John Wayne Ranked Best Large Airport

[Travel Junkie]

JD Power came out with an airport satisfaction study and there is good news for Disney fans. Orlando was ranked the top airport in the mega category and John Wayne was ranked the top in the large airport category. LAX...well that was near the bottom. I actually don't mind LAX but I've been going there my whole life so I'm used to it.

whole article is here. http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/jd-power-2017-north-america-airport-satisfaction-study

 

[75disney]

We just flew out of John Wayne in August after our Disneyland trip. Best airport I have ever been in. Easy to get to from DLR. No line at check-in or security. Very nice workers. Good food option (ate at Ruby's). Clean. Wish every airport could be like this one.

 

[Californian Elitist]

John Wayne is amazing, no doubt. I've never had issues with LAX though. The worst part about LAX is the traffic.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I've never had issues with LAX, but I've never had to park there.

Lol at LaGuardia's ranking. Completely deserved and in dire need of refurbishment.

I just used MSP on a connecting flight and it was fairly easy to get to where I needed to go. Didn't see much though, so I can't comment too much on its ranking.

McCarran is the nicest and cleanest airport I've been to in the USA, despite the slot machines (including the little rooms where you can smoke while you play).

 

[westie]

If John Wayne is a large airport I'd hate to see what a small airport looks like! Anyways, I'm quite unsure of what to make of this news since my last 3 trips, leaving from SNA my flights were delayed by 3 hours each and each time we were threatened that if we don't leave by 10pm we're not leaving at all and SWA thumbs their nose at you when you ask for help. At least when I complained to SWA corporate I got a $150. travel voucher!

 

[TP2000]

John Wayne is amazing, no doubt. I've never had issues with LAX though. The worst part about LAX is the traffic.

Yes, the worst part about LAX is the terrible traffic getting into and around that infamously bad airport.

A close second is the circa 1960 terminal setup with absolutely no internal transit or train system, making transfers very painful.
A close third is the horrible and sloppy service levels of most employees there. Like a WalMart on a bad day.
A close fourth is the small, shoebox terminal sizes and cramped quarters for everything from bathrooms to lounges to food options.
A close fifth is the mish-mash aesthetics of the place that range from the fabulous 1962 Theme Building to cheap 1970/80's cement to 1990's mausoleum marble and dusty fake ferns.

I could go on, but I think my point has already been made by J.D. Power.

LAX is historically one of the lowest rated mega airports in the entire developed world. John Wayne is one of the cleanest, easiest, fastest and most stylish airports in the USA. John Wayne is also a 20 to 25 minute drive from the Disneyland Hotel. It's a tourist's choice which airport they use when visiting SoCal.

 

[Ismael Flores]

LAX is one of the ugliest high-occupancy airports in the World. I can't believe that they haven't come up with a viable plan to start demolishing that airport slowly and rebuilding it all. It also needs a viable transportation system as well as a consolidated car rental area.

i have flown to places where as soon as i land i'm amazed at the design elements of the airports. has anyone seen the concept art for the future Mexico city airport? looks like they are following the steps of places like Dubai, Qatar and Beijing with some pretty amazing architecture and if the hyperloop proceeds as planned it should be quite an interesting addition to that cities evolving skyline.

I'm still hoping that Ontario airport keeps pushing to add more flights and airlines because i can't wait to stop going to LAX

 

[shortstop]

I refuse to believe there exists an airport anywhere worse than LAX. Picking up/dropping someone off is a nightmare. Baggage claim takes forever. It is ugly and there are no good food options (at least in the terminals I use).

 

[TP2000]

LAX is one of the ugliest high-occupancy airports in the World. I can't believe that they haven't come up with a viable plan to start demolishing that airport slowly and rebuilding it all. It also needs a viable transportation system as well as a consolidated car rental area.

i have flown to places where as soon as i land i'm amazed at the design elements of the airports. has anyone seen the concept art for the future Mexico city airport? looks like they are following the steps of places like Dubai, Qatar and Beijing with some pretty amazing architecture and if the hyperloop proceeds as planned it should be quite an interesting addition to that cities evolving skyline.

I'm still hoping that Ontario airport keeps pushing to add more flights and airlines because i can't wait to stop going to LAX

LAX is trying, they really are. I'm flying out of Tom Bradley International Terminal next month, and once you get past TSA it's actually quite nice in that one terminal. They have double-decked A380 jetways and wide open spaces. And especially if you are spending an hour waiting in an airline's premium lounge upstairs, it's almost like London or Dubai or Tokyo. Then you encounter a few typical LAX employees and their slug-like sloppy service, and you are reminded you are still at LAX.

And the 90 to 120 minutes it takes to get into this one terminal from the freeway to parking to check-in to TSA is still typical LAX hell.

LA politicians know they have one of the world's lowest rated, least efficient, and ugliest airports, and they are spending $5 Billion to try and put band-aids on the mess they have. It's not a full remake, which is desperately needed, it's just band-aids and additions to the circa 1960 bone structure; a central PeopleMover, an off-site rental car facility and massive parking structures, and a vague future connection to the city's Light Rail that will still require an hour+ long stop-and-go trip into downtown with a train transfer in gritty South Central just to get some local flavor and attract attention to your luggage.

Completion date? Hopefully before the Olympics in 2028.

But this does nothing to fix the aesthetics and cramped size of the terminals and overall vibe of LAX. To do that you'd need to bulldoze it all, start from scratch and spend about $20 Billion, which is what other countries do with their flagship port-of-entry airports.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I refuse to believe there exists an airport anywhere worse than LAX. Picking up/dropping someone off is a nightmare. Baggage claim takes forever. It is ugly and there are no good food options (at least in the terminals I use).

Try Heathrow in London. LAX is a breeze compared to that airport.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Orlando's the best because of that brief ride over the swamp in dated Peoplemovers that sort of resemble the crashing subway car from Earthquake at Universal Studios. I think they're replacing them, though.

 

[Travel Junkie]

As TP said LAX is improving. The International Terminal is really nice and they are slowly rolling out improvements to the other terminals. Once public transportation connects to it the traffic will improve some, but that will always be a mess with LA being a city of cars.

LAX doesn't even crack my top 10 of worst airports. Ironically many of them are in gorgeous cities. CDG in Paris, London Heathrow, Berlin Schoenfeld and Budapest are among the bad ones in cities that should do better. Don't get me started on Rome's (FCO.) That place is a nightmare.

 

[21stamps]

How does MIA have 3 stars?
Definitely doesn't deserve it.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I refuse to believe there exists an airport anywhere worse than LAX.

Try JFK. It's the absolute worst.

By the way and FWIW another California airport, SFO, ranks #4 for best airports in North America according to Business Insider in 2016. LAX and SNA don't rank on the list.

"The Skytrax annual rankings are based on the impressions of nearly 14 million fliers from 105 countries. More than 550 airports were included in the survey, which covers 39 service and performance parameters, including facility comfort, the location of bathrooms, and the language skills of the staff.

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-airports-north-america-2017-skytrax-2017-3

Personally my favorite California airports are Burbank and Palm Springs.

 

[Ismael Flores]

LAX is trying, they really are. I'm flying out of Tom Bradley International Terminal next month, and once you get past TSA it's actually quite nice in that one terminal. They have double-decked A380 jetways and wide open spaces. And especially if you are spending an hour waiting in an airline's premium lounge upstairs, it's almost like London or Dubai or Tokyo. Then you encounter a few typical LAX employees and their slug-like sloppy service, and you are reminded you are still at LAX.

And the 90 to 120 minutes it takes to get into this one terminal from the freeway to parking to check-in to TSA is still typical LAX hell.

LA politicians know they have one of the world's lowest rated, least efficient, and ugliest airports, and they are spending $5 Billion to try and put band-aids on the mess they have. It's not a full remake, which is desperately needed, it's just band-aids and additions to the circa 1960 bone structure; a central PeopleMover, an off-site rental car facility and massive parking structures, and a vague future connection to the city's Light Rail that will still require an hour+ long stop-and-go trip into downtown with a train transfer in gritty South Central just to get some local flavor and attract attention to your luggage.

Completion date? Hopefully before the Olympics in 2028.

But this does nothing to fix the aesthetics and cramped size of the terminals and overall vibe of LAX. To do that you'd need to bulldoze it all, start from scratch and spend about $20 Billion, which is what other countries do with their flagship port-of-entry airports.

True they have been trying, the Bradley terminal is a step up of what was there. I normally arrive early because i hate worrying while stuck in traffic so I take advantage of the private lounges and just relax a couple hours.

What they really need to do is get rid of the drop off zones at the airport. Most major airports around the world have a centralized drop off zone. Once you get there you check in your luggage and then get on a monorail that would take you to one of maybe three centralized secured areas that have hallways to the departing gates.

Sounds like it could be a pain but works wonderful in many of the imports I have encountered around the world. The one I was really impressed with was the one in Beijing. They were so efficient in getting people from one gate to the other. In one of my trip my plane was delayed an hour and as soon as everyone got off they had people with signs of all the connecting flights. Guiding guests to what directions to take and had transportation ready. My connecting plane was in one of the stand alone boarding areas away from main terminals and they actually had shuttle waiting. As soon as last passenger was off plane they contacted the shuttle and gave them a count.

In places like Qatar They have monorails running up and down the inside of the terminals. Really makes you feel dirty when you get to LAX and you see how horrible the arrival gates are. LoL
Last time I arrived in gate 2, probably the worst gate in all of LAX. It was embarrassing hearing people how disgusting it was for a first impression of Los Angeles. Lol

I know there are worst airports around and have had interesting experiences in places like India, and Bolivia but this is one of the busiest in the world in a city that prides itself for being a huge tourist destination.

It will be great if they finally get some of these plans up and going. They have been working on upgrades for many years and they never get anywhere and the cost just keeps going up.
It’s annoying to hear when projects get cancelled or put on hold because neighboring cities or organizations stop progress because they have some kind of complain.
Guess I’m one of those people that believes that if you are worried about airport noise, don’t buy a house near it. If you don’t want to hear fireworks and be issue with tourist traffic then don’t buy near a theme park resort or if you get upset because a a dear ate your flowers then don’t live in the mountains

 

[TP2000]

True they have been trying, the Bradley terminal is a step up of what was there. I normally arrive early because i hate worrying while stuck in traffic so I take advantage of the private lounges and just relax a couple hours.

When I am forced to fly out of LAX when traveling overseas (the only time I use LAX, although I'm considering using San Diego Lindbergh for a future trip now that British Airways flies a 787 out of there daily), I can't even trust to get there in one day. I stay at the Hilton on Century Blvd. and check in the day before my flight. Then I know I can get a hotel shuttle to the Bradley terminal within 30 minutes of gridlock traffic, and know I won't miss my flight.

It's what you have to do to use LAX if your flight leaves before 2pm.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

In the photo above the airport looks like a Simon mall. It seems their designs are becoming interchangeable. I just go to take airplanes.

 

[75disney]

I refuse to believe there exists an airport anywhere worse than LAX. Picking up/dropping someone off is a nightmare. Baggage claim takes forever. It is ugly and there are no good food options (at least in the terminals I use).

Then you've never flown into or out of Philly. Flew out of there in August and we needed to check our bags in the customer service line instead of using the kiosks. When we went to get in line, a female worker stopped us and said, "Kiosk" and pointed to them. My husband explained why we had to get in the line. She was not happy, but grunted , "Fine. I'll allow it." She then refused to let other customers get in the line. She yelled at one guy who went to get out of the line and told him, "I didn't tell you to move." We called her the line bouncer. On our return flight, it took us over an hour to get our luggage at 1:00 AM and there were no other flights coming in! The baggage area is always dirty and dingy looking and our bags always take a long time to come out and have even been damaged before. There are also poor food options in the terminals. Not a great airport.

 

[CdnDznyLuvr]

Orlando's the best because of that brief ride over the swamp in dated Peoplemovers that sort of resemble the crashing subway car from Earthquake at Universal Studios. I think they're replacing them, though.

this is the best description I have ever read about the Orlando airport tram!!

 

[Deleted member 107043]

One thing I'll give LAX's Bradley Terminal is the shopping is top notch. I few years ago I took an international flight from there and was seduced by the Fred Segal shop. Needless to say I didn't walk out of there empty handed.