Local

How would you rank traveling out of Sea-Tac Airport? Recent survey gives it low marks

A new ranking of airports nationwide based on customer satisfaction has Seattle-Tacoma International Airport near the bottom of the list.

The J.D. Power 2019 North America Airport Satisfaction Study was released this week. In it, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport achieved the highest ranking among 19 mega-airports.

While Sea-Tac itself is quick to point out all of its ongoing improvements — including its new international arrivals facility, North Satellite modernization and Alaska Airlines' new lounge — the new survey notes that construction at many major airports, including Sea-Tac, is getting on travelers' nerves.

The added stress is affecting overall rankings, with the national satisfaction average at a stagnant level.

The survey considered the following factors: terminal facilities; airport accessibility; baggage claim; security check; check-in/baggage check; and food, beverage and retail.

Scroll down to continue reading

More news from KIRO 7

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APP 

After Detroit, Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Las Vegas McCarran International, Orlando and Dallas-Fort Worth rounded out the top five.

Sea-Tac was the top of the bottom five of the mega-airport category, followed by Boston Logan, Chicago O'Hare, and Los Angeles, with Newark ranked last.

Adding to the regional angst, Portland International ranked No. 1 among the next size tier of airports.

Among the tier of smallest airports, Indianapolis was No. 1.

Perry Cooper, Sea-Tac spokesman, wasn't too impressed with the survey.

"There are so many rankings out there. We're on the top end of several others, so hard to determine each time what they use as barometers," Cooper told The News Tribune via email.

Cooper noted that the airport is in the middle of more than 100 projects that are part of $3.7 billion worth of capital improvements.

"We've seen very positive comments from travelers on the new expansion of the North Satellite Modernization Project that we began opening in January and fully opened the extension, closing the old facility for renovation in July," he said.

He added that 20 new dining and retail locations have opened since the start of the year, "with more to come before the end of the year and next year. This includes opening the new south end of the Central Terminal in March."

"The north side is under construction and will open with a new two-level Salty's at the SEA and BrewTop Social next summer. The new Concourse D Annex has received construction awards for design and sustainability," Cooper said. "We're in the middle of the new International Arrivals Facility construction, which is scheduled to open to the public in fall of 2020, nearly four times the size of the current Customs facility dating back to the 1970s."

The fact remains not all travelers are happy in their Sea-Tac experiences.

"PLEASE add pick up and drop off capacity. Both the rideshare and taxi lines are ridiculously long," said a commenter this week on the airport's Facebook page.

"I rate this airport to be one of the worst I have been through. Get it together, Sea-Tac," said another on Sept. 22.

Cooper is quick to point out other national surveys haven't been as harsh: The Points Guy, a national travel tips and review website, blog and podcast, ranked Sea-Tac as one of the best 10 in the nation, and among its top five for on-time flights.

That same review also listed Detroit as one of the five worst airports in its list.

Sea-Tac also was a finalist in the 2019 America's Best Restroom contest by Cintas and as an airport with the fewest flight cancellations in 2018, according to InsureMyTrip. It's also still in the top three of GeekWire's rankings of free airport WiFi (though it used to rank higher).

According to the J.D. Power survey, overall satisfaction with North American airports has improved only a single point (on a 1,000-point scale) year over year, after several years of improvement.

"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," noted Michael Taylor of J.D. Power.

The survey, conducted October 2018 through this month, was based on responses from 32,276 U.S. or Canadian residents who traveled through at least one U.S. or Canadian airport and covers both departure and arrival experiences. Travelers evaluated either a departing or arriving airport from their round-trip experience.