Travel fans love to read about the latest in first class flights. Who has the newest lie flat seats, who’s serving what new meal, you name it. Many are also interested in the fanciest of lounges and eat up the latest news about topics such as the opening of the newest United Polaris or Delta SkyClub lounge.
But there’s one other aspect of high end travel that travelers may not think of – how luxurious some airports are. To many, airports are just a necessary evil between the traveler and their high end flight or lounge. But if you think about it, some airports are significantly more high end than others.
Glint, a gold payment provider with offices in the U.K. and U.S., gathered data, crunched numbers and studied the opinions of travelers who appreciate the finer things in life. With that, they were able to identify and rank the most luxurious airports, not only in the U.S. but around the world.
Here’s how they gathered their info:
- Star rating: Using a list of the top 100 global airports, they looked at Skytrax’s star ratings that each airport had been assigned.
- No. of luxury brands sold: Using each airport’s website, they tallied the number of luxury brands, as opposed to stores, that were stocked there (they also didn’t count discounted brands that were common across the US).
- No. of table service restaurants: They also accounted for full service restaurants, where food is brought to patrons. Fast-food outlets, coffee chains, and bars that didn’t sell food were discounted, as well as anywhere customers had to queue at a counter and then collect their food.
- No. of lounges: They counted the number of areas that travelers could relax in while waiting for flights.
- Cleanliness rating: Using Skytrax once again, they noted the cleanliness of public areas across each airport.
- Google review score: Finally, they threw each airport into Google to identify the star rating as shown in their Google reviews.
With all that, they were able to make a final “Index Score” for each airport. Here they are:
The World’s Top 10 Luxury Airports
10. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (Index Score = 60 out of 100)
9. New York JFK Int’l Airport (Index Score = 60)
8. Doha Hamad Int’l Airport (61)
7. Munich Airport (62)
6. Dubai Int’l Airport (65)
5. Zurich Airport (66)
4. Frankfurt Airport (66)
3. Paris CDG Airport (67)
2. Singapore Changi Airport (73)
1. Hong Kong Int’l Airport (85)
Some noted comments Glint included:
With a total index score of 85/100, Hong Kong International is officially the world’s most luxurious airport. Busy it may be, but Google reviews also note that it’s surprisingly quiet, very clean, and has a welcoming atmosphere. “Possibly my personal favorite airport in the world” said one reviewer, which says it all.
And yay for the U.S. getting 2 in the Top 10!
The United States’ Top 10 luxury airports are probably surprising, or not, depending on your point of view:
10. San Francisco International Airport (Index Score = 47 out of 100)
9. Honolulu Daniel K. Inouye Int’l Airport (Index Score = 48)
8. Miami Int’l Airport (49)
7. Denver Int’l Airport (51)
6. Chicago O’Hare Int’l Airport (53)
5. Atlanta Hartsfield Int’l Airport (53)
4. Newark Liberty Int’l Airport (53)
3. Los Angeles Int’l Airport (57)
2. New York JFK Int’l Airport (60)
1. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (60)
With a total score of 60/100 each, both Dallas/Fort Worth and New York JFK share the top spot for the USA’s top luxury airports. Described as “amazing and iconic”, New York JFK came in for special praise, with customers singling out its retro-inspired design, numerous food options, and plentiful space.
Want to know what the WORST luxury airports in the world are?
10. Naples International Airport (Index Score = 34 out of 100)
9. Venice Marco Polo Airport (Index Score = 34)
8. Ho Chi Minh Tan Son Nhat Int’l Aiport (34)
7. Nice Cote D’Azur Airport (34)
6. Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion Int’l Airport (33)
5. Rhodes Airport (33)
4. Belfast Int’l Airport (31)
3. Jeddah King Abdulaziz Int’l Airport (30)
2. Cairo Int’l Airport (30)
1. Manila Ninoy Aquinto Int’l Airport (29)
Glint also has the winners for the best airports for designer shopping, exclusive lounges, restaurant choices, customer satisfaction and the cleanest (and least clean) airports. Check them out on this page of Glint’s website.
Feature Photo: Public Domain
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2 comments
If I had to come up with the most luxurious airports, I would have a different criteria, particularly for the non-elite flying economy class. Those criteria include:
1. adequate and comfortable seating
2. enough gates or areas to sit relatively undisturbed
3. scenic views of the planes or runway or mountains
4. attractive restrooms and not too dirty
5. reasonable selection of restaurants
6. attached hotel or very close hotel
7. various transit options including bus or subway, taxi, shuttles, etc. and not too long a commute
8. architectural design (among US airports, I like the architecture of IAD, SFO, DCA, ABQ, etc.)
The survey’s results of US airports was 1. DFW, 2. JFK, 3. LAX. I disagree. I would rank the most luxurious US airports as 1. SFO, 2. BOS, 3. PAE (Paine Field, Everett, WA near Seattle)
Is this survey ranking for real or a very early April Fools Joke? JFK? And any list where EWR shows up as #4 for US airports isn’t worth the time it took to put together the list.