United Airlines is spending $120 million on upgrading Terminal C at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport, particularly with iPads for travelers, according to Bloomberg. The terminal is United’s main residence at the airport; by 2015, all restaurants and gate seats there will be equipped with an iPad for purposes such as flight tracking, web browsing, and buying food and retail goods. People shopping for goods are even being promised a 15-minute delivery window.
Newark is a critical hub for United, the launching point for many of the airline’s transatlantic flights. By offering iPads and special services the company is presumably trying to lure people away from rival airlines, as well as cope with the airport’s long wait times for flights. Bloomberg notes that Newark Liberty regularly has one of the lowest scores in the US for on-time rankings, most recently taking 26th place in a list of 29 facilities compiled by the Department of Transportation.
Helping United at Newark will be OTG Management, which has done similar upgrades at New York City airports. At LaGuardia, OTG worked with Delta Air Lines to install 1,500 iPads in Terminals C and D between 2010 and 2012.
