Customers Are Enjoying Airport Experiences Despite Rising Costs

Airports have improved their offerings, but customers are spending less as costs rise.

Up until a few years ago, airports weren’t the favourite part of a customer’s journey. It was the part of the routine one would want to skim through as soon as possible to board and start the real enjoyment. The situation has now however changed.

Airports have worked hard to provide a delightful experience to customers travelling. From numerous shopping options to food courts, it is no less than a leisure experience. A study by J.D. Power offers insights into how customer satisfaction has improved over the years despite inflationary pressures and rising costs.

More than three million passengers passed through Transportation Safety Administration checkpoints at North American airports on July 7 this year, setting a record for one-day passenger volume. 

According to the J.D. Power 2024 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, such huge volumes of passengers—and all the traffic and rapidly rising prices that come along with them—has not stopped passengers from enjoying their time in airports, evidenced by this year’s overall airport satisfaction scores.

“Huge air travel demand has not slowed down in North America, despite the steadily rising costs of flights, ground travel, hotel rooms and pretty much anything you can buy in an airport,” said Michael Taylor, Managing Director of Travel, Hospitality and Retail at J.D. Power. 

“Most travelers are still enjoying the experience. However, we are starting to see a breaking point in consumer spending, with average spend per person in the terminal declining significantly from a year ago.”

Following are some key findings of the 2024 study:

• Airports successfully navigate record passenger volumes: Despite record numbers of passengers and widespread flight cancellations and delays, 60% of North American airport passengers say they “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” they enjoyed spending time in their airport. Another 59% say they agree that their airport helped to alleviate the stress of travel.
• Rising costs may finally be reaching a breaking point: For many years, the single lowest-scoring attribute in the study has been reasonableness of food and beverage pricing—but it has not really affected passengers’ overall satisfaction. That trend may be ending, however. On average, passengers this year spent $3.53 per person less than they did in 2023 on food, beverage and other items in the terminal. The decline is greatest among large airports where passengers have reduced their spending by an average of $6.31.
• More airports delivering on unique, local identity: One of the key performance indicators separating top-performing airports from those that passengers merely tolerate is unique décor, signage, stores and restaurants that celebrate the region. Overall, 70% of passengers agree their airport reflects a genuine sense of its city or region.
• Crowding has a significant effect on airport scores: The average overall satisfaction score when airport terminals are perceived as “not at all crowded” is 736 (on a 1,000-point scale). That score plummets to 429 when terminals are perceived to be “severely crowded.” However, just 5% of passengers say they experienced severely crowded conditions in 2024.