Portland airport drops to just above average ranking
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Construction at the ticket counters of PDX. Photo: Emily Harris/Axios
Travelers aren't as happy as they used to be flying in and out of Portland International Airport: a recent survey placed it barely above average, its worst ranking ever.
Why it matters: People who are happy at airports spend more money at airports — and that spending contributes both to airport funding and the regional economy.
- More than 1.6 million people flew through PDX in July, a nearly 15% increase compared to July 2022.
- The airport saw 14.8 million passengers last year, still lower than pre-pandemic numbers of nearly 20 million annually in 2019.
By the numbers: This year, customers ranked Portland International Airport 12th among airports of similar size in research by the consumer analytics company J.D. Power.
- It's a big drop — Portland has landed the #1 ranking three times, most recently in 2019 — and was in the top five every year from 2015 to 2020.
What's happening: In a word, construction. The airport is getting closer to wrapping up a major overhaul, hoping to improve travelers' experiences. But it's not scheduled to wrap until the end of 2025.
- "You're breaking a lot of eggs to make an omelet later on," Mike Taylor, managing director for travel, hospitality and retail research at J.D. Power, tells Axios.
What they're saying: Taylor puts Portland now "in the middle of the road" in most big categories — such as getting to and from the airport, getting through it and baggage claim.
- It's still among the top five large airports for food and beverage, which is what first won PDX accolades.
- "They used to blow everybody out of the water in retail because they had one specific thing that they did, which is they had a lot of Portland in the airport," Taylor said.
State of play: Baggage handling can have a big influence on traveler satisfaction, but airlines have the most influence over that.
- Delta and Alaska have the best rankings, according to J.D. Power research.
The intrigue: Tampa International Airport, which topped the large airport rankings this year, is getting a lot of attention for how it has improved bathrooms — particularly by installing large, digital photos of beautiful local scenery.
What's next: Once construction at PDX is complete, rankings could turn around. Many of the top airports this year had recently finished major construction.
Of note: The rankings are based on extensive surveys of over 27,000 travelers, done between August 2022 and July 2023.