Fliers love Portland’s airport. And LAX? Not so much, new study says

Why do fliers like Portland’s airport so much more than LAX? It’s all about keeping travelers happy while they pass through the airport, says a new J.D. Power study released Wednesday.

Among large U.S. airports, Portland International Airport (PDX) (which has a ridiculously popular carpet with more than 2,300 Twitter followers: @pdxcarpet) ranked tops in the study.

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) came in third from the bottom, above last-place Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in New Jersey and second-to-last LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York City.

Why? It goes back to the idea of “making the airport experience enjoyable,” says Rick Garlick, J.D. Power’s global travel and hospitality pro.

“One thing our study shows is that the efficiency of getting through the airport is one of the No. 1 drivers of [customer] experience.”

And that, Garlick says, is where LAX stumbles. It’s not an easy place to get to (traffic-generating construction has been ongoing), and it’s not easy to get through ticketing and security quickly, he says.

The study also found that airport terminals -- what restaurants are there? what shops are there? where can you plug in and charge a phone? -- were the biggest indicator of customer satisfaction.

Some of the other findings of the study show:

--The happiest fliers were those who spent less than 5 minutes checking in.

--Younger travelers such as millennials and Gen Xers had a better airport experience than baby boomers. They spent more money on food and other purchases at the airport too.

--Those who used ride-share services to get to the airport were happier than those who had a friend or family member drop them off.

-- You’re more likely to hear from a cranky flier (they make an average of 13 negative comments about their airport experience when they talk about it with others) than a happy one (they only make five positive comments to others).

-- Frequent flier or premium lines at security checkpoints got higher marks than the Transportation Security Administration’s Pre-Check program. Both, however, were deemed better than going through the regular lines.

Most travelers don’t have a choice of which airport to fly in or out of because there may be only one option. Still, here are the rest of the top 10 large airports that get it right.

2. Tampa, Fla. (TPA)

3. Las Vegas (LAS)

4. Orlando (MCO)

5. Salt Lake City (SLC)

6. Denver (DEN)

7. San Diego (SAN)

8. Atlanta (ATL)

9. Detroit (DTW)

10. Phoenix (PHX)

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