Philadelphia airport ranks near the bottom on consumer survey, but still did better than LaGuardia

Philadelphia International Airport inched up the ranks by one spot on a popular consumer survey, landing fourth-from-last in the J.D. Power 2019 North America Airport Satisfaction Study.

That means PHL did better than Ronald Reagan Washington National, Honolulu International, and New York’s LaGuardia Airport — all fellow members of the large airport category, made up of 27 airports that see 10 million to 32.9 million passengers a year.

And to its credit, PHL’s scores went up in five categories this year, including terminal facilities, security check, and food-beverage-and-retail. (J.D. Power said it does not release scores in those individual categories.)

"They’ve improved in almost every factor – with the one exception, which is access,” said Michael Taylor, practice lead for travel intelligence at J.D. Power.

“Access” essentially corresponds to traffic around, and at, the airport. With more passengers come crowding and longer lines, and that can send satisfaction scores down.

It’s an issue that cuts across the entire industry, Taylor said. “The traffic at airports has just continued unabated.”

At PHL, passenger volume increased 7.1 percent last year, to 31,691,956 travelers.

“A lot of airports are a victim of their own success,” Taylor said.

PHL’s biggest improvement came in the food, beverage, and retail services category, according to Taylor. “They’ve done a good job having what they call the Marketplace," he said, “and also putting food and beverages down through the concourse.”