Googling At The Airport

[Buff-horns]

Google Offering Offline Services

Techtree News Staff

Nov 25, 2005

Google commissioned a research on the amount of dead time spent by passengers at airports, which was conducted by market research firm, Tickbox.net, sampling 1,826 UK consumers. What came up were some very interesting findings...

An average airline passenger spends over 9 hours a year waiting for flights; in effect losing over a day of annual holiday allowance per year, which means almost 3 weeks of average work-life gone... just like that!

Nearly a half of the British passengers surveyed, said that they could do no better than eat, drink and shop at the airport. However, 71 per cent of the respondents said that they would prefer to utilize airport time to find out more about their destination.

From the things people wanted to know regarding their destination; maps, weather forecasts, avoidable tourist traps, guides to famous sites and landmarks, and information on traveling to the city centre figured among the top five. A quarter of the sample subjects said, that they would love to send-off last minute emails, while a further 20 percent said, that they would want to pay-off their household bills online.

On the basis of the survey, Google launched "Google Space" at London's Heathrow Terminal One yesterday.

"Google Space" is a laboratory with Google pods, which travelers can access free-of-cost, log onto the Internet, check their mail, and find out more about their destination using Google tools.

"Google Space" is scheduled to run at Heathrow's Terminal One till 17 December. Google staff will be available at "Google Space" for advice and assistance to passengers.