Traveler Satisfaction Edges Up at Logan
Security, access win higher marks, but baggage check lags
Peter J. Howe, Boston Globe, 5/23/2007
Travelers may not ever love Logan International Airport, but they're feeling better about it these days.
An annual J.D. Power and Associates airport customer satisfaction ranking, released yesterday, showed Logan jumped to seventh place in overall satisfaction ratings among mid size North American airports, up from 21st just a year ago.
Kansas City International topped the ranking of airports that handle 10 million to 30 million passengers annually, while Canada's Calgary and Vancouver airports were rated the worst. Among the biggest airports, Dallas-Fort Worth International earned the highest customer satisfaction ranking, and San Francisco International placed last.
Despite the improved showing, Logan isn't exactly on the airport honor roll. It received B's in the top two areas ranked -- ease of access and security -- but was awarded C's in five other areas, including baggage check, and terminal facilities.
Over the last year, Logan has completed a project to expand parking in its central garage by nearly 3,000 spaces, a 25 percent increase, and the airport now offers reserved spaces for a $5-a-day premium.
Some travelers who frequently use Logan said yesterday that the ratings upgrade is warranted.
"I think Logan is better than other airports and has improved in recent years, especially related to parking," said Carl M. Rubin, a principal at Monument Data Solutions, a Needham technology consulting firm, who flies often on business. "Logan is lucky that central parking was designed around all the terminals," he said. On a recent trip, Rubin said, he flew out of Boston on Delta Air Lines Inc. in Terminal A and flew home on JetBlue Airways Corp. into Terminal C. But because of the garage's location, he still had an easy walk back to his car.
"Overall, the look of the airport is improving," said Scott Rosenthal, director of sales and marketing for Ocean Hospitalities Inc., a Portsmouth, N.H., company that operates 100 hotels in North America.
Rosenthal said he is especially looking forward to the completion of the new food court and retail space in the American Airlines side of Terminal B, which is expected to open this year.
Jim Gaz, the senior director of travel and entertainment for J.D. Power, said it appeared the single biggest factor affecting airport customer satisfaction is how well and speedily bags are delivered to arriving passengers.
Since August's ban on liquids and gels in carry-ons, travelers are checking in 20 to 30 percent more bags, he said. Logan has begun informally monitoring bag delivery times to help airlines speed bag handling.
The airport's top official said he was pleased that Logan moved up in the customer satisfaction survey, but that he is hardly ready to declare the airport's grades good enough.
"The increase in the ranking reflects our commitment to customer service and satisfaction," said Thomas J. Kinton Jr., the chief executive of the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan. "Number 7, however, still shows that we have work to do to be even better."