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J.D. Power Releases Airport Rankings; See How They Compare With TPG's
JT Genter
Contributor
JT is a location-independent digital nomad traveling 250,000+ miles each year with his wife Katie.
Sept. 21, 2017
•
6 min read
J.D. Power Releases Airport Rankings; See How They Compare With TPG's
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Customer satisfaction firm J.D. Power ranks a lot of things based on how much customers like them, and on Thursday it released its 12th annual list of top US airports. (Spoiler right away: New York LGA, dead last in its category, continues to be loathed by the people who use it. For the winner, read on.)
Based on a survey of 34,695 passengers, the 2017 North America Airport Satisfaction Study seeks to "measures overall traveler satisfaction" based on six factors:
- terminal facilities
- airport accessibility
- security check
- baggage claim
- check-in/baggage check
- food, beverage and retail
Broken into categories based on size, the top-ranking airports of this year's J.D. Power study:
- Mega: Orlando International (MCO, 778 points out of 1,000); Detroit Metropolitan (DTW, 767) and Las Vegas' McCarran (LAS, 765)
- Large: John Wayne (SNA, 796); Tampa (TPA, 795) and Dallas Love (DAL, 790)
- Medium: Sacramento (SMF, 810); Indianapolis (IND, 807) and Ted Stevens Anchorage (ANC, 806)
Last November, The Points Guy came out with a ranking of the 30 busiest airports in the US. Here's how the passenger satisfaction-based J.D. Power rankings measure up against TPG's data-driven ankings.
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| Airport | JD Power score | TPG ranking |
|---|---|---|
John Wayne Airport (California; SNA) | 796 | n/r |
Tampa International (Florida; TPA) | 795 | 11 |
Dallas Love Field (Texas; DAL) | 790 | n/r |
Nashville International Airport (Tennessee; BNA) | 788 | n/r |
Portland International (Oregon; PDX) | 783 | 2 |
Orlando International (Florida; MCO) | 778 | 25 |
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (Texas; AUS) | 774 | n/r |
Detroit Metro (Michigan; DTW) | 767 | 26 |
Las Vegas McCarran International (Nevada; LAS) | 765 | 9 |
Phoenix Sky Harbor International (Arizona; PHX) | 765 | 1 |
Denver International (Colorado; DEN) | 763 | 23 |
Charlotte Douglas International (North Carolina; CLT) | 762 | 8 |
Minneapolis-St. Paul International (Minnesota; MSP) | 762 | 10 |
Dallas/Fort Worth International (Texas; DFW) | 758 | 19 |
San Diego International (California; SAN) | 757 | 3 |
San Francisco International (California; SFO) | 757 | 12 |
Washington Reagan National (Virginia; DCA) | 755 | 13 |
William P. Hobby Airport (Texas; HOU) | 754 | n/r |
Salt Lake City International (Utah; SLC) | 754 | 4 |
Seattle-Tacoma International (Washington; SEA) | 754 | 6 |
Baltimore-Washington International (Maryland; BWI) | 753 | 14 |
Houston George Bush Intercontinental (Texas; IAH) | 752 | 21 |
Chicago Midway International (Illinois; MDW) | 750 | 17 |
Miami International (Florida; MIA) | 749 | 20 |
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (Georgia; ATL) | 747 | 16 |
Washington Dulles International (Virginia; IAD) | 744 | 24 |
Louis Armstrong New Orleans (Louisiana; MSY) | 743 | n/r |
Kansas City (Missouri; MCI) | 742 | n/r |
Oakland (California; OAK) | 742 | n/r |
Lambert-St. Louis (Missouri; STL) | 738 | n/r |
Boston Logan International (Massachusetts; BOS) | 733 | 18 |
Honolulu International (Hawaii; HNL) | 727 | 5 |
John F. Kennedy International (New York; JFK) | 727 | 29 |
Chicago O’Hare International (Illinois; ORD) | 723 | 27 |
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (Florida; FLL) | 720 | 15 |
Philadelphia International (Pennsylvania; PHL) | 715 | 7 |
Los Angeles International (California; LAX) | 712 | 22 |
Newark Liberty International (New Jersey; EWR) | 686 | 28 |
LaGuardia (New York; LGA) | 654 | 30 |
All data from J.D. Power 2017 North American Airport Satisfaction Survey. For ease in comparison, only Mega and Large airports from the J.D. Power study were included in this chart.
One interesting observation: four of the top seven airports in the J.D. Power study are airports that weren't large enough to include in the TPG rankings. Mid-size airport John Wayne (SNA) received the highest ranking of the 39 airports in J.D. Power's Mega and Large lists. Southwest's home of Dallas Love Field (DAL) ranked third and Nashville (BNA) took fourth. Another Texas airport, Austin-Bergstrom (AUS), lands seventh of the largest 39 J.D. Power airports.
There are a few airports that scored well in both: Portland (PDX), Phoenix (PHX) and Las Vegas (LAS) all landed in the top 10 on both lists. Meanwhile, New York City's JFK, Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and Newark (EWR) scored near the bottom of both lists.
And there's one airport ranking that both TPG and J.D. Power agree on: New York City's La Guardia (LGA) ranks at the absolute bottom of both lists, thanks to the frustrating process to get a ride and the gridlocked roads surrounding it. Construction is underway, but a better LGA is still years off.
Other airports received mixed reviews. Orlando (MCO) finished 25th out of 30th on TPG's rankings partially due to slow security, but finished #1 among Mega airports on J.D. Power's satisfaction survey. Denver (DEN) landed #5 in J.D. Power's Mega airports list vs. #23 on TPG's list — penalized for being so far outside of town. Similar for Detroit (DTW), slammed in TPG rankings for shamefully-poor public transit. But, DTW ended up second among Mega airports in J.D. Power's poll.
These disconnects might make more sense when it's revealed that J.D. Power allowed connecting passengers to complete the survey. Security, distance from the city and poor public transit aren't going to be an issue for them.
Do you think J.D. Power's rankings hit or missed the mark based on your experience?
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
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Why We Chose It
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- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
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Cons
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- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
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- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
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- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.