Three-fifths 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 released Wednesday. Another 59% say they agree that their airport helped to alleviate the stress of travel.
“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 you can buy in an airport,” said Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power. “Most travelers are still enjoying the experience. However, 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.”
The report suggests that “rising costs may finally be reaching a breaking point.” Previous studies suggested that “reasonableness” of food and beverage pricing had not materially impacted passengers’ overall satisfaction. Based on the 2024 report, that trend may be ending. 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.
The Airport Satisfaction Study suggests that the overwhelming trend among airports to focus on creating a sense of place is paying off. “One of the key performance indicators separating top-performing airports from those that passengers merely tolerate is unique décor, signage, stores and restaurants that celebrate the region,” the study noted. “Overall, 70% of passengers agree their airport reflects a genuine sense of its city or region.”
Crowding has a significant impact on airport scores, the study also revealed. 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.
Study Rankings
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport ranked highest in passenger satisfaction among mega airports with a score of 671. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (643) ranked second and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (633) ranked third.
Among large airports, John Wayne Airport, Orange County ranked highest with a score of 687. Tampa International Airport (685) ranked second and Kansas City International Airport (683) ranked third.
For the third consecutive year, Indianapolis International Airport ranked highest among medium airports, with a score of 687. Jacksonville International Airport (686) ranked second and Southwest Florida International Airport (675) ranked third.
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.
J.D. Power noted that the North America Airport Satisfaction Study, now in its 19th year, was redesigned for 2024. Scores in this year’s study are not comparable year over year with previous-year studies, the company said.
The 2024 North America Airport Satisfaction Study 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.
The 2024 study is based on 26,290 completed surveys from U.S. or Canadian residents who traveled through at least one U.S. or Canadian airport and covers both departure and arrival experiences (including connecting airports) during the past 30 days. Passengers evaluated either a departing or arriving airport from their round-trip experience. The study was fielded from August 2023 through July 2024.
