Detroit Airport Is The Best ‘Mega’ Airport In The US

The results are in, and according to J.D. Power, Michigan’s Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) has come out on top as the leading ‘mega’ airport in North America. Based on a 1000-point scale, most major airports across the continent have seen an improvement in customer ratings of around three points.

Photo: EQRoy / Shutterstock 

From J.D. Powers’ study, the group saw vast improvements coming from the airport’s retail offerings, baggage claim, and overall facilities, which is believed to see customers in return spend more during their journey. A satisfied passenger is expected to spend upwards of $44 each trip if they are content at the airport, compared to a dissatisfied passenger, which would unlikely exceed more than $30.

The results are in

For ‘mega’ airports across North America, Detroit came out on top (800 points out of 1,000), closely followed by the twin cities, Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, with 796. Third place went to Sin City, at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport, reaching 787 points.

Photo: Virrage Images I Shutterstock.

Looking at the ‘large’ airport category, Florida’s Tampa International Airport came out consecutively for the second year, reaching 832 points, with California’s John Wayne Airport in Orange County nipping at its toes with a score of 829. Utah’s Salt Lake City Airport achieved third place, 825 points out of 1,000.

Michael Taylor, managing director at J.D. Power for travel, hospitality, and retail, reiterated the improvement seen:

“It has not been an easy year for North American airports, but major capital improvements they’ve made over the last several years and new investments in getting food, beverage, and retail operations back up and running at full capacity have helped them manage the crush of passengers.”

Medium airports results

Stepping into the ‘medium’ airport category, Indianapolis International was the highest achiever, two years running with 843 points, with Southwest Florida Airport closely behind with 839 out of 1,000. The third-place winner went to Ontario International at 834 points. Taylor went on to explain:

“While airports are doing a good job coping with the current issues, there is still more they could do to improve passenger experience while also improving their own bottom lines. Happy passengers spend a lot more money at the airport, so ongoing efforts to spread passenger volumes throughout the day and deliver superior service at all customer touchpoints will be critical.”

Photo: Ontario International Airport

18 years running

The North America Airport Satisfaction Study is in its 18th year. It completed over 27,000 surveys from Canadian or American residents, looking at their departing and arrival experiences in the last month. It investigates six factors: the terminal facilities, arrival and departure halls, baggage claim, passing through security, check-in and bag check, and food, beverage, and retail facilities.

Airports are placed into one of three categories, ‘Mega,’ for airports with more than 33 million passengers annually; ‘Large,’ for 10 to 32.9 million passengers annually; and medium, for 4.5 to 9.9 million passengers annually.

Photo: EQRoy | Shutterstock

While Simple Flying congratulates the top-scoring airports, a special mention also goes out to New York’s La Guardia Airport, which saw the most significant improvement of points overall and moved from last place to average in the large airport category.

Sources: J.D. Power