There’s no such thing as a free lunch but increasingly there is such a thing as free wi-fi. In recent days, British Airways dropped charges for wireless internet access in its lounges, followed shortly afterwards by United Airlines in its Red Carpet Clubs around the world. London City Airport has also said it is making using the internet free when it extends its departure lounge next month.

Added to that is the growing number of hotels which are ditching their charges for hooking up to the net. Smaller chains are particularly good at embracing the concept, including Apex, Village, Paten Hotels and Future Inns. Among the bigger chains, Radisson SAS has been offering free wi-fi for ages. Even McDonalds has made wi-fi free at its 1,200 branches in Britain.

I suspect this may be the beginning of the end for visible wi-fi charges. Most business travellers now expect wi-fi wherever they go and airport, hotel and railway station owners will soon realise they can just bundle the cost of providing it free of charge with their other charges. When that happens, free lunches will again be rather rare.

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