Definition | The Art of the Delay: The most productive alternative to airports forced waits, layovers and delays by networking professionally and in-person with other travelers. Those who master the art of the delay, grow their network and are more likely to gain business opportunity.
No this isn’t a sequel nor is it related to the best selling book “The Art of the Deal” but if taken seriously the next time you’re at an airport, it sure could lead to great things!
Growing up in Millbrae, California I was privileged to have a full view of SFO airport from home and ride my bicycle on the Old Bayshore Avenue to watch the planes come and go.
I always had a fascination with airports as a child and loved what appeared and what was, the exhilarating feeling of travel.
Back then, travel was expensive and elusive for the average person, certainly not as affordable and with so many options as it is today.
I remember my first flight alone to MIA to visit my grandmother where my mother had to sign a waiver of some sort to let me travel alone with a chaperone at the age of 9 years old.
It was incredible, she went with me through security at SFO and walked me straight to the gate where she waited with me until boarding time. Gone are the days when we all could do that!
For the first time in my life my heart pounded with overwhelming excitement. I was a social butterfly at such a young age and always had a curiosity to meet people and listen to whatever piece of advice they could give me.
On the flight I met an older couple playing cards and I told them all about where I was going, where I went to school, and what I planned on doing while visiting my grandmother in Miami.
The woman on the flight asked me if I spoke Spanish, and I replied that I did speak a little bit. She responded by giving me my first piece of professional advice, “Well if you’re going to Miami it would really help if you spoke Spanish. Tell your grandmother to practice with you before you lose it honey!”
As silly as it sounds, receiving that piece of advice still resonates with me today every time I meet someone at an airport.
Fast forward 26 years later and I am still making conversation with fellow passengers, professionals, and airport employees every time I am waiting for my flight…especially when delayed!
I still make it a point to learn something new every time I strike up a conversation with another traveler.
Not only that, I’ve made great friends from meeting people at the airport – some of which I have never seen again but others who attended my wedding (and I theirs), business partners, alumni from school, former and future colleagues, suppliers and more.
For most of us who remember, travel has changed greatly from how it was years ago. It’s much cheaper to fly now and air travel is much more accessible than it has ever been before. As a result, more people travel.
The downside? It’s actually the same as the upside…
…MUCH MORE people travel…and it increases at a steady pace of 5% per year worldwide! That’s millions more people traveling for their very first time, every year!
Those of us that sit in the lounge must wonder, how on Earth are we going to be able to find a seat the same way those of us who wait at the gate wonder exactly the same thing!
With the infrastructure of airports in the world ailing to cope with the demand, we’re left with constant stress, worry, long lines, and worse, an impersonal service that is quite abysmal if not downright degrading at some airports…especially when we’re delayed, or in transit and all we can do is sit there and wait it out.
This is why, I wanted to develop AirLinked as an alternative to what so many of us do now at airports.
AirLinked (in my hopeful mind) could bring back a thrill to airports that was lost long ago.
Imagine how the curiosity and anticipation of meeting other travelers at the airport could bring new opportunities, new ideas, collaboration, recruitment, a product pitch possibility and more.
Airports for millions of people are home away from home, the office outside of your home office, and a place of such familiarity that we can forget all of what goes on around us and more specifically, the thousands of people that are sharing it with us in that moment in time.
If it’s work, most times it can be scheduled and done another time and so can most of our other habits we do at the airport today. But meeting people in that moment? That time only can happen when you’re at the airport – once it’s gone, it’s gone! And that’s the beauty of it all.
Airports are the most ideal place to network in the safest environment you’ll ever have outside of your home office.
My Art of the Delay has always been to meet fellow passengers regardless if I was in transit, checked in or in fact delayed. The only difference is that now I’ve got an platform to help me do so!
We recently launched in the great city of Chicago and are soon to be on-boarding new major airports across the country, and of course, across the world! You can download AirLinked right here on the App Store.
If you’d like your home airport AirLinked or want to share personal thoughts on your very own Art of the Delay, please do not hesitate to reach out to me!
Ramy Ballout
Founder at AirLinked™ (www.airlinked.com). Opportunity at the Airport.