I’ve always traveled a lot. Recently, the travel friction that I experience in airports around the country has felt like it’s at an all time high. Lines are long, people are angry and impatient, flights are delayed or overbooked, and there’s never a power outlet anywhere to plug my laptop into.
Yesterday was a miserable travel day as I made my way from Washington DC to East Lansing, MI via Chicago. An hour in the security line at Dulles plus 15 minutes in a people mover guaranteed that I missed my flight, resulting in a reshuffling of the entire afternoon of meetings in Chicago. I eventually ended up at a Marriott Hotel in East Lansing late last night.
I’m heading home today (yippee) and got to the Lansing Capital City Airport 90 minutes early. It’s empty, clean, calm, and relaxed. I had a nice meal at the restaurant upstairs and went wandering around looking for a power outlet. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I found a real business center outside of Gate 6 (there are only 9 gates at this airport – kind of like the number of highways in Alaska.)
I’m sitting alone in a 2,000 square foot room that’s equipped with pretty much everything you’d ever want – comfy furniture, copying machine, fax machine, printer, lots of internet connections, plenty of telephones, and power outlets everywhere. After marveling at this for a few minutes, I’ve almost forgotten that I’m actually in an airport. Oh – and it’s quiet and free. This definitely tops any Red Carpet Club I’ve been at in the past year.