McCarran, LaGuardia Airports Top Customer Satisfaction Honors

McCarran International in Las Vegas and New York's LaGuardia International garnered the highest level of customer satisfaction for large and midsize U.S. airports, respectively, according to a J.D. Power and Associates study released today.

Among U.S. airports serving more than 30 million passengers annually, New York's John F. Kennedy International and Philadelphia International airports followed McCarran.

For airports that serve between 10 million and 30 million passengers per year, Chicago Midway followed LaGuardia, and Baltimore Washington International ranked third. For small airports, Dallas Love Field and Houston Hobby tied for first.

The study also showed that travelers in North America feel considerably safer traveling within their borders versus abroad. Of 9,800 passengers who took to the skies through May this year, 47 percent said they feel "very safe" traveling by air in North America, but only 13 percent reported feeling the same level of safety traveling outside of North America.

Thirty percent of the respondents feel it is "unsafe" or "very unsafe" to travel abroad, while just 4 percent shared that sentiment about traveling in North America.

In comparing airports, J.D. Power examined eight factors: checkin and baggage check, airport accessibility, security checks, terminal facilities, food and beverage, retail services, baggage claim and immigration and customs control.

The study found that wait times are the linchpin to customer satisfaction. Speed of baggage delivery received low marks and averaged 17.3 minutes, J.D. Power said. "However, as long as baggage is delivered within 20 minutes, passengers are generally satisfied with the experience," the study noted.

Given the proliferation of such expedited checkin services as kiosks, travelers gave higher ratings to the checkin process. Wait time to obtain a boarding pass and check luggage averaged 13 minutes. "Tolerance for waiting is lower for the checkin process and airports only have 15 minutes before passenger satisfaction drops below the industry average for this measure," the study said.

"Customers may be more satisfied with the checkin process because of the options available to speed up the process," said Jim Gaz, senior director of travel and entertainment at J.D. Power and Associates. "For example, 16 percent of passengers go online and print out a boarding pass before arriving at the airport—up from just 5 percent in 2004. An additional 27 percent of passengers use a self-service checkin kiosk—up from 18 percent in 2004. These time-saving measures can go a long way in improving satisfaction."

The study also found that leisure travelers on average reported higher satisfaction with the airport experience than did business travelers. J.D. Power and Associates conducted the study in association with Aviation Week, both business units of The McGraw-Hill Companies.