Bob Hope Airport installs electronics charging stations
Bringing a long sought-after amenity to passengers, Bob Hope Airport now has nine electrical charging stations where cellphones, computers and iPads can be plugged in at no cost to passengers.
The stations in the Terminal A gate areas were custom-designed for the airport and were built into metal strips along the backs of selected chairs, according to airfield officials. Each chair charging station has 12 USB ports and 12 plug-in electrical outlets, for a total of 192 power sources.
A station featuring a countertop, seating and 40 USB ports and outlets was installed in Terminal B.
While awaiting a flight back to her home in New York, Julie Urig was charging an iPhone and said she was relieved she actually got to do so while sitting in a chair.
“I usually find a wall outlet and sit on the floor somewhere and plug my phone in,” she said. “It wasn’t very convenient.”
A frequent flyer, it was Lori Walt’s first time encountering and using a charging station for her laptop at Bob Hope Airport while waiting to board a Friday flight to Phoenix.
She travels by air about every other week because of her job at Aramark Corp. and was glad she got a chance to plug in her laptop during a one-hour flight delay.
“I was scouring for (outlets) and I saw this and I was so excited,” Walt said.
The extra outlets and USB slots were the amenity most demanded by airport patrons over the years, and Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority voted to have them installed last November, said Victor Gill, airport spokesman.
Alliance Airport Advertising, the firm responsible for designing and selling advertising at the airport, paid $95,000 for the new charging stations as part of its renewed contract with the authority, Gill said.
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Follow Arin Mikailian on Twitter: @ArinMikailian.
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