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Daniel K. Inouye International Airport nearly tops a list of this year’s worst airports for customer satisfaction, mainly because of construction, which tends to delay passengers and sour their travel experiences.
Only LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport were rated worse out of the 62 airports measured as part of the annual J.D. Power 2019 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, which is in its 14th year.
The study, which was fielded from October 2018 through September, attempted to measure satisfaction levels based on responses from 32,276 U.S. or Canadian residents who had traveled through at least one North American airport during the past three months. Travelers were asked to rate their overall satisfaction by scoring terminal facilities, airport accessibility, baggage claim, security check, check-in/baggage check and food, beverage and retail.
The overall J.D. Power customer satisfaction score this year for North American airports was 762, up only 1 point from 2018. The study found that after several years of growth, customer satisfaction stagnated as North American airports struggled to handle surges in passenger volume amid construction delays. That was certainly true in Honolulu and on Maui, where both airports lost ground, said Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power.
In the large-airport category, the Honolulu airport dropped into the second- worst airport ranking; last year it was the fourth worst. Honolulu’s satisfaction score this year was 719 out of a possible 1,000, or 17 points lower than its score last year. In the midsize- airport category, Kahului Airport remained at the bottom of the list, although its satisfaction score of 754 out of a possible 1,000 was only two points worse than last year.
“With major terminal construction projects now underway in Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta and many other airports, it is becoming impossible for travelers not to experience some form of disruption,” Taylor said. “While these projects are absolutely necessary to address surging demand, they are currently causing passenger delays and confusion. This translates into a rushed passenger experience and less money spent on food, beverage and retail — and it’s slowing the progress of the airport satisfaction we’ve seen in the past several years.”
Taylor said top-performing airports such as Detroit Metropolitan, Portland International and Indianapolis International have new facilities that can accommodate increased passenger volume. They also offered customers localized food and beverage choices and easy access.
However, Taylor said airport access also is key to satisfaction. If passengers aren’t getting into the building efficiently, “everything else is for naught,” he said.
Any time you are having access problems, that’s generally going to have a big role on other things that happen at the airport, Taylor said. “Despite the fact that you know the food or beverage might actually be better or great, it doesn’t matter if people are not going to use it because they don’t feel like they have time to do it,” he said.
Honolulu resident Margaret Murchie said she wasn’t surprised by the local rankings, especially at the Honolulu airport, where she has been disappointed by deteriorating facilities, especially the bathrooms, and by the seemingly “never-ending construction” and accompanying “chaos.” Her only quibble with the survey respondents is that they didn’t rank Honolulu as the nation’s worst airport.
“It’s worse than a Third World airport. It’s hard to get there, you can never find parking or signage to where you need to go,” Murchie said. “My niece actually got confused and missed her plane to Canada last month. She was at the right gate, wrong terminal.”
Murchie also finds fault with most Honolulu airport bathrooms, especially the temporary ones.
“They are absolutely disgusting. It’s very sad and embarrassing to see the faces of visitors coming out of them,” Murchie said.
Murchie said she’d like to see the airports managed by an independent airport corporation instead of the state Department of Transportation. Legislators considered several airport corporation bills last year; however, none made it to the finish line, leaving Hawaii one of the nation’s only states without one. More airport corporation bills are expected to be proposed during the upcoming legislative session.
“All airlines have supported the airport corporation bill. We are committed to making sure that facilities are up to par,” said Daniel Chun, Alaska Airlines spokesman and Hawaii Tourism Authority board member.
The state DOT did not respond to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s request for comment. However, if there’s a silver lining, it’s that the state’s $3.6 billion airports modernization project just passed the halfway point, with most of the capital improvements expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
“We’ve been working on our modernization program for 10 years. I’m not here to brag, but I think we got a lot of stuff done within the last four years,” state DOT Airports Division Deputy Director Ross Higashi said last month during a Pacific Asia Travel Association Hawaii Chapter luncheon. “A lot of things are in line to get done. Within the next two years, you’ll see a lot of projects get completed.”
AIRING OUT THEIR COMMENTS
North American airports with overall lowest satisfaction scores, regardless of category, based on a 1,000-point scale:
>> LaGuardia Airport: 662
>> Newark Liberty International Airport: 695
>> Daniel K. Inouye International Airport: 719
>> Los Angeles International Airport: 726
>> O’Hare International Airport: 731
The top and bottom five in the large-airport category:
Best
>> Portland International Airport: 833
>> Dallas Love Field: 826
>> Tampa International: 822
>> John Wayne International Airport: 815
>> Raleigh-Durham International Airport: 804
Worst
>> LaGuardia Airport: 662
>> Daniel K. Inouye International Airport: 719
>> Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport: 733
>> Philadelphia International Airport: 740
>> Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport: 740
The top and bottom five in the midsize-airport category:
Top
>> Indianapolis International Airport: 833
>> Jacksonville International Airport: 831
>> Buffalo Niagara International Airport: 829
>> Southwest Florida International Airport: 823
>> Palm Beach International Airport: 814
Worst
>> Kahului Airport: 754
>> Cleveland Hopkins International Airport: 755
>> Bradley International Airport: 776
>> Edmonton International Airport: 779
>> Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport: 780
Source: J.D. Power
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