NEWS
Aviation

119-98: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE , September 1, 1998

INTERNET TERMINALS ARRIVE AT PORT AUTHORITY AIRPORTS--Your Office or Home is Only an E-Mail Away


Killing a little time before boarding your plane at JFK, LaGuardia or Newark airport? The Port Authority has begun installing Internet access terminals so you can log-on and check or send e-mail, find a restaurant at your destination, make a last-minute hotel reservation or do some on-line shopping.

The first five Internet terminals are at LaGuardia Airport. Over the next two months, additional terminals will land at LaGuardia , as well as at Newark and John F. Kennedy International airports. When the program is completed, more than 100 Internet access terminals will serve travelers at locations throughout all three airports.

All terminals will offer some free services, chiefly a quick connection to the Port Authority’s home page, available at www.panynj.gov. There, travelers will find information ranging from terminal layout, to terminal-to-terminal connections, to where to find a dentist at JFK.

For other information, customers can use a credit card, and access the Internet for ten minutes for up to about $3. The installation program will be complete by mid-1999.

“Our customers tell us that communication is extremely important. They need to be in touch, no matter where they are,” said Executive Director Robert E. Boyle. “So, we are we putting our customers just a few keystrokes away from e-mail and the other Internet resources they have come to depend on.

“The convenience of Internet access is just one part of our drive to deliver world-class customer services at the airports. Travelers are already getting information and entertainment via CNN Airport Network screens being installed at many terminals.”

Mr. Boyle said the Port Authority selected three companies to install the Internet access terminals. They are ATCOM of San Diego, CA.; 3C Communications of Luxembourg, affiliated with get2net of New York City; and Internet Free for All of Montvale, N.J. Port Authority staffers examined 16 proposals submitted, and selected the three firms whose proposals combined the best service for the customer with a demonstrated track record of high performance.

Individual airlines will now select a vendor or vendors from these three, and choose convenient locations within their terminal space. American has already installed the first five Internet access terminals at LaGuardia.

Within approximately two months, American, British and Delta plan to follow suit at JFK, as do Continental, American and US Airways at Newark.

Robert Kelly, Director of Aviation, said, “The Port Authority is moving ahead aggressively with our world-class airport program. In addition to improving customer service, we are investing capital dollars in new roadways, improved signs and, in partnership with airlines, in new or expanded terminals. At JFK alone, the Port Authority and the airlines are investing more than $7 billion.

“And we are making travel to and from our airports easier, with rail links to connect JFK and Newark to nearby mass transit systems.”

end

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