Hello -

Thank you kindly for the airportgyms.com plug, I appreciate it as I am the owner.

BTW, the CNN article you linked to from 2003 contains very old information and our site has the most up to date listings they list (as some of those gyms in the CNN article are closed, etc) and over a hundred more.

It would be awesome for us all if those here could report to us about any gym they know of that we do not have listed that meets our requirements. You can do so here and it would help us all!

As for the topic itself... as a very active traveler, I am continually amazed that large gym corporations (i.e., 24 Hour Fitness, Gold’s, Bally’s, etc.) that are established and have the capital and working model have not moved more aggressively into the airport terminal arena. I suspect there must be (a) a lack of marketing thought on this topic on their end and (b) closed minded thought on the part of the airport authority on their end.

Terminals are packed full of shopping - often the same repeated shops run by the airport authority - just rebranded and renamed and scattered throughout the terminals. So, it is not as though the space does not exist. Likely, the airport authority sees a lack of potential revenue from an airport gym versus selling t-shirts, mugs, candy by the thousands or tens of thousands SKUS. Clearly, they need to run the numbers as I think if they took a progressive view to working out in airports, they would see potential huge revenues for allowing established gyms into their terminals (i.e., rent, a portion of membership fees, ability to sell workout cloths in a near by shop, etc.). Not to mention, maybe the side benefits of (a) exposure for their airport for progressive thinking and planning for travelers and (b) less aggression and angry travelers that would now have an outlet to vent – physically.

To believe there is not a market for this need in terminals is extremely short sided given the fact that more and more people are traveling and more and more are becoming health conscious. Our site statistics, coverage in the press, and emails from users tells us how much our airport gym listing service is appreciated, and how much they use it. Which really reveals the potential in the concept. Not of the listing concept that we market and provide freely too users, but the concept of having gyms IN actual airport terminals.

Anyway, thanks again for taking up the subject and mentioning our site.


Ciao,
Kevin