NEW YORK. March 15, 2024 (Biz Republic) — LaGuardia Airport has soared from worst in class to best in class in a stunning reversal of fortunes for an airport that was once reviled and is now beloved by travelers, according to airline passengers surveyed by a leading airport rating agency. The top marks, which were released today, came from passengers who reviewed the airport for overall satisfaction for the highly regarded Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey in 2023, which was the first full year that all new passenger facilities at LaGuardia were completed and in use.
The ASQ passenger survey, a program of the Airports Council International (ACI), was conducted in 2023 after the substantial completion of all new passenger facilities at LaGuardia. The airport earned an overall passenger satisfaction score of 4.24 out of 5, which was 20 percent higher than in its score in 2018, when passengers rated LaGuardia as the worst airport in North America. As a result, LaGuardia was named ASQ’s “Best Airport of 25 to 40 Million Passengers in North America” in 2023. The ASQ award is based on direct assessments from those who count most: passenger opinions.
“There is no better judge of our new airports than the passengers who use them, which is why the ASQ award for best airport going to LaGuardia is so meaningful,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “Across the region, the Port Authority is working with its partners to create the best-in-class experiences that passengers have long deserved at LaGuardia, Newark’s Terminal A and at JFK International.”
“Taking LaGuardia Airport from worst to best is now more than just an aspiration, it’s an accomplishment that passengers have now resoundingly recognized,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton. “When we started out on our $8 billion transformation of LaGuardia, few believed we could create the world-class airport our region deserves. But the ASQ award proves that seeing is believing.”
“The Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards is a unique achievement of airport customer experience excellence as selected by passengers themselves,” said ACI World Executive Director Luis Felipe de Oliveira. “Congratulations to LaGuardia Airport for embracing this distinction and showcasing what sets you apart.”
“LaGuardia’s journey from the bottom to the top spot underscores the transformative power of vision, collaboration, and unwavering commitment to guest experience. The ASQ award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of not only those who designed and built the new airport, but to those providing exceptional service each and every day,” said Suzette Noble, chief executive officer of LaGuardia Gateway Partners, the developer and manager of Terminal B. “We’re immensely proud of this milestone and remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering a world-class travel experience for all who pass through our terminal. Additionally, we’re so grateful to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and our partners, Vantage Airport Group, Meridiam and JLC Infrastructure for their support.”
“Alongside our partners at the Port Authority and LaGuardia Gateway Partners, Delta is honored by this recognition from our customers, which highlights our collective commitment to delivering a new world-class airport experience for our customers,” said Ryan Marzullo, managing director of New York construction at Delta Air Lines. “It’s been more than a decade since Delta committed to growing – and winning – in New York, and we couldn’t be happier to see LaGuardia’s transformation from worst to best airport in its class in only a few short years.”
More than 4,200 passengers participated in the survey at LaGuardia, which was conducted near the airport’s gates throughout 2023. ASQ surveys asked passengers to rate all aspects of the passenger journey from end to end. They included responses and ratings of the key customer areas of concern, such as airport cleanliness, airport condition, staff curtesy, quality of concessions, security and other amenities. The survey results validate the Port Authority and its private partners’ $8 billion investment in LaGuardia, intended to provide a world-class experience for travelers by creating beautiful and spacious facilities filled with natural light and public art, modern amenities and iconic concessions, state-of-the-art technology, clean and convenient restrooms and digital wayfinding.
Passengers recognized major improvements at LaGuardia:
● Over the last five years, overall satisfaction in North American airports increased only 1 percent compared with an increase of 20 percent for overall satisfaction with LaGuardia.
● Ambience, the single largest driver of overall satisfaction, increased 21 percent.
● Cleanliness (facilities and restrooms) increased 15 percent over the last five years.
● Other areas where LaGuardia’s scores significantly increased included security screening, dining facilities and comfort of gate areas.
The ASQ award is the latest received by LaGuardia for its new passenger facilities, including:
● UNESCO’s Prix Versailles for best new airport in the world, 2021.
● Skytrax’s prestigious 5-star rating for LaGuardia’s Terminal B as one of only two airport terminals to receive the highest rating in the United States, 2023.
● Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Platinum-Level Envision Award for Terminal B, 2023.
● Gold Accessibility Certification from the Rick Hansen Foundation, 2023.
● NYC & Company Foundation’s Visionaries and Voices award, 2022.
● National Academy of Construction’s Special Achievement Award, 2022.
● Urban Land Institute New York’s “Excellence in Civic Development Award” for Terminal B, 2022.
● The Design-Build Institute of America’s “National Award of Excellence,” 2022.
About the LaGuardia Redevelopment Project
In 2015, a comprehensive plan to construct a whole new LaGuardia Airport was unveiled with the goal of creating a world-class, 21st century passenger experience featuring modern customer amenities, state-of-the-art architecture, more spacious gate areas and a unified terminal system. The $8 billion project broke ground in 2016 and was substantially completed in 2022.
