Despite record numbers of passengers and increased travel prices,
it appears North Americans are continuing to travel.
According to a 2024 North American Airport Satisfaction study
by J.D. Power, more than three million passengers passed through Transportation
Safety Administration checkpoints at North American airports on July 7 this year,
setting a record for one-day passenger
volume.
Despite the mass number of passengers—and all the traffic
and rapidly rising prices that come along with them, these factors haven’t stopped
passengers from enjoying their time in airports, evidenced by this year’s
overall airport satisfaction scores.
“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.
Taylor added, “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.”
Key Findings of the Airport Satisfaction Study
- Airports successfully navigate record
passenger volumes. Despite record numbers of passengers and widespread
flight cancellations and delays, 60 percent of North American airport passengers
say they “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” they enjoyed spending time in
their airport. Another 59 percent indicated they agree that their airport
helped to alleviate the stress of travel.
- 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 however may be ending.
- On average, passengers in 2024 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 delivering on unique, local
identity. 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. Overall, 70 percent of
passengers agree their home airport reflects a genuine sense of its city or
region.
- Crowding has 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
percent of passengers say they experienced severely crowded conditions in 2024.
Airport Satisfaction Rankings
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 with Phoenix Sky Harbor
International Airport (633) coming in third place.
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) takes second place and Southwest Florida International
Airport (675) ranks third.
Mega airports are defined as those with 33 million or more
passengers per year, large with 10 to 32.9 million passengers per year and
medium with 4.5 to 9.9 million passengers per year.
The North America Airport Satisfaction Study, now in its
19th year, was redesigned for 2024 and fielded from August 2023 through July
2024.
Scores and measures overall passenger satisfaction with North
American airports by examining their experience across seven core dimensions
(in order of importance) to include ease of travel through airport, level of
trust with airport, terminal facilities, airport staff, departure/to the airport
experience, food, beverage and retail and arrival/from airport experience.
The study is based on 26,290 completed surveys from U.S. or
Canadian residents who within the past 30 days traveled through at least one
U.S. or Canadian airport and covers both departure and arrival experiences
(including connecting airports). Passengers evaluated either a departing or
arriving airport from their round-trip experience.
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