TIA No. 14? Not To Its Director

By DAVE SIMANOFF The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 24, 2007

TAMPA - Louis Miller would like to have a word or two with the statisticians at J.D. Power and Associates.

Miller is executive director of Tampa International Airport, and he's not at all pleased with J.D. Power's latest ranking of customer satisfaction at North American airports. Tampa International landed at No. 14 on this year's list of midsize airports - those serving 10 million to 30 million passengers a year.

That ranking represents a sharp drop from last year, when Tampa International was named the country's No. 6 midsize airport, and it's a huge fall from 2002, when J.D. Power crowned Tampa International the No. 2 midsize airport in the world, behind Changi Airport in Singapore.

The new J.D. Power ranking puts Tampa International behind LaGuardia International in New York and Washington Dulles International in suburban Virginia.

"I find it hard to believe that some of those airports would rate higher than Tampa," Miller said. "It just doesn't make sense. We continue to increase our customer service."

Miller says two other independent customer service surveys, both funded by airlines, show Tampa International outperforming its peer airports. Both surveys are conducted by pollsters as travelers arrive or depart the airport.

"I put a lot more credence in those surveys," he said.

Jim Gaz, J.D. Power's senior director for travel and entertainment, said Tampa International dropped because of lower scores in several categories, most notably in food service, retail and baggage claim. Consumers said they were less satisfied with the cost, variety and quality of food and beverages at the airport, and they also said they were disappointed by the cost, variety and service in the airport shops, he said. Consumer-reported wait times for baggage increased from 15 minutes to 17 minutes, he said.

When asked why an airport like LaGuardia International scored high on the rankings, Gaz said that many survey respondents in the New York area said the airport was convenient.

The J.D. Power rankings are designed mainly as "internal management tools" to help airport officials improve their services, Gaz said. Although customers might not have as many choices in airports as they do with, say, automobiles or electronics, customer satisfaction is important, he said.

"Satisfied customers are going to be more loyal," he said. "They're going to spend more money, and they're going to be an advocate for your property or your brand."

Miller said most of the comments Tampa International receives from customers are compliments, not complaints. He said that over the past 10 years, the airport has renovated its landside terminal and added myriad parking options, including valet service and an economy parking deck. The new Airside E opened in 2002, followed by the new Airside C in 2005.

"We don't believe we've gone down; we believe we've increased the level of service to the people who use our facility," Miller said.

"I was so disappointed" by the J.D. Power survey, he said. "I feel so bad for my employees."

Among large airports, those with more than 30 million passengers a year, Dallas/Fort Worth International was ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power survey, followed by Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, John F. Kennedy International in New York, and McCarran International in Las Vegas.

The two Florida airports with more than 30 million passengers a year were Orlando International, ranked No. 6, and Miami International, ranked No. 14. Denver International and San Francisco International were the lowest-ranked large airports.

HOW THEY RANK

J.D. Power and Associates 2007 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, Medium Airport Ranking (10 million to 30 million passengers a year):

1. Kansas City International

2. Sacramento International

3. LaGuardia International

4. Cleveland Hopkins International

5. Chicago Midway International

6. Baltimore Washington International

7. Boston Logan International

8. San Diego International/Lindbergh Field

9. Pittsburgh International

10. Lambert St. Louis International

11. Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International

12. Ronald Reagan Washington International

13. Washington Dulles International

14. Tampa International

15. Honolulu International

16. Seattle-Tacoma International

17. Memphis International

18. Oakland International

19. Cincinnati/N. Kentucky International

20. Charlotte Douglas, N.C., International

21. Salt Lake City International

22. Portland, Ore., International

23. San Jose International

24. Vancouver International

25. Calgary International

Note: Mexico City Juarez was included in study but not ranked because of its small sample size.

Reporter Dave Simanoff can be reached at (813) 259-7762 or dsimanoff@tampatrib.com.