Pearson ranked among lowest for customer satisfaction in new study, airport questions methodology

Pearson International Airport has been ranked one of the lowest for customer satisfaction in a new study, though the airport is questioning its methodology.

The J.D. Power 2024 North America Airport Satisfaction Study was released Wednesday and Pearson comes near the bottom of the list for the “mega” airport category — those which have 33 million or more passengers per year.

Pearson scored 559 on a 1,000-point scale, only above Newark Liberty International Airport, which got 552.

The mega airport with the most satisfied customers was Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, which scored 671.

A press release from J.D. Power said the study examines customers’ experience “across seven core dimensions (in order of importance): ease of travel through airport; level of trust with airport; terminal facilities; airport staff; departure/to airport experience; food, beverage and retail; and arrival/from airport experience.”

The study was based on more than 26,000 surveys completed by Canadian or U.S. residents from August 2023 through to July 2024 who travelled through at least one U.S. or Canadian airport, the release said.

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It covers both departure and arrival experiences, including connections, during the previous 30 days. Those surveyed evaluated either a departing or arriving airport.

Pearson questions ‘credibility of the methodology’

After J.D. Power released its findings, a spokesperson for Pearson Airport said in response that they have “questions about the credibility of the methodology” in the study.

“The survey is heavily skewed toward U.S. travellers and doesn’t verify whether respondents have actually travelled through Toronto Pearson,” the spokesperson said in an email to INsauga.com

“Toronto Pearson values performance assessments, but we rely on industry-approved standards such as the Airports Council International World’s Airport Service Quality program, which recognizes airports across the globe for delivering the best experience for passengers.

“This is the only benchmarking program conducted in-terminal, on the day of travel, with over 400 participating airports across 109 countries.”

Pearson was named the best airport with over 40 million passengers in North America earlier this year as part of that program, the spokesperson said.

And a recent survey by Pollara Strategic Insights found that 83 per cent of travellers who went through Pearson in the previous 12 months said they were satisfied with their experience, the spokesperson added.

Overcrowding key to Pearson’s decline: J.D. Power

INsauga.com reached out to J.D. Power for a response to Pearson’s concerns.

Michael Taylor, who oversees the study and is the managing director of travel hospitality and retail at J.D. Power, didn’t address them directly, but highlighted why he says Pearson scored so low.

“The decline in customer satisfaction with Toronto Pearson is primarily due to a 26 per cent year-over-year increase in passenger volume,” Taylor said.

“When an airport is swamped like that, there are many negative effects on the experience.”

He said there may be traffic delays getting to the airport and people may have to park further away.

“Scores decline for signs and directions with more crowding and people have less time to investigate what an airport has to offer in terms of food, beverage and shopping,” he said.

“J. D. Power has consistently seen these effects at other overcrowded airports for many years.”

Meanwhile large airports — defined as those with 10 to 32.9 million passengers per year, were also ranked in their own category for the J.D. Power study.

Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport was near the bottom of that list, scoring 576, only above Philadelphia International Airport, which scored 541.

Calgary International Airport scored slightly higher at 599, while Vancouver International Airport was near the middle of the list at 634.

The large airport with the most satisfied customers was John Wayne with a score of 687.

J.D. Power noted that the 2024 survey was redesigned and as a result, is not comparable to previous years.

See all the rankings from the J.D. Power study below:

Credit: J.D. Power

Credit: J.D. Power

Credit: J.D. Power