Flying Will Never be the Same – Spas to the Rescue

As I was boarding my American Airlines flight from New York to San Francisco there was a young woman handing out free Internet cards to anyone who wanted one.

I immediately realized that this must be one of those flights where you can connect to the Internet while in flight. I knew that some airlines on some routes were now offering this, however this was the first time I would actually have a chance to test it out.   And so I did.

The card gave me a promotion code which allowed me to save the $12 fee that they would normally charge me to be connected to the Internet for the entire length of the flight. A fair price I thought.  

To my surprise, it was extremely easy to connect to the Internet and the connection was fantastic the entire time, even during turbulence. I was in email heaven. 5 1/2 hours of uninterrupted time to send and receive emails. No phone calls, no co-workers stopping by to ask questions – I really got a lot done.  

The only downside was that my eyes became extremely dry.

I learned from my eye doctor many years ago that when we work on the computer, we don’t blink as often and so our eyes can become irritated and red. Since it is very dry on airplanes, the not blinking as often can cause even more problems.    

So my time to read and relax on planes is probably over. That’s sad. However the option to work via Internet is really exciting. My husband is already upset since airline trips were the one place he felt that he didn’t have to compete with my Blackberry.  

But there is another change I noticed during this flight. That change had to do with what people (who weren’t on the Internet) were doing. It seemed like almost everyone around me was reading on a Kindle. (shown here on the left) And that’s when it hit me…..these developments are going to accelerate and become an even greater negative for the print industry.

We all know that print media is struggling because of the Internet’s increasing dominance, yet the one bright spot that many had pointed out to me was that people still loved buying magazines at airports to read during flights. Well, I imagine that’s going to change.

With Internet service on flights and Kindles which give you access to books, newspapers and magazines, a new era is being ushered in. On the one hand it is sad to see these changes, on the other hand the technology has given us more options and more convenience.    

What it does say to me, however, is that spas are becoming more important than ever as people’s stress levels continue to escalate. The spa is still a sanctuary where we can de-stress and rejuvenate.  

Let’s just hope that no one figures out how to get the Internet or Kindles into the massage room.