Free Ride

While travel expenses continue to soar, there are some things in a business traveler's life that are still free--namely USAir Shuttle business centers.

Located in the USAir Shuttle terminals at La Guardia International Airport outside New York City, Boston's Logan Airport and Washington National Airport, the business centers offer nearly all the amenities of an office at no cost (or at least very little).

By partnering with technology firms, USAir can provide business travelers with the latest office technology. All three business centers contain workstations with power and phone ports for laptop computers. Some also boast computers, printers, fax machines (with free long-distance faxing), and copy machines. For business travelers with Internet accounts, e-mail service is also available through most Internet carriers.

Do these business centers replace the need to join airline clubs? While skeptics say the centers lack what business travelers want most--meeting space--they still offer a place to sit back, relax and get some work done.

This article was originally published in the March 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Free Ride.