Airline club rooms are an important element in productivity for me when I have long flights. I try to get to the airport at least an hour earlier than I really have to for domestic flights and two to three hours for international flights. That provides insurance against unexpected delays from traffic or road blockages. It also allows me to relax and not worry about making the flight. At the airport I go right to the airline club room (UA Red Carpet Club in my case) or the Star Alliance Gold club rooms internationally. I can settle in, have a snack, hook in the wifi, and deal with any last minute e-mails and file transfers. Upgrades and seat changes can be done at the clubs.

On board I have about three hours of battery life unless there are power plugs. United is pretty bad on that score, while Virgin America has standard power plugs at EVERY seat. On international flights I fly in business class and almost always have an operating power socket. For domestic flights I am able to work with my computer for at least 60% of the flight time. Supplementary batteries are now available for a few hundred dollars that can add another six to ten hours of operating time, for those who must work on international flights but are forced to fly coach (think US government travel regulations).

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