New survey finds passenger discontent with airports; Here’s how CLT ranked
When it comes to keeping customers happy, Charlotte Douglas International Airport is just about average according to a new report from consumer research firm J.D. Power.
The airport landed smack in the middle in a ranking of the country’s largest airports for travelers’ satisfaction with factors like terminal facilities, retail offerings and airport arrivals and departures. Each hub was given a total satisfaction score out of 1,000 possible points, the report released Wednesday said.
Charlotte Douglas scored 768, just one point under the sector average. It ranked 10th of 20 among “mega” airports, defined as those with more than 33 million passengers a year.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport ranked first in the category, and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey received the lowest score.
North Carolina’s second-largest airport fared significantly better in the rankings: Raleigh-Durham International tied for fourth out of 28 of the country’s “large” airports, defined as those with 10 to 32.9 million passengers a year. It scored 813 out of 1,000 points, below locations like Tampa and New Orleans.
Charlotte Douglas was one of the busiest airports in the world last year, ranked as fifth busiest for arrivals and departures, according to Airports Council International 2021 preliminary rankings.
The airport saw 519,895 arrivals and departures last year, and served 43 million customers.
Bigger crowds, higher costs
Overall, airport customer satisfaction has fallen this year as crowds return to terminals and labor shortages lead to record flight cancellations, according to J.D. Power’s study.
Customer satisfaction with U.S. airports ticked down slightly from 2021, with customers citing things like fewer flights, more crowded terminals and sparse options for food and drinks.
Pent-up demand and steadily rising prices on everything from air fares to snacks at the gate are also leaving passengers increasingly frustrated, J.D. Power travel intelligence lead Michael Taylor said in the study.
Those trends will likely continue through 2023, he added.
“In some ways, this is a return to normal,” Taylor said. ”But in cases where parking lots are over capacity, gates are standing room only and restaurants and bars are not even open to offer some reprieve… increased capacity in airports can’t come soon enough.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 5:30 AM with the headline "New survey finds passenger discontent with airports; Here’s how CLT ranked."
