The Gate Escape, a full-service cyberport and office productivity center, is now open in Terminal 8 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) providing business and entertainment services in high demand by air travellers.
Computers in The Gate Escape are connected to a high-speed T1 Internet server allowing Internet connection speeds that are four times faster than Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL). Similar in operation to Internet cafes, The Gate Escape is unique among cyberports in its offering of an entertainment package to augment business services.
The Gate Escape in Terminal 8 features full concierge service and 29 cyberports in semi-private cubicles that allow customers to utilise flat-screen monitors. Customers can access the Internet and e-mail, view free traveller information and real-time video, watch more than 100 channels via DirectTV satellite service, or simply type and print a document - all at a cost of $5 for the first 15 minutes with discounts given to groups and students.
Customers can select the amount of time they would like to spend, and a “color bar” on their computer alerts them when their time is almost up. Other business-related services offered at The Gate Escape include the ability to send and receive faxes, ship overnight documents, make photocopies, or buy last-minute office supplies at the concierge desk. More that 50% of the 67 million passengers are using LAX for business purposes.
Two additional Gate Escape cyberports, one at Terminal 7 and the other at Tom Bradley International Terminal, are currently under construction and will be open by the end of this year. Two more centres at Terminals 3 and 4 are scheduled to open in 2002.
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