Air journey quantity is up and passenger satisfaction is down. This comes as no shock to anybody who handed by means of an airport over the summer time.
The J.D. Energy 2022 North America Airport Satisfaction Examine, launched Wednesday, exhibits total satisfaction down 25 factors on a 1,000 level scale from the 2021 rating. Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport had the worst rating amongst mega-airports.
The general satisfaction rating for North American airports in 2022 was 777.
US passenger quantity is nearing pre-pandemic ranges. On Sunday, the US Transportation Safety Administration screened 2,371,992 passengers at airport checkpoints. That determine is 94% of the identical weekday in 2019.
However vacationers are met with fewer flights, extra crowded terminals and restricted meals and beverage choices, the brand new J.D. Energy examine says.
“The mix of pent-up demand for air journey, the nationwide labor scarcity and steadily rising costs on all the pieces from jet gas to a bottle of water have created a situation by which airports are extraordinarily crowded and passengers are more and more pissed off,” mentioned Michael Taylor, journey intelligence lead at J.D. Energy, in a press release.
And Taylor expects this unlucky set of circumstances to proceed by means of 2023.
The 25-point drop comes on the heels of a file excessive stage of satisfaction with North American airports — 802 on the 1,000-point scale — in final yr’s examine, which included passenger surveys from the second half of 2020.
However as that survey progressed into 2021, and the third and fourth waves of the examine, traveler satisfaction steadily declined as passenger quantity crept again up.
The 2022 examine was fielded from August 2021 by means of July 2022 as air journey continued its rebound.
It was based mostly on greater than 26,500 surveys from US or Canadian residents who traveled by means of a minimum of one US or Canadian airport throughout the previous 30 days. Vacationers evaluated both a departing or arriving airport from their round-trip journey.
The examine, now in its seventeenth yr, appears to be like at traveler satisfaction with airports in three classes: mega-airports, massive airports and medium airports.
Satisfaction is set by six components, listed so as of significance: terminal amenities, airport arrival/departure, baggage declare, safety examine, check-in/baggage examine, and meals, beverage and retail.
So which airports are probably the most satisfying to vacationers? And which fall approach brief?
Most and least satisfying North American mega-airports
Among the many mega-airports evaluated within the examine — these airports with 33 million or extra passengers per yr — Minneapolis-Saint Paul Worldwide Airport ranks highest in buyer satisfaction with a rating of 800 out of 1,000.
The airport’s up to date terminal amenities helped it earn the highest spot for satisfaction, in response to Taylor. Building and renovations final yr confirmed up on this yr’s outcomes, he mentioned.
Whereas some enchancment initiatives are nonetheless underway, the airport had comparatively clean summer time operations, famous Kathleen Bangs, a spokesperson for flight monitoring web site FlightAware who used to work for the Minneapolis-St. Paul airports fee.
“Even whereas present process quite a few ongoing building and improve initiatives this summer time, MSP has loved higher delays and cancellation numbers than another airports in its measurement class,” Bangs instructed CNN Journey in late August in response to questions on summer time airport efficiency. She put that all the way down to administration and probably fewer storms than another huge airports skilled.
San Francisco Worldwide Airport (with a rating of 796) and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (791) have been additionally among the many high airports within the satisfaction examine.
On the backside of the mega-airport record is Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport, with a rating of 719 out of 1,000.
Airports present process building and main renovations sometimes rating poorly for terminal amenities, Taylor mentioned.
Newark’s $2.7 billion Terminal A overhaul is predicted to open later this yr, and there are huge plans to enhance the meals, beverage and retail choices within the new terminal.
“However these enhancements gained’t be obtainable to passengers for a while. Rome wasn’t in-built a day … and neither are new airport terminals,” Taylor mentioned through e mail.
Newark incomes the bottom stage of satisfaction among the many largest airports is probably going no shock to summer time vacationers. Excessive ranges of cancellations and delays plagued the airport over the busy summer time season.
Additionally on the backside of the record: O’Hare Worldwide Airport in Chicago (751) and Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (753).
Most and least satisfying North American massive and medium airports
Among the many massive airports — these with 10 million to 32.9 million passengers per yr — Tampa Worldwide Airport ranked highest for buyer satisfaction with a rating of 846 out of 1,000.
John Wayne Airport, Orange County in California (826) and Dallas Love Subject (825) additionally ranked extremely.
On the backside of the massive airports record was Philadelphia Worldwide Airport (729).
Amongst medium airports — these with 4.5 to 9.9 million passengers per yr — Indianapolis Worldwide Airport ranked highest with a rating of 842 out of 1,000.
Pittsburgh Worldwide Airport (839) and Jacksonville Worldwide Airport (826) ranked second and third for satisfaction.
Hollywood Burbank Airport in California was on the backside of the record of medium airports for traveler satisfaction, with a rating of 763.
The-CNN-Wire
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