PHL ranks worst in customer satisfaction among large airports — for the third year in a row

Philadelphia International Airport came in last in customer satisfaction among 27 large airports, according to an annual survey by J.D. Power, a data analytics company.

Across airports, overall customer satisfaction is still down compared to 2020, in part due to crowded terminals as more people are traveling, according to the report. But customer satisfaction improved this year compared to last year despite a pilot shortage, record high passengers traveling, and weather events that canceled flights, J.D. Power said in a news release.

While PHL improved from its score last year, this is the third consecutive year the airport has come in last in customer satisfaction among similarly sized airports, according to J.D. Power, which sells its data to airports and consults with them on how to improve. (PHL is in the large-airport category, which includes airports that see 10 million to 32.9 million passengers per year.)

PHL does “some things pretty well, but I believe they’re being held back by lack of infrastructure upgrades,” said Michael Taylor, senior managing director of travel, hospitality, retail, and customer service at J.D. Power.

The airport has been working to improve terminals for years.

In December 2022, the PHL CEO said the airport was implementing a master planning effort to upgrade terminals that had been put on pause because of the pandemic. And, earlier this month, PHL broke ground on Phase Five of its nine-phase bathroom improvement project, which will renovate some bathrooms and bring an additional 13,000 square feet of bathroom space to the airport. The project, promising 35 more stalls by 2028, has been underway since 2012, and has required a total budget of over $200 million.

“We want to get to a point where every single person who travels through the airport feels like it was one of the best airport experiences they’ve ever had,” said PHL CEO Atif Saeed in December 2022.

For now, that’s not so.

The J.D. Power survey used six factors to measure customer satisfaction: terminal facilities; how easily travelers can arrive or depart from an airport; baggage claim; security check; check-in, including baggage check; and food, beverage, and retail options. (The study doesn’t take into account the availability of airlines or the cost of flights.)

PHL improved in all six categories compared to last year, with access to the airport standing out, said Taylor.

“People thought they got on the airport faster than they did in previous years. That has a big impact on everything else following afterwards,” he said. “The more time you have in the airport, the more relaxed you are, the more likely you’re going to do things like shop or eat or drink.”

Satisfied customers spend more money at airports, according to the report. Passengers who rated their airport experience a 10 out of 10 spent an average of $44 while those who rated their experience anywhere between a 1 to a 5 out of 10 spent $29.

And one of the areas in which PHL scored highest was in the retail and food and beverage area.

Once an airport figures out how to get passengers into the airport and onto an airplane well, “what separates the good airport from the great airport is having a really good food, beverage, and retail program,” said Taylor.

Airports that have done well in the survey over the years and have strong food and retail offerings are ones that have local businesses within the airport, he said. And PHL does a good job of showcasing that local flavor and the city, with businesses such as Chickie’s & Pete’s and La Colombe.

“The biggest fact that’s holding Philadelphia back would be the actual terminal facilities themselves,” he said.

But renovating airports is expensive. While PHL is behind other airports in renovating its facilities, some top-performing airports in the report have had major construction projects in recent years to upgrade and expand their facilities.

The final airport ranking was based on more than 27,000 customer surveys completed between August 2022 and July 2023 from U.S. or Canadian passengers that traveled through a U.S. or Canadian airport.

The highest-ranked large airport in customer satisfaction this year was Tampa International Airport, followed by John Wayne Airport, Orange County, Calif., and Salt Lake City International Airport.