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This year saw a pilot shortage, tons of weather delays and cancellations, and a seemingly never-ending demand for air travel. Through it all, passengers were happier according to the latest J.D. Power 2023 North America Airport Satisfaction Study℠ and some airports really made travelers happy with their terminal facilities, food and beverage and retail service, and baggage claim facilities.
Key Findings
- Overall satisfaction improved by three points to 780 (on a 1,000-point scale).
- Satisfied travelers spend more money at the airport. Passengers who rate their airport experiences as 10 out of 10, spend an average of $44 while those who give a rating of five or under spend only $29.
- LaGuardia Airport (LGA) construction resulted in a massive jump in passenger satisfaction. The new airport terminals are gorgeous and this helped pull LaGuardia from its last-place ranking in 2019.
- Crowding will remain a challenge for the foreseeable future. More than 60% of respondents said that they experienced severe or moderate crowding this year (up 2% from 2022).
The Best Mega Airports (33 Million+ Passengers)
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) (Survey Score: 800)
- Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) (Survey Score: 796)
- Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) (Survey Score: 787)
The Best Large Airports (10-32.9 Million+ Passengers)
- Tampa International Airport (TPA) (Survey Score: 832)
- John Wayne Airport (SNA) (Survey Score: 829)
- Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) (Survey Score: 825)
The Best Medium Airports (4.5-9.9 Million+ Passengers)
- Indianapolis International Airport (IND) (Survey Score: 843)
- Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) (Survey Score: 839)
- Ontario International Airport (ONT) (Survey Score: 834)
The results are made up by scoring six categories. These include: terminal facilities, airport arrival/departure, baggage claim, security check, check-in/baggage check, and food/beverage/retail. This year’s survey garnered 27,147 completed surveys.
Anthony’s Take: It’s great to see Tampa International Airport (TPA) topping the list of large airports. It’s one of my favorites and I’m lucky enough to have it be my primary airport during the winter. I love how easy it is to get from curb to gate at the airport. It’s interesting to note that three of Delta’s hubs made the top three lists (while American and United saw none of theirs ranking well).
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
2 comments
SNA still hanging in there. I believe it was number one in the medium market last year. Still my fav!
I have to disagree about MSP
It’s a horrible airport