D/FW to Survey Passengers on Recharging Needs

When Robert Justice arrives at his gate for a flight, he automatically scans for any available outlets under chairs or along the walls.

"I've even moved furniture and displays to be able to plug in," said Mr. Justice, who travels 42 weeks a year for his job as a systems engineer.

Keeping electronic gadgetry juiced up is a growing frustration for business travelers, who are carrying more devices and waiting longer in airports, in part because of added security.

Replenishing computer and cellphone batteries between flights often entails sitting on the airport floor. Some travelers inadvertently create tripwires as their power cords stretch between power outlets and their seats.

For Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, that frustration may prove to be an opportunity.

With help from a group of graduate business students at Texas Christian University, D/FW is studying whether adding amenities such as power outlets could attract more connecting passengers.

Connecting passengers are crucial for D/FW, accounting for about two-thirds of the airport's 60 million passengers each year.

Through their spending on concessions and services, those travelers benefit the airport. As D/FW handles more connecting passengers, it's able to add flights, offering better travel choices for local fliers.

The group from TCU will spend several months conducting surveys of D/FW passengers, comparing services at other airports, creating benchmarks and developing a strategy that makes the most of the airport's investments and sales opportunities.

Making the circuit

D/FW isn't alone in its efforts to add more technology-friendly amenities to its gate areas.

Southwest Airlines Co. recently installed two prototypes of powered charging stations near gates 12 and 14 at Dallas Love Field. The Dallas-based discounter is considering installing the stations at other airports.

Across the U.S., airports are replacing banks of pay phones with workstations, adding power outlets to tables in food courts and installing "power poles" in seating areas.

Almost 70 percent of passengers carry some kind of electronic device with them when they fly, according to a recent survey commissioned by D/FW.

"If you walk in our terminals, you'll see people on the floor or by the trash bins plugging in," said Ken Buchanan, the airport's executive vice president of revenue management.

Part of the problem is that fitting gate areas with additional wall outlets is expensive.

During the last few weeks, D/FW has been testing "Pump Up Your Portables" stations in each of its five terminals, kiosks that allow travelers to buy access to power at their seats in 30-minute increments.

Kiosk developer AdComp Systems Inc. of Carrollton runs power to several seats in an area, then pays the airport a percentage of its sales as an airport concessionaire. D/FW is the first airport to install the machines. The company said it has received inquiries from several other airports.

D/FW has installed massage chairs that include power outlets in Terminal C and expects to add them in the other four terminals.

Neptune Networks e-mail kiosks, which debuted at D/FW in 2003, will also add locations later this year.

D/FW plans to add PowerPort kiosks that allow travelers to lock up their electronics to recharge while they grab a bite.

The airport is also working to modify a Samsung kiosk near Gate 27 in Terminal C to create eight additional powered workstations.

Other modifications include opening the all-airline lounge in Terminal D to the public. The club, near Gate 21, sells day passes for a $35 fee and annual memberships for $50.

D/FW created eight public business centers in 2005, adjoining Starbucks shops and using space created when the airport built its Skylink train. The refuges offer plush leather seating, semi-private workspaces and a lounge-like atmosphere.

Since 2000, the airport has offered a Laptop Lane location, a pay-for-use mini-business center in Terminal C. Laptop Lane also has locations in other airports around the country.

Some business travel experts say D/FW's efforts may be on the right track.

Knowing that an airport is easy to work in is an important factor in deciding where to connect or how early to arrive for a flight, said Carol Devine, who oversees travel procurement for Fort Worth-based Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. and is the past president and chairwoman of the National Business Travel Association.

'Buying decision'

"It is part of my buying decision," Ms. Devine said, adding that access to power was one of the key reasons she maintains her membership in American Airlines' Admirals Club.

The ability to get work done at the airport has been a chief focus for American, as the Fort Worth-based airline upgrades and builds new lounges. American is set to open its newest club at Tokyo's Narita International Airport later this month and has said it will be a technology flagship for the carrier.

The Admirals Club at Terminal D includes power outlets on all tables and beneath bench seating. The carrier also offers power ports at each seat in its premium-class cabins, throughout its MD-80 aircraft and on its two-class 767-300 aircraft.

All the attention to power outlets can't come soon enough for Mr. Justice, an executive platinum flier on American who books his seat assignments so that he's close to a power port.

More often, he relies on his arsenal of batteries to avoid being caught without power.

"I probably spend $200 to $400 a year on batteries," Mr. Justice said.

That includes two batteries for his cellphone, two for his notebook computer, an external battery for his iPod and a handful of AAA batteries in case either his pager or MP3 player needs extra juice.

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