New services available this week in Baltimore and later in San Diego may be the win-win answer to a problem for passengers and airport shops. Find a niche need, and someone will build “an app for that!”
Most air travelers, it turns out, head straight for security and then straight out the often-very-long way to the gate, no matter how much time they have—and bypass many of the airport dining and shopping opportunities.
Which means that passengers, who may have an hour or more to wait, are limited to whatever fast options are near their gate, and restaurants and shops in more central areas of the terminal lose sales opportunities.
Airport Sherpa has just started at BWI, and a similar app, called At Your Gate which will open soon in San Diego, promise to collect your orders from the restaurants and shops and deliver them to you at your gate. Even if it’s on a different concourse from the sushi you want.
Airport Sherpa expects to add more airports soon, and charges $3.99 to $7.99 per delivery, depending on how far the deliverer has to go. At Your Gate will be a flat $6.99. Considering the cost of airport food to begin with, it’s not a high markup proposition, especially if you’re ordering for a family!
