While every ranking of different airports across the country looks at slightly different factors that make it nearly impossible to pin down clear winners and losers, the wider picture clearly puts some in one end of the spectrum.
Several separate reports to come out in the last year pinned Newark Liberty International Airport among the worst in the country when it comes to airfare prices, rates of cancelations and delays and the traffic going in and out of it.
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Newark Liberty was recently also named as the worst airport in the U.S. in J.D. Power's annual North American Airport Satisfaction Study for 2023. By looking at factors ranging from terminal facilities and cleanliness to on-time airport arrivals and departures, the consumer analytics company found that Newark had a satisfaction of rate of 732 out of 1,000.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
'It has not been an easy year for North American airports' (here are the ones struggling the most)
This is both the lowest number among the country's mega-airports and the U.S. overall while Philadelphia International Airport and Kahului Airport in Hawaii topped the low satisfaction list in the large- and medium-sized airports categories with respective 750 and 771 scores.
Overall, however, passenger satisfaction with airports has increased slightly from the massive drop observed amid the rebound of post-pandemic travel last year — in 2023, that number rose three points to 780 out of 1,000 while the 777 seen in 2022 was a 25-point drop from 2022.
"It has not been an easy year for North American airports, but major capital improvements they've made over the last several years and new investments in getting food, beverage and retail operations back up and running at full capacity have helped them manage the crush of passengers," Michael Taylor, who heads travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power, said in a statement.
Many of the reasons for the dissatisfaction have to do with the understaffing that the wider airline industry has been struggling with for nearly two years now — longer lines and crowding throughout the airport, cancelations and delays as well as the rising cost of an increasingly unpleasant travel experience.
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The golden line of the study: 'Happy passengers spend a lot more money'
Airports to come out as winners despite these conditions include Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, which topped the mega-airport list with a whopping 800 score on satisfaction as well as Tampa International Airport in the large category and Indianapolis International Airport among medium-sized ones (there is no small category.)
Even within the mega airport category, comparatively smaller airports generally fared better than larger ones that are seeing unprecedented traffic.
Another interesting statistic to come from the J.D. Power study is that customers who rated their airport experience a 10 out of 10 spent an average of $44 in the airport while those who ranked it between one and five spent just $29 — in other words, airports that think of their customers' satisfaction reap financial rewards.
"While airports are doing a good job coping with the current issues, there is still more they could do to improve passenger experience while also improving their own bottom line," Taylor said. "Happy passengers spend a lot more money at the airport, so ongoing efforts to spread passenger volumes throughout the day and deliver superior service at all customer touchpoints will be critical."
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