Released just in time for the holiday season in the U.S. is the list of the Top 100 Airports in the country. According to the report’s creator, TravelPulse, its editors spend a good part of the year traveling the globe and have experienced the glaring disparities between international and domestic airports.
More than 300 respondents, both consumers and aviation experts, were asked via Google Survey to rank airports in seven categories – ease of access, amenities, airline volume, terminal modernity, terminal comfort, family friendly and business friendly.
Attention to detail is largely missing in U.S. airports, as countries around the world have trumped statewide airports on the innovation and design creativity fronts.
Highlights from the survey results:
—Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson was voted best airport in the country for its ability to handle high volume of airlines, passengers, and get them in and out. But in large part, Atlanta finished so high because it also finished first for the number of amenities it offered and for being business friendly.
—Size matters! Many respondents said the ability to choose from among numerous airlines, at differing times, offering better fares, was important to them and that can only be found at big airlines. The top six in airlines volume satisfaction among those surveyed were LAX, JFK, O’Hare, SFO, Orlando and Vegas. In the business friendly category, all of the top five were also the biggest airports in the country.
—Small airports did very well – Fort Myers, Manchester, Columbus, Savannah, and Greenville were all in the top 50.
—For such a big airport (14th in the nation in passenger volume) respondents found Orlando the easiest to access both getting to (and with parking being $17/day to self-park compared to $33 at JFK) and once inside (its famous tram system).
—Honorable Up-and-Comers: A lot of earned kudos from readers were for newer airports; Phoenix, Portland, Ore., and Nashville.
—Two airports that had undergone massive renovations and makeovers in the last 20 years, Detroit and Denver, also came out on top.
—Of all the categories, readers were most passionate about terminal comfort. Detroit “won,” but most said it’s almost impossible to be comfortable in an airport terminal.
Top 10 Best Airports
- Atlanta
- Orlando
- Denver
- Minneapolis
- Charlotte
- San Franciso
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Detroit
- Baltimore/Washington
Oh … last on the list in New York City’s La Guardia Airport. Here is the complete list.
A Note on Methodology: TravelPulse asked respondents to rank as many airports as they could among 115 that qualified under its criteria – the facility either processed 700,000 or more passengers in 2015 per Federal Aviation Administration rankings, or are the top-ranking representative of their state.
The methodology including asking respondents to rate airports based on these seven categories:
* Ease Of Access. How is getting to the airport via car or public transportation? Is there sufficient parking, moving walkways, trams and other amenities that makes access easy?
* Terminal Modernity. Is it older or newer? Has the airport embraced newer technologies with Wi-Fi, modern signage and device chargers?
* Terminal Comfort. Is it clean? Easy to navigate? Plenty of seating?
* Amenities. Are there numerous food options, including healthy choices? What about shopping and entertainment options, massages and sleep lounges?
* Business Friendly. Does the airport offer good commuter flights and nonstop? What is its proximity to the nearest city? What about airport lounges and business centers?
* Family Friendly. Are there ample changing stations, kid-friendly food options and clean play areas?
* Airline Volume. Does the airport serve a high number of airlines? If it is dominated by one carrier and being used as a hub, are there enough strong destinations and nonstop flights?
