Denver’s airport Wi-Fi is now free!
I haven’t flown much this last year and a half, but the thing that always annoyed me about the Denver airport was the lack of free Internet access — Inside the Red Carpet Club, or outside in the main terminal areas.
I was a United 1K and Red Carpet Club member until the beginning of this year — I travelled domestically and internationally a ton, so I spent a bunch of time in the DEN Red Carpet Club and in the terminals.
Nothing annoyed me more than being in a lounge I was paying for already, and being asked for my credit card so I could check my email and do other assorted things — especially while the other Star Alliance partners and other large international Airlines rarely charge for Wi-Fi access in their lounges.
Denver International Airport officially announced that they were no longer charging for their Internet access, and have experienced a 10x increase in users since it went free. Travel is now just a little less painful for all of us in Colorado who fly with a computer, iPhone or LocationFree TV.
I seem to remember the Daily Camera article (I am locked out of the Daily Camera website and need an account now?) quoting a DEN spokesperson saying that they went free because it would allow the airport to better serve their customers and they wanted to be a leading-edge airport.
Maybe this statistic expressing a 10x growth in users will assist United and other US carriers find a more helpful approach to providing Internet access to their lounge membership. Maybe this news will assist other airports in freeing the Wi-Fi hostages in airport lounges. Only time will tell.