Sacramento International Airport ranked in satisfaction survey. Here’s what travelers said

J.D. Power has released its annual North America Airport Satisfaction Study and for most U.S. airports the results are about as welcomed as a canceled flight.

Travelers have become increasingly dissatisfied with the airport experience., citing such concerns as crowded airport terminals, limited airport food and beverage options, and a lack of parking spaces.

Sacramento International Airport’s score dropped four points to 798. And that was relatively good news when you consider the. 65 airports surveyed saw a decrease, on average, of 25 points. Sacramento’s score also is well above the overall average of 777.

The airports were rated on a 1,000-point scale with the latest survey covering a 12-month period through August of this year.

Sacramento International now ranks 10th of the 27 airports in the large airport category, two places up from last year.

But, again, the ranking rise from a 12th-place tie with Washington Dulles International Airport in the 2021 survey, had more to do with other airports’ falling scores rather than Sacramento International’s improvements.

In the latest survey, for example, San Diego International Airport dropped 27 points. lowering it to 14th place in the large airport category, four places behind the Sacramento airport with a score of 787. It had been in 8th pace in the 2021 survey.

“The combination of pent-up demand for air travel, the nationwide labor shortage and steadily rising prices on everything from jet fuel to a bottle of water have created a scenario in which airports are extremely crowded and passengers are increasingly frustrated —and it is likely to continue through 2023,” said Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power.

6 factors measured

J.D. Power uses six factors to determine its ratings scores: terminal facilities; access arriving and departing; baggage claim; passenger security lines; check-in service and food, beverage and retail offerings.

Regular travelers at the Sacramento airport know that security lines are often small and the airport is relatively easy to navigate, which are reflected in the airport’s J.D. Power score.

The survey shows Sacramento International Airport scored high in all the categories analyzed except one: the lack of open food, beverage and retail stores.

“They’re still in the midst of improvement,” Taylor said.

Airline passengers, he said, are demanding more now than in the first few months of COVID-19 when they were just happy that they could fly at all.

“They had zero expectations of the airport,” Taylor said.

In the current pandemic recovery phase, he said, passengers want their coffee and food again.

“They thinking, gee, the airport ought to be able to handle this,” he said

Food options diminished

Seventy-eight percent of concessions at Sacramento International Airport have reopened, according to spokesman Scott Johnston.

“We continue to work with concessionaires to increase availability,” he said. “We have returned most locations to pre-pandemic hours.” .

Some food concessions have permanently closed, however, including La Taqueria and Paesano’s in Terminal A and Camden Foods, Gateway Bar and Dos Coyotes in Terminal B.

Johnston did not know specifically when those locations would be replaced but said the airport is looking for new concessions and encouraging local restaurant owners to apply as part of a future revamp of terminal concessions.

Most of the airport’s concession contracts for restaurants and retail expire by the end of 2024.

While many Sacramento airport concessions have reopened, long lines, particularly for coffee, have become commonplace,.

The food problem at Sacramento International Airport is particularly acute during early morning hours and late evening hours when the first and last flights depart.

More travelers, tighter parking

The reduction in concession operations at Sacramento International Airport comes as the airfield is seeing a return of travelers that is in some cases bigger than the days before COVID-19.

This September’s passenger traffic will be in line with the numbers in 2019, Johnson said.

He said the weekend of September 16-18, Sacramento International saw 55,486 passengers go through TSA checkpoints compared to 48,320 for the third weekend in 2019.

Taylor said long lines and sparse food options are a problem at many airports in North America, in large part because passenger demand has come near or exceeded 2019 levels but many of the food options that were a casualty of the pandemic have not been replaced. .

He said another big issue at many airports is lack of available parking spaces.

The survey did not indicate that’s a problem in Sacramento, but that could be a function of when the survey took place. .

The airport has more than 16,000 parking spaces in the main terminal area and two economy lots, but Johnston said Sacramento International had to open an overfill lot on Sept. 2, 3 and 17.

“More people are choosing to drive,” Johnston said. “There is a greater demand for air travel and our passenger’s behaviors have changed. They are now choosing to drive instead of using ride sharing or public transportation.”

One advantage of the overflow lot for travelers is the airport has not yet implemented a charge for the lot. But on a recent Sunday, travelers taking a shuttle bus to retrieve their car from the lot complained that they almost missed their departing plane finding the overflow lot.

Public transit, rideshare concerns

Getting to and from the airport without a car can also be a problem, aggravating the parking issue.

The airport is served by only several public transit bus lines and service is infrequent. Long waits and high prices for ride shares are common.

On Sunday evening Sept 25 at 11 p.m., ride share waits were as long as 30 minutes. Uber’s rate that evening for a 10-mile ride downtown. was $70.

The few taxi cubs that serve the airport were also unavailable.

In the large airport category Sacramento International Airport competed in, the top rated airport was Tampa Iinternational Airport with a score of 846. John Wayne Airport in Orange County ranked second with a score of 826.

The Tampa airport’s score went up 3 points in the latest survey from last year, the only airport to achieve a higher rating.

Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport ranks highest in passenger satisfaction among mega airports with a score of 800. followed by San Francisco International Airport’s 796 points.

Indianapolis International Airport ranks highest among medium airports with a score of 842 followed by Pittsburgh International Airport with a score of 839.

This story was originally published September 28, 2022 at 7:00 AM.