One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
People Love John Wayne Airport And Hate LAX, According To New Satisfaction Rankings
(Photo by Matthew Dillon via LAist Feature Photos pool on Flickr)
LAX scored 18th in a list of 19 "mega" airports for overall passenger satisfaction, whereas John Wayne Airport in Orange County scored first in a list of 22 "large" airports. The rankings come from J.D. Power, which put out its 12th airport rankings yesterday. LAX suffered in particular because it's currently "in the thick of massive construction efforts," which creates "traveler disruption" and "access challenges."
LAX, which is the third busiest airport in the nation, has undergone a number of construction efforts recently: Delta moved terminals, prompting many other airlines to switch as well; American Airlines announced a massive investment to their terminals at the airport; and the people mover and other public transportation efforts are still underway.
The study obtains customer satisfaction information from 34,695 North American passengers in relation to six different factors, according to J.D. Power: "terminal facilities; airport accessibility; security check; baggage claim; check-in/baggage check; food, beverage and retail." Despite the low rankings for mega airports like LAX, "passenger satisfaction with North American airports has reached an all-time high," according to the study. Airports have been implementing new technology to assist travelers. Some even bring in therapy animals on occasion to the terminals to soothe the stressful traveling experience.
Katherine Alvarado, a public information officer for Los Angeles World Airports, told City News Service that, "Los Angeles World Airports is working hard with its airport partners
to improve guest satisfaction and move up in rankings." She cites the $14 billion investment in the airport—"the largest public works project in the history of California"—as well as a "performance management program" to train employees how to better improve guest experience.
You may be wondering, what about Bob Hope Hollywood Burbank and Long Beach airports? Hollywood Burbank sits at number 14 for medium-sized airports in a list of 21 airports. Long Beach, despite landing in the top 10 best airports list over at Condé Nast Traveler, isn't big enough to land on any of these lists.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
