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See our slideshow of America’s Best and Worst Airports 2009.
We all know the drill: you show up at the airport with plenty of time to spare, only to discover that your flight’s been delayed and now you have hours to kill. Or worse yet, you’ve already boarded your flight and now you’re stuck on the tarmac.
Where is this most likely to happen? You can’t eliminate delays, of course, but you can play the odds—some airports have better track records than others (as do some airlines, which is why we rank the best and worst airlines for on-time performance). So, as we do every year, Travel + Leisure gathered statistics from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics on flights that departed more than 15 minutes behind schedule (in this instance from April 1, 2008, to March 31, 2009) and found out the best—and worst—airports for on-time performance.
There is some good news overall: the worst airport (there’s a new winner this year) improved on its delays by 3 percentage points. It was also the only airport to have 30 percent or more of its flights delayed; last year, four airports broke the 30 percent barrier.
This upward trend meant that even though some airports improved their on-time performance, their ranking may not have changed much. Dallas decreased its flight delays by a lot—6 percentage points—but it remained at the No. 4 spot in the top 10 worst airports. And JFK—despite decreasing its delays 11 percentage points over the past 2 years—tied with Dallas for that No. 4 spot.
Some of these airports will come as no surprise: the skies around New York City continue to be congested, backing up traffic at all three area airports. And other hubs like Atlanta and Chicago remain on the list of offenders.
But both the best and worst lists have some newcomers this year. Philadelphia—on neither list in 2007 or 2008—showed up in the top 10 worst airports (22 percent of flights were delayed). Orlando had sunnier news, breaking into the 10 best list with just 18 percent of its flights delayed (good news, of course, for visitors to Disney World). Detroit, too, joins the ranks of the elite, with 17 percent of its flights delayed.
And of course some airports have disappeared from the lists. That’s unfortunate for Seattle, which was one of the 10 best in 2008. It’s better news for Chicago Midway (MDW), which at 25 percent was one of the 10 worst in 2008.
So consult this list before you book your next ticket: if you can fly out of an alternate airport like Midway, the odds are better that you’ll arrive at your destination on time. And these days, on-time arrivals are just about the only thing airlines aren’t charging extra for.
Comments (12)
Open / CloseAgree and disagree... You should have titled it the Good, Bad and the Ugly
I cannot agree that on-time performance is the only criteria to say whether an airport is good, bad or ugly. GOOD = Take SFO which yes has many delays; hell, I've been delayed there myself, but given a choice, I would rather be delayed 4 hours at SFO than 5 minutes at LAX! BAD = Also, coming in from overseas, LAX, MIA and JFK are just too unpleasant to possibly rate as good airports. More GOOD = PDX, TPA and MCO are great airports... few delays, nice ambience and actually something to do wh... Read More
Detroit--Who Knew?
I agree that Detroit is actually quite a nice airport: large enough to have most conveniences (newsstands & decent food) but small enough to get around. Thanks to the overhead monorail, it's a breeze to swing through most terminals. And I've never been horrendously delayed unlike LAX, JFK and other major airports.
Wrong Title and/or Evaluation
The attraction hungry title needs to be changed. An airport cannot be evaluated as best or worst just based on delays ... What about if 100% of Denver flights would leave/arrive 15 minutes before schedule, would this make Denver the best airport in the country ? No, because it's a frickin drag to get and return a rental car 20 miles away from the airport and then having to take a shuttle from checkin to the gates.
All the worst airports, except for maybe Newark, are the busiest airports... Read More
Wow.
Excuse you, but Philadelphia and LAX have to be reversed. Your study is biased. NY airports and the Philadelphia International airport are far superior to anything in the trashy west coast. LAX is horrendous, is ALWAYS late and is filthy. Philadelphia rarely has delays and has a beautiful atmosphere, as does NY's airports. Your study is biased. Go figure....
You have to be kidding are you or you must be from Philadelphia or the Jersey suburbs.
I fly to PHL about 5 times per year. I never left on time ... last time was just last week ... we left the gate on time and then waited 45 minutes on the runway before taking off. Last year, I waited for 3hrs and 5hrs on the runway ... PHL's airport is too small for the region it's serving, their air traffic control system is out of date and their weather tracking device is obsolete. PHL has my vote fo... More
Ive been to PHL and LAX and will take LAX over PHL anyday. Got stuck there overnight and nothing was open. Everything was spread out and that place is a ghost town. Forget PHL. Never again if I can avoid it.
What in the world are you talking about? NY airports are the worst airports in the world,by far. I have flown all three hundreds of times and have almost never departed or arrived on time. Sunny skys,expect 1 hour delays,cloudy skys 2-3 hours, few rain droplets 3 hour min, rain or snow, just forget even trying to leave that day. They are so over congested that on the absolute best days,there is "congestion" delays - like they haven't even planned the departures and arrivals correctly so ... More
Biggest delay? Scrolling through your slideshow to get to the bottom line
We all know that the web is a cool place to put interactive slideshows and the like, but why do we have to launch a slideshow to (slowly) get to the actual meat of this story: the actual lists of best and worst airports?
Worst Airports
Sirs: You don't know how bad an airport can be until you encounter a foggy day at SFO. Their delays are unbelievable! The baggage handling is even worse. Definitely, the airport to avoid!
criteria for "best and worst airports" should include more than on-time arrivals and departures
While getting there and getting out of there are critical in assessing an airport's performance, much of the "on time" issue ultimately involves the airlines, rather than the airports. If you're talking about best and worst airports, you should also consider other factors: presence of and ease of reading of signage; presence of airport personnel to answer questions that can't be found on message boards; cleanliness of restrooms; delivery time for baggage to carousels; availability of food ve... Read More
where's Denver?
So I am wondering where Denver is? The trillion dollar super airport of the future that was built 42 miles out of town so they could "expand" if ever needed.....apparently it's not good or bad....just out there, way out there. PS - it would be my number one WORST airport.
Americas Best/Worst Airports
You really should look at airports more holistically although flying in/out on time is certainly #1 objective for an airport. However, by and large our airports are old, dated, dingy, and otherwise horribly uncomfortable places to be in, sit in, or eat in. I know I'm generalizing and there are 1 or 2 exceptions, so let's say the majority. Take LAX International terminal for example - whether leaving or coming in (via immigration), this place is an absolute pit - and the renovations they ar... Read More
I DISAGREE your sooooooooooooo wrong
I have traveled alot for over 30 years, i would say 90% of the time i leave out of Newark Airport , I have been delayed just one time. I think thats an excellant track record. Philly Airport, it sucks, period, I try to NEVER fly out or return there, if I can avoid it i do!!!!. Landed at LAX several times, I think its a great airport checking in and out is excellant and no i am NOT a celebrity!!!!!!! Besides Newark the other BEST Airport in my opinion and it wasnt even on your list is Fort ... Read More
I agree with you! LA and it's airport sucks. As does the entire state of California.
It's a sick, disgusting place.
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