If an airport’s airline connections are critical, so are its Wi-Fi, power charging and USB capabilities. Whether they travel for leisure or to make a living, people increasingly depend on smart phones, laptops, and assorted powered paraphernalia to keep entertained and in touch.
No news there.
We all know some airports do it far, far better than others. What is news is that someone’s decided to lay out the best—and worst—tech airports in the land. In its detailed, chapter-and-verse look at which aerodromes measure up, and which lag behind, PCWorld pulls no punches.
In its story “The 20 Best Airports for Tech Travelers,” PCWorld sent researchers to this country’s 40 busiest airports. They surveyed some 3,300 gates coast to coast, counting USB ports, electrical outlets, and testing the strength of Wi-Fi and cellular broadband service. Some airports fared famously. Others fell flat.
In order, here are PCWorld’s Top 20 airports:
- Dallas/Fort Worth
- New York Kennedy
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
- Detroit Metro
- Sacramento International
- Oakland International
- New York LaGuardia
- Salt Lake City
- Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International
- San Francisco International
- Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International
- Raleigh/Durham International
- Nashville International
- Minneapolis/St. Paul International
- Chicago Midway
- Cleveland Hopkins International
- Los Angeles International
- Seattle/Tacoma International
- Kansas City International
- Portland (Ore.) International
What’s notable are the airports that didn’t fare so well. PCWorld says Denver International, Washington Dulles International, and (surprisingly) Boston Logan International “were found to offer meager amenities per gate, and slow wireless service.”
All this matters. Because PCWorld contends, “For the first time, the tech amenities offered by airports, terminals and airlines are influencing the ticket-buying choices of thee flying public.” No longer peripheral, these considerations are central.
So, in terms of your experience, what are the country’s best—and worst—places to log on and kick back?
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: Charleston’s TheDigitel)
