By Expedia Guest Author, on August 24, 2002

Expedia.com Don’t Just Sit or Stand Around! With More Time Being Spent at the Airport, Expedia.com Helps Travelers Find Things to Do

Bellevue, Wash. – August 23, 2002 – With airline schedule cutbacks causing longer connection times and continued security screenings, travelers may be resigning themselves to sitting around even more – especially with the busy Labor Day travel weekend approaching.
“On the contrary,” says Harriet Baskas, Expedia® airport guides expert and author of Stuck at the Airport (Simon & Schuster, 2001). “There’s never been more to do to be entertained, nourished and even productive at airports.”

Whether travelers are looking to stay connected electronically, get healthy food, entertain their kids or even work out, Expedia.com®’s airport information guides offer a variety of recommendations on what to do at the primary airports around the world. (http://www.expedia.com/daily/airports/)

In particular, Harriet’s top five activities before security screening include:

Shop – airports in Orlando, Minneapolis and Washington D.C. (Reagan National) offer big, mall-like shopping areas.
Relax: BWI’s upper level Observation Deck has great views and interactive aviation exhibits.
Eat: SFO’s international terminal sports branches of restaurants loved by locals.
Play golf: Palm Beach International Airport has a 9-hole putting green in the terminal.
Win some money: many of Las Vegas International Airport’s 1,200 slot machines are located in areas travelers have access to before security screenings.
And should you get through security screening or have extra time during a connection, here are Harriett’s favorite activities on the other side of the X-ray machine:

Relax: Chair massage services are offered at BWI, Denver, Newark, Seattle and other airports.
Shop: The AirMall at Pittsburgh International Airport keeps growing. Plus there’s no tax on clothes.
Hear great music: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has weekly concerts featuring top-notch local musicians.
Enjoy fabulous artwork: there’s great artwork sprinkled throughout the terminals at Miami, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle and many other airports.
Play: Airports with fun, safe play areas for kids include Chicago’s O’Hare airport and Nashville International Airport.
For those business travelers with wireless-enabled laptops who want to take the time to stay productive, a number of airports are rolling out or testing wireless networks. Laptop users will find wireless networks in Austin, Seattle, San Jose, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Jose, Minneapolis, Tokyo, and in an increasing number of airports worldwide.

And for those travelers who want to nourish their email and their stomachs, they can take advantage of the Expedia.com® Café in San Jose, CA or the Travel Right Café in Los Angeles – both of which provide power and phone connections at no charge for laptops as well as local food favorites and a broad array of drinks.

Expedia.com’s airport information guides are part of its ongoing focus on helping consumers enjoy their whole trip – including providing information and service during and after trips.

About Expedia, Inc.

Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE) is the world’s leading online travel service and the eighth largest travel agency in the United States. To meet the needs of travelers around the globe, it operates Expedia.com in the United States and localized versions throughout Europe and Canada. Expedia.com helps travelers travel right with a wide variety of travel products and services, such as Expedia® Special Rate hotels and vacation rentals with the guaranteed lowest prices. Expedia’s quality and leadership have been recognized in awards such as PC Magazine’s “Readers’ Choice” and “Editors’ Choice” Awards, Forbes’ “Favorite General Travel Site,” and Yahoo! Internet Life’s “Best Overall Travel Site.” Expedia is a majority-owned subsidiary of USA Interactive (Nasdaq: USAI).

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