I'm proud to write that my hometown San Diego airport has "seen the light" and FINALLY made wireless internet access available (several months ago) in all terminals - Commuter, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Even more impressive, the powers that be have decided to provide the WiFi access FREE...GRATIS...COMPED...PRO BONO (pick your adjective)!!! Such gratuity is allowing me to write this blog as I await a flight to Omaha.

Offering free WiFi in airports should be common practice by now, but sadly, if WiFi access is offered (and it's still not in many airports -e.g., Washington Regan National) a $ fee will apply.

I was on a recent flight to Europe with a layover in Chicago. The flight became delayed a few hours (no big surprise there) and to browse the web I had to sign up for an account with their private service provider and pay $7 for an hour of use-that's tarmac robbery! Other major airports beside O'Hare also pinch pennies for WiFi access (e.g., Atlanta-$8; Baltimore-$8; Denver-$8; New York-$8). Even in the internet friendly Bay Area, where accessing the internet is as common as taking a breath and where there is talk to have free WiFi throughout the city of San Francisco, travelers must pony up $8 to Yahoo!!

In addition to San Diego, these other major city airports deserve a pat on the back for their WiFi-friendly airports (i.e., free):

Charlotte, NC
Jacksonville, FL
Kansas City, MO
Las Vegas, NV
New Orleans, LA
Orlando, FL
Pittsburgh, PA
Portland, OR
Phoenix, AZ
Sacramento, CA
Tucson, AZ
Tampa, FL

Slim pickens, eh? For a more detailed list of airport WiFi options, fees, etc., click HERE.

Way to go San Diego, now if we could just do something about the airport food...