Airports—famous for long stressful waits and greasy hot dogs on warming rollers—have gone on a health kick.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and San Francisco International Airport both now offer free yoga rooms in terminals. Several airports, including Indianapolis, Cleveland, St. Louis and DFW, have laid out half-mile walking paths through terminals in conjunction with the American Heart Association, hoping to turn "mall walkers" into "terminal walkers." And many are pushing vendors to offer options that are lower in fat and calories—even writing healthy-food requirements into new leases.
"Going healthy just isn't an option. It's what passengers are looking for," said Zenola Campbell, vice president of concessions at DFW. "What passengers want is choice. If I want to, I can go to McDonald's. Or I can stop by Au Bon Pain and pick up yogurt and fruit."
There is a financial incentive driving some of the changes. Though most travelers buy airline tickets based on price, schedule and carrier, airports believe that savvy fliers also consider which airports are most inviting for connections. A choice of layovers in Chicago or Atlanta, Dallas or Houston, may not seem important to most travelers, but it's crucial to airports, which get much of their revenue from a "passenger facility charge" built into fares.
"There is a lot of competition between airports," said Kevin Smith, assistant vice president for terminal management at DFW. "We want to be the healthiest airport in the nation."
Of course, travelers may say in airport surveys that they want healthy options, then splurge on unhealthy things when they get to the airport. The lure of vacation or stress of business travel may send them straight for the ice cream or cheeseburger.
And despite healthy behavior in the airport, the airplane itself still harbors germs. Research has shown air travelers suffer higher than average rates of disease infection, perhaps as much as 20% higher, with much of the danger coming from mouths, noses and hands of passengers within a two-seat radius. And viruses and bacteria can live for hours on some surfaces—tray tables, seat-belt buckles and seat-back pockets can be contaminated.
Airports can be some of the most-unhealthy places used by millions of people. Running with baggage or seething over canceled flights or airline snafus can contribute to heart attacks. DFW averages nine calls a day for all kinds of medical emergencies, and transports three patients a day to hospitals. The airport had 210 patients with cardiac issues last year.
San Francisco has a medical clinic for treating traveler and employee colds and offering vaccinations for overseas trips. The clinic had 13,446 patient visits in the last fiscal year, up 11%. About 20% of the patients were ill travelers, an airport spokesman said.
Dallas has been on a comfort kick after several episodes of customers being stranded in terminals for days by airline disruptions, from major storms to airline shutdowns. After stocking up on cots and blankets, the airport looked at other changes to improve long visits. It installed leg rests on 2,000 seats. The airport also created lounging areas with comfortable seating away from noisy gates. It's planning to open sleep pods for short-term rentals by the end of the year.
During one big disruption, DFW's Mr. Smith noticed customers doing yoga in a gate area with their own mats. They were stuck for six hours, and decided to make the best of it.
So DFW took an alcove in an out-of-the-way area at the end of Terminal D, in a connector walkway to Terminal B, and created a yoga room. The airport supplies mats and one hour-long yoga video that plays on a continuous loop. Big windows look out on a line of planes at Terminal D, but privacy screens keep other travelers from gazing in. Some travelers have used the space for meditation and breathing exercises, airport officials say.
The DFW yoga room opened in April. San Francisco International also has a yoga room, which opened in January.
"I think it's a good idea. I've never used it, but maybe I will in the future," said Adriana Campi, who flew to DFW from Argentina and had a long layover before a flight to Sioux Falls, S.D.
American Eagle employee Gabriella Connor works out in the yoga room twice a week with co-workers, including one gate agent who also is a yoga teacher. Working out at the airport gives her more free time after her shifts end.
"You can't really relax at the airport any other way," she said. "Now we have a place to go other than just sitting in the break room."
Putting up walking paths is one inexpensive way Dallas and other airports are providing some activity for passengers.
Signs in terminals show distances, down to the number of average steps, between markers. A traveler or employee can start anywhere on the path and keep track of distance and time. At DFW, for example, the walking path in Terminal D is 1,269 steps or 0.6 miles end-to-end.
Airports say the paths are occasionally used by travelers, but more often used by employees exercising on lunch breaks. Indianapolis put up three different walking paths, a quarter-mile path around the ticketing hall outside security and two half-mile paths inside security.
It's not as if airports are likely to become fitness centers, despite the workout travelers get just trying to get to destinations. Las Vegas' McCarran International opened a gym beneath its baggage claim area. But a national chain decided to shut it down for lack of traffic. A local gym operator gave it a try. Same result; the gym is now closed.
But overall, airports say healthy is actually selling quite strongly. At DFW, a UFood Grill, which features baked, steamed or grilled food (no frying) and dishes with brown rice and vegetables, replaced a deli and is doing twice the volume, without affecting McDonald's, either. DFW replaced one hot dog vendor that had about $500,000 a year in revenue with a Subway sandwich shop, which offers several sandwiches with 6 grams of fat or less, now doing three times the volume.