McCarran International again ranks No. 3 in traveler experience, study says
Amid a flurry of construction and passenger growth, McCarran International Airport continues to please airline travelers passing through Las Vegas.
For a second consecutive year, McCarran offered the third-best customer experience among the 31 largest airports in North America, according to the J.D. Power 2016 North America Airport Satisfaction Study released Thursday.
Portland International was ranked first in traveler satisfaction, followed by Tampa International and McCarran in a survey that measured the quality of terminal facilities, accessibility, security check, baggage claim, check-in and food and retail concessions.
McCarran, the nation’s eighth-busiest airport, is on a record-setting pace, serving more than 4 million airline passengers for six consecutive months. If those figures continue to climb through the end of 2016, the airport could break its record of 47.8 million passengers, set in 2007.
The study was based on responses from 38,931 North American travelers who came through at least one domestic or international airport with both departure and arrival experiences from January to October, said Michael Taylor, director of travel services at J.D. Power.
“Many airports, especially the nation’s largest airports, were never built to handle the current volume of traveler traffic, often exceeding their design limits by many millions of travelers,” Taylor said in a written statement. “Yet, airports are overcoming infrastructure limits by affecting the things they can influence.”
McCarran is in the midst of a $51 million project that will double the number of gates available to international air carriers. Eight gates that previously accommodated smaller planes within the D Concourse are being converted into seven so-called “swing gates” capable of handling domestic and international passengers.
When completed in May, the seven reconfigured gates will be able to handle wide-body jetliners typically used by international carriers.
At the same time, Terminal 1 is undergoing a $30 million renovation with new terrazzo flooring, refurbished restrooms, smaller ticketing counters and other improvements.
Additional upgrades call for covering the famous “McCarran mauve” with sleek silver-colored panels inside the building.
J.D. Power also credited the airport for maintaining a “fluid traveler flow” with self-service passport control kiosks installed in 2014.
“That has really helped smooth things out for international travelers,” Taylor said. “McCarran has plans to double its number of international gates and take on larger aircraft. It’s going to need these improvements to handle those loads, but they’re definitely thinking ahead.”
Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.
