Airport Rankings: Newark Scores Dead Last

The hilariously named Newark Liberty International Airport has a new distinction, besides the ones in which TSA screwups (there was a new one this week) created passenger chaos.

Newark ranks last among major airports in a new customer satisfaction survey by J.D. Power and Associates. The study looked at things like prompt baggage delivery, airport comfort and "ease of navigating the airport."

The study measured overall airport satisfaction in three segments: large (30 million or more passengers a year); medium (10 million to 30 million) and small (fewer than 10 million passengers a year). Among the factors assessed were airport accessibility; baggage claim; check-in/baggage check process; terminal facilities; security check; and food and retail services.

Overall passenger satisfaction with the airport experience averages 690 on a 1,000-point scale in 2010, which is an improvement from 675 in 2008. However, satisfaction with airports in 2010 is considerably lower than satisfaction with hotels (756, on average) and rental cars (733, on average), J.D. Power said.

Here are some of the results:

Large Airports

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW), J.D. Power said, ranked highest, and "performs particularly well in the terminal facilities and baggage claim factors. Denver International (DEN) and Minneapolis/St. Paul International (MSP), in a tie, closely follow DTW in the segment rankings. DEN performs particularly well in the airport accessibility factor."

Medium Airports

"Kansas City International (MCI) ranks highest among medium airports, and performs particularly well in three of the six factors: airport accessibility, check-in/baggage check and security check. Following MCI in the segment rankings are Portland International (PDX) and Tampa International (TPA). PDX performs particularly well in the food and retail services factor while TPA performs particularly well in the terminal facilities and baggage claim factors."

Small Airports

"Indianapolis International Airport (IND) ranks highest and performs particularly well in the check-in/baggage check, security check and terminal facilities factors. Following IND in the segment rankings are Fort Myers/Southwest Florida International (RSW) and Tucson International (TUS)."

The 2010 North America Airport Satisfaction Study is based on responses from more than 12,100 passengers who took a round-trip flight between January and December 2009. Passengers evaluated their departing and arriving airports, and the study -- done between December 2009 and last month -- includes a total of more than 24,000 evaluations.

Here are the rankings, based on a 1,000-point scale:

Large Airports

-- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County - 705
--Denver International - 701
--Minneapolis/St. Paul International - 701
--Orlando International - 700
--Phoenix Sky Harbor - 699
--Charlotte Douglas International - CLT 697
--Dallas/Ft. Worth International - DFW 692
--The also hilariously named George Bush Intercontinental - 685
--McCarran International - 682
--Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta - 666
--Seattle-Tacoma International - 666
--Toronto Pearson International - 655
--San Francisco International - 647
--Chicago O'Hare - 639
--John F. Kennedy International - 635
--Philadelphia International - 629
--Miami International - 617
--Los Angeles International - 616
--Newark International - 609 2

Medium Airports

--Kansas City International - 742
--Portland International - 733
--Tampa International - 730
--Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky - CVG
--Salt Lake City International - 712
--Calgary International - 708
--Baltimore Washington International - 707
--Oakland International - 691
--Chicago Midway - 684
--Lambert St. Louis - 683
--Memphis International - 682
--San Diego International - 678
--Fort Lauderdale Hollywood - 677
--Cleveland Hopkins - 675
--Honolulu International - 675
--Reagan National - 672
--Vancouver International - 669
--Dulles - 646
--Boston Logan - 644
--LaGuardia - 604

Small Airports

--Indianapolis International - 777
--Southwest Florida International - 767
--Tucson International - 755
--Jacksonville International - 754
--Austin-Bergstrom International - 752
--T. F. Green Airport - 750
--Palm Beach International - 740
--Albuquerque International - 735
--Pittsburgh International - 729
--General Mitchell International - 726
--Buffalo Niagara International - 720
--Nashville International - 717
--Port Columbus International - 715
--Raleigh-Durham International - 715
--Sacramento International - 715
--Bob Hope Airport - 707
--John Wayne Airport - 706
--Houston Hobby - 697
--Bradley International - 691
--Reno/Tahoe International - 689
--Dallas Love Field - 679
--San Antonio International - 677
--Louis Armstrong New Orleans - 673
--San Jose International - 645

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