Travelers’ overall satisfaction with the airport experience was up this year, despite airports’ struggles with handing rising passenger numbers, according to the J.D. Power 2016 North America Airport Satisfaction Study.
The scores are based on examining six factors: terminal facilities; airport accessibility; security check; baggage claim; check-in/baggage check; and food, beverage and retail. The study is based on 38,931 responses from travelers who passed through at least one domestic or international airport with both departure and arrive experiences in the past three months.
The overall traveler satisfaction for 2016 averages 731 on a 1,000-point scale. It’s an improvement from 725 in 2015. Small and medium airports saw an 8-point rise in satisfaction with a score of 760. Satisfaction with large airports increased by 5 points to 724.
“Many airports, especially the nation’s largest airports, were never built to handle the current volume of traveler traffic, often exceeding their design limits by many millions of travelers,” said Michael Taylor, director of the airport practice at J.D. Power. “Yet airports are overcoming infrastructure limits by affecting the things they can influence. Airports are successfully applying technology to improve check-in (+5 points year-over-year), security screening (+3 points), and the food, beverage and retail shopping (+10 points) experiences.”
The large airports with the highest satisfaction ratings were Portland International (PDX) at 786, Tampa International (TPA) at 775 and McCarran International (LAS) at 759. Indianapolis International (IND) at 794, Buffalo Niagara International (BUF) at 791 and Southwest Florida International (RSW) at 790 lead the medium airports in satisfaction.
The two factors of the airport experience that saw the greatest year-over-year satisfaction increases were baggage claim and food, beverage and retail. In regards to concessions, the increases in satisfaction could be a result of the trend toward incorporating a wider variety of food options, particularly local cuisine, Taylor says.
“Offering local flavor and local design elements unique to the area provide a ‘sense of place,’” he says. “For example, Portland International Airport has incorporated regional designs and symbols in the flooring. The color schemes and storefronts make the airport feel unique to Oregon and the Northwest. Indianapolis International Airport has a very open design with a lot of space so travelers aren’t crowded.”
