McCarran ranks No. 3 in customer service, report says

McCarran International Airport offered the third-best customer experience among 31 large North American airports according to a report issued today by J.D. Power.

The Westlake Village, Calif.-based marketing firm said McCarran scored high among consumers for the convenience of its passenger check-in facilities, its baggage claim locations and for overall cleanliness.

McCarran trailed Portland, Ore. International Airport and Tampa International Airport — facilities with considerably fewer passengers — in the customer satisfaction survey.

McCarran served 42.9 million passengers in 2014 and is on track to surpass that total this year. J.D. Power considers airports that serve more than 7 million passengers a year as "large."

The study, written by Rick Garlick, J.D. Power's global travel and hospitality lead, was based on responses from 21,009 North American travelers who went through at least one domestic or international airport with both departure and arrival experiences from July through October.

Travelers evaluated either a departing or arrival airport from their round-trip experience and only evaluations of North American airports were included in the official rankings, which were derived from 18,834 responses.

The last time the survey was conducted, in 2002, McCarran finished at the top of the rankings and second worldwide among airports serving more than 30 million passengers a year.

Garlick said a key trend in this year's study is that the top performers — No. 3 McCarran, No. 4 Orlando International and No. 5 Denver International — are portals for tourists and that officials in those cities recognize that the visitor experience starts and ends with the airport.

The study also determined that young travelers, millennials and Gen Xers, spend less time in airport terminals, but spend far more money than baby boomers and pre-boomers on services and merchandise at the airport.

Other highlights from the report:

* Airport customer satisfaction rose to its highest level since the report was first conducted. Garlick concluded that the airport industry has undergone a cultural shift, as traveler experience has become the focal point of its strategy to improve overall satisfaction.

* There's a direct correlation between how long customers wait to check bags and go through security and how satisfied they are. High scores were seen at airport where customers had to wait no more than five minutes, but the rating drops substantially when the process takes 11-20 minutes.

* If a gate is clean, satisfaction soars. If it's messy, the score drops dramatically.* Social media has enabled dissatisfied customers to be more vocal. Unhappy passengers have no qualms about sharing their displeasure on social media. Those who rate overall satisfaction at 1 on a 10-point scale in which 10 is best make an average of 13 negative comments about their experience. Those who rate the experience a 10 make an average of five positive comments.

Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find @RickVelotta on Twitter.