the whole day. Because it's their own service, they wouldn't need a provider's cooperation to drop the charge.
What many hotels, restaurants, and airports have discovered is that if you already have a high-speed Internet connection in place for business reasons (typically there's one for handling strongly-encrypted credit card transactions), it doesn't cost much more to add a few wireless routers and open it up for other users.
There's a practical advantage: Free wi-fi allows business travelers to stay productive during delays, which makes for less tension on the concourse when a flight is rescheduled or cancelled. It also makes it possible for travelers to investigate alternate flights, so that everyone doesn't have to wait in line to get booked onto a new flight.
Mostly, though, free wi-fi would be a way to extend hospitality. It would be a way to leave a positive final impression on visitors to our city.
No, Oklahoma City doesn't have it yet, but we don't need to wait for them to go first, do we?
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Michael Bates argues that the Tulsa Airport Authority should drop its $9.95-a-day fee for wireless Internet at Tulsa International, and there are good reasons to do so: There's a practical advantage: Free wi-fi allows business travelers to stay product... Read More
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You are right, we shouldnt wait on them, we should leapfrog them and give away free laptops to every passenger!
Michael, just another example of what I've coined as:
THE TULSA PREMIUM.
Gasoline is HIGHER here than in Dallas, Muskogee, or Oklahoma City.
More of: THE TULSA PREMIUM.
Ironically, both SFO and San Jose, in the heart of techie land, still make you pay for wireless. It's a shame.
I think airport management sees that as a way to make a few quick bucks, and no one's likely to complain about it.
Maybe Bob is right. WiFi at Will Rogers costs only $7.95 a day. (If your provider has an access agreement with Concourse, which runs the Will Rogers WiFi, you'll pay only your regular roaming charges.)
Regular unleaded was $1.97 most places in Midwest City on Thursday, the last time I paid any attention to gas prices.
Can we really expect anyone in Oklahoma to pass up the opportunity to charge someone a toll?