ISM President and CEO Gary Leopold penned the following blog entry which appeared in the Boston Globe Business section's "Blog Filter" column compiled by Globe Correspondent, Scott Kirsner.

August 24, 2009

Business as usual no more as WiFi becomes airborne

Always on, even while airborne. Now that carriers such as Virgin America and American Airlines have started offering wireless Internet access on some flights, travel time has turned into an opportunity to be even more productive. To Gary Leopold, chief executive of Boston-based ISM, that’s not necessarily a wonderful thing.

. . .The excuse is dead. The sanctuary has been exposed. Business travel will now and forever be all about business. And you can blame it all on WiFi. That silent killer of quality time and relaxation that is rapidly being adopted throughout the world of aviation. It used to be that getting on an airplane freed you for a brief time from the 24/7 obligation of answering your e-mails, being constantly accessible and always on call. Whether it was short haul or long, the minute your plane took off, you were largely untouchable. Your time was your own. You could shut down and not feel like you were violating some sacred trust. Here at last was an opportunity to be in total control. Chill to some music. Catch up on that reading. Even better, catch up on that sleep. Sure, travel was a slog. The airports miserable. The planes crowded and uncomfortable. But for some of us, you could always justify the hassles as a means to the ultimate reward. Total disconnection.

But those days are now officially over and with it we're being forced to say goodbye to one of the businessperson's last true sanctuaries. No doubt there will be those A-types that welcome the change. And those workaholics who wonder why it took so long. But I'm guessing there are a lot of other travelers like me who'll lament the loss of those precious hours when life felt totally untethered. Now there’s no escape. Flying just became work.

And if you’re wondering how I feel about cellphones in flight, don’t even get me started. http://ismboston.blogspot.com/2009/08/you-cant-fly-away-any-more.html