It’s a good time to be an airport Wi-Fi advertiser. According to a study just released by JiWire, the folks behind a lot of airport Wi-Fi, most people that use airport W-iFi are loaded and spend a good amount of time online while waiting for their flight. This means, of course, that Mr. Money Bags has plenty of time to click on the flashing banner ads that airport Wi-Fi generally sports. But check out these stats, I’m in the wrong game. I should be selling airport Wi-Fi ads.
Seventy-two percent of the airport audience is business travelers with highly desirable demographics:
• Fifty percent travel at least once a month.
• Over half hold an executive or management position.
• Over half have annual household incomes of over $100,000.
• Seventy-five percent of all airport Wi-Fi customers plan to make a big-ticket purchase in the next 12 months.
Sure, it’s all good for advertisers and access providers, but airport Wi-Fi is about the worst access you can get. It’s generally slow and burdened-down by tons of ads. Even if it’s free, I generally won’t use it unless it’s an absolute emergency. If a user agreement page loads, I close my notebook and grab a magazine.