Beginning today, Google is providing the gift of the Internet to millions of travelers during the holiday season.
From Nov. 16 to Jan. 15, 2010, Google will provide free wireless Internet to travelers at 47 airports, including University Park Airport, which was chosen to be a part of the "Holiday WiFi" promotion.
The promotion was made with business travelers and people returning home for the holidays in mind, Google spokesman Andrew Pederson said, but the student population receives a "happy fringe benefit."
"I think students will really appreciate this holiday gift," Erica Lorin (junior-public relations) said. Lorin will be traveling from State College to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving break. "It will be helpful for last-minute e-mail checks at the airport."
University Park Airport, which received 133,777 passengers during 2008, has been advertising its partnership with Google in its terminals. Before the promotion, the airport offered Internet for a fee through its usual provider, Boingo Wireless.
The University Park Airport hosts United Airlines, Delta/Northwest Airlines, US Airways and private flights, reaching Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Detroit.
Representatives of the Centre County Airport Authority were unavailable for comment by press time Sunday.
Pederson said the goal of the promotion is to give travelers something to pass the time while waiting for connections or flights.
Travelers have an average of 73 minutes of "dwell time" waiting for their planes, Pederson said. He said Google believes access to the Internet could change the nature of that time for passengers.
"We know that this is a very hectic travel season for people, and we hope that free WiFi will make both traveling and connecting with friends and family a little bit easier," Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search products and user experience, said in a press release.
The time frame of mid-November to mid-January was picked because it is when more than a fourth of all annual flights take place, Pederson said.
Virgin America has paired up with Google for the promotion and will be offering free WiFi on all of its flights. The airline has also begun offering a photo contest promotion as part of the campaign.
