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Los Angeles International Airport is the world's most social airport, according to new data from Facebook.
Quick, can you guess which of the world’s airports tops the charts for the most “check ins” on social media?
We’ll give you three hints:
@alecbaldwin (since deactivated)
@aplusk (as in the ex-Mr. Demi Moore)
More people prone to self-promotion per capita than perhaps any other city on the planet.
If you answered Los Angeles International Airport, give yourself a badge. Facebook announced on Tuesday that more people check in via Facebook or a third-party location app while at LAX than at any other airport in the world.
“We are honored and excited for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) being named the ‘Most Social Airport in the World’ by Facebook,” airport officials told msnbc.com via e-mail.
Rounding out the world's top 10 social airports are Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Sydney (Australia), Phoenix, Las Vegas and Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok, Thailand).
“Travel is inherently a social thing,” said Travis Katz, founder and CEO of the social-travel site Gogobot.com. “People check in at airports because they want to let people know they’re leaving home or landing somewhere new.”
That desire may also explain some of the report’s other findings. Last year, check ins were 20 times higher than average on Dec. 18 with additional spikes occurring on Dec. 23 and 24, presumably as people headed to the airport to catch holiday flights.
After Christmas, the chatter died down again before spiking between Dec. 29–31 in anticipation of New Year’s Eve.
Unfortunately, Facebook didn’t suggest why LAX was the most social airport, although one could be forgiven for thinking the city’s celebrity culture might play a role.
“Checking in is a self-serving sort of activity and L.A. is a hotbed of self-centeredness,” said Nick O’Neill, founder of Holler.com, a location-based mobile planning and search app. “Celebrities and people like that are all about broadcasting about their awesome lives.”
By that measure, he suggested, the No. 1 ranking may say less about LAX than it does about the city it’s in: “I wonder if there’s a correlation between the volume of plastic surgeries and the number of check ins for any given location.”
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- Travel industry embracing 'wisdom of friends'
Rob Lovitt is a longtime travel writer who still believes the journey is as important as the destination. Follow him at Twitter.
Leave a Comment:
wow, great story! NOT
Maybe it is because what with traffic on the 405 and 105 they have so much freaking time to waste at the airport??
Yeah, plenty of time to spend while security checks, flight delays and lay overs are tolerated. What a waste of story bandwidth.
All true....LAX is a dump! Easily the worst big city airport in America outside of Laguardia. Seriously, I always feel embarrassed for the US when a foreign tourist has to enter the States through LAX.
Yes, I was at LAX last Spring when the power in the entire airport went out, and my fellow travelers and I got really "social" as the temperature inside Terminal #1 climbed into the 90s and all of the bars, restaurants, and shops shut-down, leaving all of us parched, high & dry, and sweating profusely, as dozens of inbound flights were sent to their alternate airport. The aircraft using our gate was stuck with the jetway still hard against its side, but at least its passengers had air-conditioning and something to drink, unlike the rest of us. And, sadly, this was not the only big power failure at LAX recently either.
I still fly LAX though, as the rental cars at Burbank and Ontario are often double the price as at LAX. Just remember to gas-up before you get back to LAX to avoid the panhandlers, bums, and window washers at the gas stations on Aviation Blvd!!!
Yes, LAX is indeed one of the leading social airports, now that the old bus terminal at Midway and the Berry Terminal at Detroit have been replaced. (Or should that read Socialist)??? Anyone else remember the old People Express terminal at EWR? Now that place was the king of social airports!!! Did I read that even Love Field is getting a new terminal too?
The kindest thing that could happen to LAX would be for a giant tidal wave to wash the place clean so that they could start over, and hopefully learn from their previous mistake!!!
And the vote for the 2nd-most "social" airport goes to: O'Hare!!!
Old Timer - Yeah I remember reading about that story of LAX losing power. Maybe if the brainiacs that ran LA (and you can expand that to California) would plan for their own power needs and not depend on half of it coming from other states like Arizona, they wouldn't lose power so much. But California isn't going to change. Too many idiots including politicians live there and those people vote.
Agreed. You pretty much nailed it here. I'm currently living abroad in Asia and whenever I fly back to the States, I do everything possible to avoid flying into LAX. Absolutely the worst international gateway airport in at least the western half of the country, if not the whole thing.
And they don't even have free WiFi! So all these self-important narcissists are actually paying (one way or another) to post their irrelevant crap on Facebook.
Must be a slow day...
ZZZ, ZZZ, ZZZ, Huh...what? ZZZ...
Obviously their flight was delayed.
Doesn't this make it the most antisocial airport in the world. If you have your head up your phone (or computer), you're really not engaged in the social world. If LAX was social, people would be talking to...other people!!
Very well said Troy!
It certainly is not ATL Airport. Thats for sure. Rude people passing through there.
Not to mention those gentle start and stop underground people movers! Now those things will wrap you around a pole like a pretzel if you're not awake.
Now this is a story to waste electronic paper on!
What a joke! Sitting around playing with electronics on virtual social sites, while ignoring (annoying) all the live human beings in your vicinity is a twisted definition of being social.
If you want to find the REAL most social airport, then try Asia or the Middle East, etc.
Checking in on Facebook at an Airport = "I'm not Home... steal my stuff!"
LAX is the worst airport in the US. It is poorly designed for modern air travel. It is a conjested traffic nightmare, and goodluck to anyone who has a connecting flight in a different terminal with any less than 4 hours inbetween (yes, you might sense there is a back story to that one). The best thing that could ever happen to that airport is to tear it down and start over.
Besides that, I have no opinion on the matter.
O'Hare is the worst in my opinion.
Who cares! Did someone actually commission this study or findings. WTF.
Must have changed in the last few years,last time I was there,rudest people in the world.
As Jerry-668318 said Try an asian airport for Social people Inchon Korea comes to mind
Apparently, being hunkered over a smartphone posting every bit of nonsense minutiae in your life onto an online privacy-invasion site now qualifies as "being social." What a world.
Who gives a Sh*t!
Amen!
Land of froots and nutz!!
See?
I thought London Heathrow was one of the most socializing airports.
It's such a crappy airport, the only thing to do is to escape via the internet. LAX is dirty and staffed by the rudest employees of any airport I've ever flown into
who cares?
YAWN!!!! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Maybe there referring to the bathrooms.
I don't understand the concept of "being social" via Facebook while at a public place. Sounds more like they are bored and lonely wondering if their flight is going to be hi-jacked or they are going to be stripped searched?! Can't talk to my neighbor anymore!
Airports have been and always will be a place to flirt freely regardless of if you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife or are single there is something about an airport lounge that brings out the promiscuous side in men and women. As one who travels around the US I sometimes prefer long layovers. Not sure what it is but for some reason when your in an airport lounge all bets are off from reality. Whether single, dating or married there is something that happens to us all when en route to our destinations that we are free from our home and sinificant others so with no chance of them showing up, that we tend to drink more and flirt more with perfect strangers. Maybe it has something to do with we are all on the same wave length as we all wear the same labels as air travelers. Or maybe its just the amount of women sitting alone at airport lounges that is so attractive and riske'. Compared to daily life we as men rarely see an attractive woman sitting alone at a bar. From the majority of women I've talked to in airports they come acrss as friendly, flirty, funny and just happy to be alone and away from their husbands or boyfriends. Maybe it's that airline travelers have so much in common as both are under a short time to get to know each other and both know whatever is discussed is off the record with no chance of getting back to their partners. It's only when you both have similar layovers that you both know you only have that set amount of time to flirt with each other. If for some reason your flights are delayed due to bad weather the number of drinks starts to increase and things move to an almost state of fantasy.
Yes there is definitely someting about no inhibitions when in an airport lounge wating for a plane...
This does not make it social. I would think anti-social since everyone is using a cell/PDA/Ipad etc to get on FB while at the airport! Maybe a way to ignore everyone else....
Dubai was a very social airport in 2009. I had a 12 hour layover there and met all kinds of interesting people from all over the world. Still facebook friends with one of them. The few times I flew through LAX, I wanted to go hide in a bar somewhere.
I love pancakes!
Philadephia has to be the worst airport in the world to get and out of. It was easier to go through the birth canal than through this awful airport.