Let’s be honest: Unless you’re lucky enough to be flying first or business class, air travel isn’t exactly glamorous. And if your itinerary includes a layover? That’s two flights instead of one, plus extra time sitting in an airport. So the least you can hope for is that the airport where your layover is located is at least a pleasant experience.
Of course, not all airports are created equal. Some are bright, modern and full of things to do. Others look like they’ve been waiting decades for a renovation.
MarketWatch analyzed 29 major U.S. airports to find out which ones are the best places to spend a layover—whether you’re a frequent flyer or traveling with kids.
Their Methodology
MarketWatch analyzed data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, individual airport websites and Skytrax across 29 airports considered “major” by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Obviously, the airport preferences and needs of a frequent flyer are very different from those of families. Whereas, say, lounge access is going to be very important to a frequent flyer, an airport having facilities such as nursing rooms and kids’ play areas is going to be more of a boon for families.
So they ranked the airports across 20 metrics, with corresponding weights for each category, taking into consideration the differences between the two demographics of travelers:
10 Best Airports For Layovers For Frequent Flyers
To determine the best airports for layovers for frequent flyers, MarketWatch analyzed whether each airport had any American Express Centurion Lounges, along with the general distribution of lounges and other unique amenities available to frequent travelers. Food and beverage also counted more in this category.
If you’re having trouble reading the table, here’s the Top 10:
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport
- John F. Kennedy International Airport
- Washington Dulles International Airport
- Seattle–Tacoma International Airport
- Philadelphia International Airport
- Miami International Airport
- Denver International Airport
- LaGuardia Airport
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport
- Los Angeles International Airport
10 Best Airports For Layovers For Families
From MarketWatch: “When looking at the best airports for families, we prioritized the distribution of family restrooms and nursing rooms and the number of kid play areas each airport offers. Second to those categories, we prioritized price ratings for food and beverage and seat availability, as families likely need more room than a single flier.”
Again, we know the print is small. If you’re having trouble reading the table, here’s the Top 10:
- Detroit Metropolitan Airport
- Logan International Airport
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport
- Washington Dulles International Airport
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
- Salt Lake City International Airport
- Baltimore/Washington International Airport
- LaGuardia Airport
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport
- San Francisco International Airport
10 Worst Airports For Layovers
And then you have the worst airports—the ones that aren’t particularly friendly to frequent flyers or families. They have the worst available seating, the cleanliness of their public areas could be better, they don’t have enough power or charging points, and service from food and beverage staff is lackluster.
Once again, if you’re having trouble reading the table, here’s the Top 10:
- Orlando International Airport
- Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport
- Chicago Midway International Airport
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport
- Newark Liberty International Airport
- San Francisco International Airport
- San Diego International Airport
- Nashville International Airport
- Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
Go to this page of MarketWatch for the full list of statistics.
At the end of the day, a layover is still a layover.
But spending two hours in an airport with comfortable seating, decent food, plenty of charging outlets and clean restrooms is a very different experience from spending those same two hours somewhere that’s overcrowded, outdated and short on amenities.
Of course, most of us don’t get to choose where our connections are. Airline schedules usually make that decision for us.
But if you do have a choice between two itineraries with similar prices, it might be worth paying attention to where you’re connecting.
Sometimes the airport between your flights can make almost as much difference as the flights themselves.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
2 comments
A lot of the best and worst lists are BS, and this one seems to be no different. How on earth are JFK, IAD, LAX, and CLT on the best list for layovers? And SFO on the worst list is insane, unless they’re only considering T3, which is under construction.
Some typos on the very first table when you said if you can’t read the table, here are the results. The results do not match the table, but otherwise excellent article. Thanks for the info.