Irked By Delays, Fliers Boot D/FW Way Down in Rankings
Posted on: Wednesday, 21 May 2008, 09:00 CDT
By Trebor Banstetter, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas
May 21--Consumer satisfaction with Dallas/Fort Worth Airport lost altitude over the past year, according to a new survey, as bad weather and packed airplanes meant frustrating delays for travelers.
D/FW's rank among large North American airports plummeted to 15th this year from first last year, according to the survey from J.D. Power and Associates. D/FW's decline came amid a broad feeling from travelers that airport service nationwide has deteriorated.
One of the reasons was an increase in delays, said Jim Gaz, the firm's senior director of travel and entertainment.
"Anytime there is a delay, there is a dissatisfied customer," he said.
The firm surveyed more than 21,000 passengers nationwide from April 2007 to March 2008 and focused on six areas of service: airport accessibility; baggage claim; check-in and baggage check; terminal facilities; security check; and food and retail services.
Although customers weren't surveyed on on-time performance, which stems from the airlines, not the airport, passengers tend to give lower ratings to airports when their flight has been delayed.
"There is sort of a negative halo around the entire experience," Gaz said.
D/FW experienced numerous delays over the past year, with stormy weather last summer and earlier this year. There were also cancellations in March after American Airlines grounded some of its planes for inspections.
Gaz suggested that D/FW's rank may also have fallen because travelers are less enamored with Terminal D, which opened in 2005.
"People have gotten used to it by now," he said. "They honeymoon with Terminal D might be over."
Airports were rated on a 1,000-point scale. D/FW scored 666 points, down from 704 last year. Large airports overall averaged 674 points, down from 689 a year ago.
"We congratulate all of this year's winners because we know passenger perception of the entire industry is down right now," D/FW spokesman Ken Capps said. "D/FW is doing the same things we did last year to get the top spot, and we've added even more customer services and amenities this year."
Capps pointed out that the airport was recently named best airport in the nation for customer service by the Airports Council International, and second-best in the world. And he noted that last summer was one of the stormiest on record for North Texas.
Among small airports, Dallas Love Field earned the top spot, with 709 points.
The top five large airports
1. Philadelphia
2. (tie) McCarran, Las Vegas
2. (tie) Orlando (Fla.)
4. Bush Intercontinental, Houston
5. Phoenix Sky Harbor
The bottom five
15. Dallas/Fort Worth Airport
16. Denver
17. Seattle-Tacoma
18. San Francisco
19. Minneapolis-St. Paul
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Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas)
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