The Wall Street Journal - 14.11.2019

R4| Thursday, November 14, 2019 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, November 14, 2019 |R5

BEST AIRPORTS 2019

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPhoenix PHXPhhhhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnix Piiix PHix PHix PHix PHix PHiix PHix PHix PHXiix PHXix PHXix PHXix PHXxPPPHPPPPPPPHHHHHHHHHHXHHHHHHXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Boston(BOS)

‘Use the free airport buses to get to the T

(subway) or ferry, and use those to get in and

out of the city center — very quick and easy.’

Charlotte (CLT)

‘Don't check a bag. It can take an absurdly long

time in baggage claim — 30-60 minute waits are

not unusual.’

LosAngeles (LAX)

‘Eat before security because food varies widely

with the terminal.’

Philadelphia (PHL)

‘The security line situation has gotten really

bad in recent months. And the Wi-Fi is so weak

it is useless.’

Chicago(ORD)

‘If you have the time, take time to relax and people

watch here. It's the best airport to relax with a

cocktail and watch the folks in a hurry.’

Houston(IAH)

‘Don't rush to get down to baggage claim — it will

take 20+ minutes from the time you deplane before

your bags are on the conveyor.’

Seattle(SEA)

‘It's fairly easy to get around this airport, but they

have very few restrooms and once in the gate area,

limited access to food and drink. The mountains

are beautiful, though.’

Orlando(MCO)

‘It's tempting, but don't wait to get theme park

souvenirs here. They upcharge you. Also, the hotel

in-terminal is great for layovers. Lots of food

choices, too.’

NewYork(JFK)

‘Give yourself 2-3 hours at least for a layover to

account for delays flying in and going back

through security when changing terminals.’

LasVegas (LAS)

‘The only airport that knows how to run cabs in

and out. They use a system where 10+ cabs arrive

and depart at the same time. Genius!’

Here’s how the 20 airports broke down in several key categories.

Phoenix Rises to the Top

The Journal ranked the 20 largest airports after weighing

14 factors, plus a survey of more than 2,500 subscribers. Below

are the best and worst performers in several categories. We’ve

included highlights from Phoenix Sky Harbor International

Airport, the winner of this year’s large airport rankings, and

Newark Liberty International Airport, which finished at the

bottom of the list. We also asked readers to score airports in

several categories, and created a grading system based on

their responses. The reader scorecards show reader grades for

select airports. Readers also included their tips for handling

the airports like a pro. To see how midsize airports performed

in the Journal’s rankings, please turn to pageR8.

The Best Large Airport in the U.S.

For the second straight year, Newark

Liberty International Airport finished

at the very bottom of the top 20.

The Worst

Phoenix International Airport finished first overall in the

large airport rankings, while Newark Airport finished

last. See fuller results in the bottom chart.

The Best and the Rest

Reader Tips From Curb to Destination, by Airport

72.2

68.5

63.8 (tied)

(tied)63.8

61.4

58.3

54.2

53.5

49.9

49.2

48.6

46.3

44.7

43.6

42.8

42.6

41.9

37.8

28.8

AIRPORTS RANKED WSJ SCORE

Average fare cost to these airports

Las Vegas

Ft. Lauderdale $266

Orlando $276

Newark $417

Dallas/Ft. Worth $411

Houston $415

$260

Tourist destinations offered the best

average domestic fares for the second

year in a row. Charlotte was the most

expensive for 2019.

The Price Is Nicer

‘TaketheSkytrainawayfromtheairport

andhavesomeonepickyouupthere.’

‘Theairportfindsitselfunabletocooltheterminals

downtoacomfortablelevelanydaythesunshines

anditreaches90degreesorabove,whichmeans

4-5monthsoftheyear.’

‘LearnNorth/Southcurbs,especiallyif

gettingpickedupbyfamily/friends.’

‘Stayclosetoyourgate,a

10gatewalkmighttake

youtoanentirelydifferent

partoftheterminal.’

‘Ifconnecting,the

walkcanbeverylong.

Usetheprovided

shuttleservice.’

‘Untilthelightrailopensastopatthecar

rentalcenter,allowplentyoftime—it'sfar

away.Theshuttlesystemtoandfromthe

rentalcenterismostlygoodbutusuallybusy.’

‘Ifyouareondifferentairlines,you

mayhavetoleavetheterminaland

takeashuttlebus.Forexample,Delta

andAmericanAirlinesareindifferent

terminalsrequiringasecondcheck-in.

Trytostaywiththesamecarrier.’

‘Findyourgatefirstthenshopor

dinenearbytoavoidanotherlong

walktothegates.Terminal4gates

allconnect.Picktheshortest

securitylineandwalktoyourgate

regardlessofA-Dgatecode.’

‘Leavethreehoursbeforeyour

flight.Gettingstuckintraffic

canruinyourflightthere.’

‘Leaveextratimetoarriveandget

throughTSA. SometimesTSAis

quick,othertimesit’sveryslow.’

‘Ifyouhavealong

layoverinoneofthe

‘bad’terminals,youcan

takeashuttletooneof

thebetterones.’

‘Therecentrefreshofthefoodserviceisgoodandexpensive.

Forthoseoflessermeans,orfamilieswithchildren,ithasto

beaproblembecausemore-affordableoptionswereremoved

tomakewayfortheupscaleoptions.Thelower-costoptions,

likeWendy’s,arestuckattheendofoneoftheconcourses.’

‘TheUnitedLounge

inAisahiddengem.’

‘Usetheadvancedreservation

parking—itmakesitveryeasy

togettoandfromtheterminal.’

‘EatattheGardenStateDinerin

TerminalC. BestdinerinNew

Jersey. Getthehomefries!’

‘Verybigandcrowdedbetween

gates/terminals.Allowfor

walkingtime.’

‘Passengerpick-upisanightmare

whenbaggageisinvolved.Thetiphere

wouldbetousetheupperlevelforall

drop-offandpick-ups.’

Phoenix made the top five in airports with the

cleanest bathrooms. Minneapolis led the pack,

ranking first.

Reader Score: Clean Bathrooms

1. Minneapolis A B CFD


2. Detroit B–


3. Denver B–


4. Charlotte


5. Phoenix B–

B–

Although Atlanta had the longest TSA wait

time, readers gave Newark their lowest grade

for their experience with security.

Reader Score: Security Line Wait Times

16. Chicago ABC– D F


17. Miami


18. Los Angeles


19. New York JFK


20. Newark D+

C–

C–

C–

Newark also ranked last in reader grades for

dining and bars. Los Angeles was next to last,

slightly getting the edge withaCgrade.

Reader Score: Restaurants and Bars

16. Philadelphia ABC+ D F


17. Miami


18. Ft. Lauderdale


19. Los Angeles


20. Newark C–

C+

C

C

Newark ranked last in overall experience. Long

security lines and flight delays were among the

top complaints from readers for this airport.

Reader Score: Overall Experience

16. Philadelphia ABC D F


17. Miami


18. New York (JFK)


19. Los Angeles


20. Newark C–

C

C–

C–

Detroit led all airports in reader grades for

overall experience for the second year in a row.

Phoenix was slightly worse, ranking third.

Reader Score: Overall Experience

1. Detroit A B CFD


2. Fort Lauderdale B


3. Phoenix B–


4. Denver


5. Dallas/Ft. Worth B–

B–

Detroit also edged Phoenix for the top

spot among WSJ readers for short wait

times at security.

Reader Score: Security Lines

1. Detroit A B– CFD


2. Phoenix C+


3. Minneapolis C+


4. Houston


5. Fort Lauderdale C+

C+

Average arrival

delay (minutes)

1. Seattle

2 Las Vegas

3. Phoenix: 62:34
18. New York (JFK)
17. Detroit

Phoenix finished in the top four best times in on-time arrivals, arrival delays and taxi

out times. They ranked 11th in flights canceled. Newark finished among the bottom

of the list in all four categories related to delays and cancellations.

More Takeoffs, No Waiting

1. Atlanta (tie)

Cancellation

rates

Taxi out times

(minutes)

On-time

arrivals

17. Chicago


18. Boston


19. San Francisco
    1. Phoenix: 14:37
    2. Las Vegas
    3. Orlando
    18. Chicago
    19. Newark: 25:01
    20. New York (JFK)
    
    
    1. Atlanta
    
    
    2. Philadelphia
       18. Newark: 2.87%
    
    
    3. Dallas/Ft. Worth
    
    
    
    


20. Detroit (tie)
    3. Ft. Lauderdale
    19. Newark: 83:22


21. Minneapolis (tie)
    2. Seattle
    17. San Francisco
    1. Phoenix (PHX)

Reliability

average*

2. Denver (DEN)


3. Ft. Lauderdale (FLL)


4. Detroit (DTW)


5. Orlando (MCO)


6. Las Vegas (LAS)


7. Atlanta (ATL)


8. Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)


9. Los Angeles (LAX)


10. Houston (IAH)

77.5

47.0

55.0

62.0

66.0

67.0

64.0

39.0

69.0

46.0

67.5

68.0

76.5

47.5

76.5

(tie)

(tie)

(tie)

69.5

43.0

29.0

48.0

42.0

71.9

82.2

61.3

75.0

49.1

46.0

55.0

77.8

39.1

55.6

1.3%

1.7%

1.0%

1.0%

1.2%

1.2%

0.6%

3.0%

1.2%

1.3%

$365

$335

$266

$382

$276

$260

$383

$411

$365

$415

81%

79%

77%

84% (tie)

(tie)

77%

80%

84%

75%

80%

78%

5:19

8:22

8:11

6:13

6:10

8:00

10:19

4:35

6:16

6:27

93.5

88.5

12.4

62.2

42.9

44.6

65.9

54.6

70.6

12.9

3,223

2,690

2,242

2,950

1,840

4,277

2,357

2,500

2,585

3,168

2.88

2.99

2.25

2.65

2.58

2.64

2.77

2.99

2.65

2.60

$13.60

$39.30

$14.10

$31.90

$26.20

$15.20

$20.80

$32.90

$34.10

$30.90

B–

B–

B

B

C+

B–

C+

B–

C–

B–

Value

average*

Convenience

average*

Flights

canceled

Domestic

fare average

On-time

arrivals

TSA Time

(minutes)

Wi-Fi Speed

(mbps)

Longest

walk (feet)

Yelp food

rating

Average

UberX cost

Reader

grades

11. Charlotte (CLT)


12. Seattle (SEA)


13. Minneapolis (MSP)


14. San Francisco (SFO)


15. Boston (BOS)


16. Chicago (ORD)


17. Miami (MIA)


18. Philadelphia (PHL)


19. New York (JFK)
    20. Newark (EWR)

Airports with the shortest and longest TSA wait times

3:12 Chicago

4:16 Boston

4:35 Dallas/Ft. Worth

8:22 Denver

9:27 Charlotte

9:53 Newark

Passengers waited longest in TSA lines in Newark

from Jan.-July 2019. Chicago O’Hare had the

speediest security for the second year in a row, with

the average wait time just 3 minutes, 12 seconds.

X-Ray Precision

Cost of on-site parking per day

Houston’s IAH had the lowest minimum

daily parking rate for the second year in

a row. The New York area airports again

made the most expensive list.

Parking Paradises

$6 Houston

$7 Phoenix, Charlotte

$8 Denver

$17 Miami

$18 Newark, New York (JFK),

San Francisco

$29 Boston

Airports

ranked

highest

Airports

ranked

lowest

Airports

ranked

highest

Airports

ranked

lowest

Denver $335 5:19 Phoenix 4. Phoenix: 81% 4. Los Angeles 4. Atlanta 4. Detroit

Concourse A

Terminal 3 Terminal 4

Terminal A

Terminal B

Terminal C

Concourse B

Concourse D Concourse C

$10 Orlando, Las Vegas,

Dallas/Ft. Worth, Chicago

‘Avoideatingattheairport,especiallyifyour

flightdepartsfromTerminalA—anextremely

below-averageterminal.’

*For a full explanation of data and categories, see wsj.com/BestAirports2019 Sources: the airports (daily parking, longest walk); Bureau of Transportation Statistics (average fares, on-time arrivals, average delay, taxi out delays, flights canceled); Transportation Security Administration(TSA lines); Uber (fares); Yelp (Yelp ratings); Ookla (Wi-Fi) Graphic and illustrations by Mike Sudal; Data research by Allison Foley, and Kevin McAllister of the WSJ R&D team/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

Highest and lowest Yelp ratings

San Francisco

Denver, Dallas/

Ft. Worth 2.99

Phoenix 2.88

New York (JFK) 2.24

Seattle, Orlando 2.58

Ft. Lauderdale 2.25

3.05

Phoenix ranked third comparing Yelp’s

average score for airport restaurants.

Newark was at the bottom, edging out

New York’s JFK for the worst score.

The Hubs for Grub

Miami 2.85

Charlotte $432 Newark 2.22 10:19 Atlanta $32 Seattle 20. Newark: 66% 20. Chicago 20. Chicago

22.8

1. Phoenix (PHX)
2. Denver (DEN)
3. Ft. Lauderdale (FLL)
3. Detroit (DTW)
5. Orlando (MCO)
6. Las Vegas (LAS)
7. Atlanta (ATL)
8. Dallas/Fort
Worth (DFW)
9. Los Angeles (LAX)
10. Houston (IAH)
11. Charlotte (CLT)
12. Seattle (SEA)
13. Minneapolis (MSP)
14. San Fran. (SFO)
15. Boston (BOS)
16. Chicago (ORD)
17. Miami (MIA)
18. Philadelphia (PHL)
19. New York (JFK)
20. Newark (EWR)

Phoenix and Newark both averaged low costs

of an UberX ride to nearest convention centers.

Newark’s cost was from airport to downtown

Newark, not Manhattan, helping its rank.

Rock-Solid Ride-Shares

UberX fares from airport to convention center

$13.60 Phoenix

$14.00 Newark

$14.10 Fort Lauderdale

$37.80 Seattle

$39.30 Denver

$44.40 Chicago

$15.20 Las Vegas

$79.70 New York (JFK)

Best airport in each category Reliability

average*

42.5

62.0

58.0

24.0

38.0

25.0

59.0

37.0

26.0

6.0

47.5

33.0

31.5

33.0

46.0

41.5

43.5

42.0

35.5

29.0 (tie)

53.1

44.7

44.7

62.5

43.8

54.4

30.3

35.6

26.3

29.4

2.1%

0.9%

1.0%

1.9%

2.1%

3.1%

1.1%

2.2%

1.8%

2.9%

$432

$342

$369

$408

$347

$353

$354

$403

$402

$417

81%

78%

84%

72%

(tie)

73%

74%

80%

78%

77%

66%

9:27

7:07

6:54

7:16

4:16

3:13

6:58

6:40

6:49

9:53

47.7

98.7

60.9

54.9

46.2

64.5

35.8

45.8

50.3

51.6

4,118

3,200

4,400

2,155

1,320

1,870

3,960

3,115

3,935

1,430

2.60

2.58

2.80

3.05

2.60

2.69

2.85

2.84

2.24

2.22

$15.30

$37.80

$27.90

$33.60

$19.90

$44.40

$22.10

$24.10

$79.70

$14.00

B–

C+

C+

B–

C+

C

C

C

C–

C–

Value

average*

Convenience

average*

Flights

canceled

Domestic

fare average

On-time

arrivals

TSA time

(minutes)

Wi-Fi speed

(mbps)

Longest

walk (feet)

Yelp food

rating

Average

UberX cost

Reader

grades

‘Easytogetlosttryingtofindwhichterminal

andairlineyouwant.Trafficandsignagearea

problem.Payattentiontothesignssothatyou

don'theadtoanotherconcoursewhenyou

reallymeantogotobaggageclaim.’

NewarkNewNewarkNewarkNewarkNewarkNewarkNewarkNew EEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRR

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