One bad ranking could be a mistake but consistently landing low on reports evaluating by different standards signals some consistent problems.
On top of finishing last in 2023 among the country's major airports in analytics company J.D. Power's annual airport-satisfaction survey, Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) at different points also scored near the bottom on rankings looking at airfare prices, cancellations and delays as well as the traffic to get to or from it.
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A year passed and Newark again landed last in J.D. Power's 2024 North America Airport Satisfaction Study. With a score of 552 out of 1000, it is just behind Toronto's Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and significantly lower than the 671 scored by winner Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP).
This airport officially has the most satisfied customers in the country
Even within the megacategory, reserved for airports seeing more than 33 million annual passengers, smaller ones tended to do better — the second and third spots were nabbed by Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), respectively.
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"Access (as in road traffic) has put a damper on EWR’s newest terminal which has outstanding design and impressive food, beverage and retail," J.D. Power's managing director of travel, hospitality and retail, Michael Taylor, said in a statement on the findings.
"If New Jersey traffic makes you late for your flight, you're not likely to have time to enjoy what EWR offers. The AirTrain isn't complete and that makes accessing the terminals difficult."
Detroit topped last year's satisfaction study with an 800 score. The 671 scored by winner Minneapolis this year indicates a sharp drop in airport customer satisfaction overall.
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Medium, large and mega: Airport size often correlates with traveler experience
The top performer in the large category was John Wayne Airport (SNA) in California's Orange County while Indianapolis International Airport (IND) scored first in the medium category. (There is no small category in the report.)
The lowest score obtained by any airport looked at for the report was the 541 obtained by Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) in the large category.
The fact that larger airports tended to fare worse than smaller ones regardless of category indicates that many travelers often feel overwhelmed by the traffic flows and bottlenecks in the country's major airports.
Other airports in the megacategory to score low include Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD).
Airport pricing of food, services a pain point
In the 19th year that J.D. Power has been running this study, the report shows travelers are increasingly dissatisfied with the rising prices of food and ancillary goods and services that they tend to buy while passing through the airport.
"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," Taylor said.
"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."
