Sitting on a flight across the country, reading the airline’s complimentary magazine, I ran across a short piece about Butter London, one of a handful of airport salons that have cropped up in recent years. We’ve done stories (you might remember “Beauty Fly-Buys Take Off” in the December 2002 issue, plus a more recent story on chain salons in general) on airport salons in NAILS before, but I realized I’ve actually never been to one for a service. Now I’m not saying I don’t like the idea — on the contrary, I think it’s great. In fact, I remember years ago when a friend of mine was researching the possibility of opening an airport salon, I briefly considered joining her. Alas, it didn’t happen. One of the reasons was the high cost of renting space in an airport. Another, imagine how hard it must be to staff quality nail techs in airports. What a hassle to get to work everyday. But as a frequent traveler (and frequent nail salon goer), I love the idea of being able to get a quickie pedicure while waiting to board my flight. How relaxing. How multi-tasking of me. I have a two-hour layover at Washington’s Dulles International Airport, the article says Butter London is opening a shop there this month. Wonder what the chances are that it’s already open? I’ll let you know.

Have any of you been to airport salons? What do you think of the concept? (Obviously, you wouldn’t be able to rely on many regular clients with standing appointments.) Let me know in Feedback.

(Photo courtesy of iStock)

— Hannah