Bradley’s customer satisfaction score down slightly

Photo | Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.

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By Sean Teehan

Bradley International Airport fell a few points in an annual airport customer satisfaction survey, slipping into the lowest of four tiers among similarly sized airports.

The J.D. Power 2019 North America Airport Satisfaction Study gave Bradley a score of 776 (out of 1,000 possible points) among medium-sized airports, which puts it in “the rest,” which is the lowest standing -- behind “among the best,” “better than most,” and “about average.”

Bradley’s score was six points behind what it received last year, when it was “about average,” but 33 points higher than what it received in the survey in 2017.

In an email statement, Kevin Dillon, executive director of the quasi-public Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA), which oversees Bradley, said he wasn’t expecting the airport’s score to drop.

“We are surprised with this year’s J.D. Power ranking results as Bradley International Airport has been undergoing a tremendous transformation over the last couple of years,” Dillon said. “In addition to our continuous efforts to expand our route network, a significant focus has been placed on enhancing the customer experience with several major terminal improvement initiatives.”

Dillon pointed out that Bradley scored higher than some airports in J.D. Power’s “mega airport” category, including JFK International Airport in New York and Logan International Airport in Boston.

Among medium-sized airports surveyed, Bradley ranked 14th out of 16. The highest ranked airport in the category is Indianapolis International Airport, and the lowest is Hawaii’s Kahului Airport.

Despite the decreased ranking in the survey, Bradley has seen a steady uptick in passengers flying in and out of the airport. Last year nearly 6.7 million passengers flew in and out of Bradley, which was up more than 12 percent from 2015, according to CAA data. So far this year the airport has handled more than 3.9 million passengers, 2.7 percent more than the same period last year.

The airport also broke ground on a $210 million ground transportation center, which CAA officials expect will open in 2022. The project will co-locate all rental-car companies at the airport, and will include 830 parking spaces for rental cars.