Despite record numbers of passengers and widespread flight cancellations and delays, 60% of North American airport passengers say they “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” they enjoyed spending time in their airport, according to the J.D. Power 2024 North America Airport Satisfaction Study . Another 59% say they agree that their airport helped to alleviate the stress of travel.
Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power, said huge air travel demand has not slowed down in North America, despite the steadily rising costs of flights, ground travel, hotel rooms and pretty much anything available for purchase in an airport. Most travelers, he said, are still enjoying the experience. However, added Taylor, “we are starting to see a breaking point in consumer spending, with average spend per person in the terminal declining significantly from a year ago.”
Among the report’s findings:
- Rising costs may finally be reaching a breaking point: For many years, the single lowest-scoring attribute in the study has been reasonableness of food and beverage pricing—but it has not really affected passengers’ overall satisfaction. That trend may be ending, however. On average, passengers this year spent $3.53 per person less than they did in 2023 on food, beverage and other items in the terminal. The decline is greatest among large airports where passengers have reduced their spending by an average of $6.31.
- More airports are delivering on unique, local identity: One of the key performance indicators separating top-performing airports from those that passengers merely tolerate is unique decor, signage, stores and restaurants that celebrate the region. Overall, 70% of passengers agree their airport reflects a genuine sense of its city or region.
- Crowding has a significant effect on airport scores: The average overall satisfaction score when airport terminals are perceived as “not at all crowded” is 736 (on a 1,000-point scale). That score plummets to 429 when terminals are perceived to be “severely crowded.” However, just 5% of passengers say they experienced severely crowded conditions in 2024.
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport ranks highest in passenger satisfaction among mega airports with a score of 671. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (643) ranks second and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (633) ranks third.
John Wayne Airport, Orange County ranks highest among large airports, with a score of 687. Tampa International Airport (685) ranks second and Kansas City International Airport (683) ranks third.
Indianapolis International Airport ranks highest among medium airports for a third consecutive year, with a score of 687. Jacksonville International Airport (686) ranks second and Southwest Florida International Airport (675) ranks third.
The study, now in its 19th year, was redesigned for 2024. It measures overall passenger satisfaction with mega, large and medium North American airports by examining their experience across seven core dimensions (in order of importance): ease of travel through airport; level of trust with airport; terminal facilities; airport staff; departure/to airport experience; food, beverage and retail; and arrival/from airport experience. Mega airports are defined as those with 33 million or more passengers per year; large airports with 10 to 32.9 million passengers per year; and medium airports with 4.5 to 9.9 million passengers per year.
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