Bradley International Airport jumped several points in an annual airport satisfaction survey, demonstrating a significant rise in customer approval as passenger traffic remains historically low.
The J.D. Power 2020 North America Airport Satisfaction Study gave Bradley (which falls in the survey’s “medium airport” designation) a score of 793 out of 1,000 possible points. That’s a 17-point jump from last year, when the survey gave the airport 776 points.
Bradley’s improvement isn’t an outlier. The survey found record high levels of customer satisfaction with airports across the continent, said Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power. But the underlying reasons are far from a positive for the commercial aviation industry.
“Compared to the pre-COVID-19 environment when most airports were running significantly over capacity, the lack of crowds and long lines is actually creating a very convenient experience for travelers right now,” Taylor said.
Bradley’s score puts it 15th out of 19 medium-sized airports, but its score is higher than all but three airports in the mega-airport category, and higher than the large airports’ average score of 786.
Bradley’s passenger traffic dropped by about 95% during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s improved slightly, to where Bradley is serving about 75% to 80% fewer passengers than they’d expect during the same time in a normal year, according to the Connecticut Airport Authority, which oversees Bradley.
Revenue is down, too. Between April and June, Bradley’s operating revenues were $10 million below budget, according to CAA figures.Â
However, CAA announced earlier this week that JetBlue will start running nonstop routes between Bradley and Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Cancún, Mexico, a boon for the airport. Service to Cancún is scheduled to start Nov. 18 and flights to LA, San Francisco and Vegas are slated to commence Dec. 18.
