Ranking the Regional Airports
Small airports have a certain charm, especially when the hassle factor rises. The parking lots are closer to the terminal, lines tend to be shorter, and you can get to your gate without taking a train.
But with this summer poised to be one of the most stressful ever for air travelers, there will be few respites from packed planes and delayed flights. For one thing, flights from most regional airports feed into a small number of connecting hubs, and traffic backups at those larger airports rapidly ricochet throughout the system. Plus, airlines have been replacing many of the 737s and other mainline jets that serve smaller cities with "regional jets" and commuter aircraft that have fewer seats and are likely to be more crowded.
To assess the pain travelers are likely to feel this summer, U.S. News crunched government figures to develop an Airport Misery Index: a ranking that shows which airports have the best and worst combination of delayed flights and crowded planes. (View the methodology.)
Overall, flights departing from regional airports have slightly better on-time performance and are a little less crowded than flights out of large airports. But there are still some trouble spots, like Grand Rapids, Mich., and Fort Myers, Fla., which funnel travelers into some of the busiest hub airports in the country. Here's how the nation's 53 largest regional airports fared:
Most Miserable Airports - Regional
This table ranks the 53 largest regional airports according to a combination of on-time performance and average load factor. The airports with the highest Airport Misery Index have the worst combination of late and crowded flights.
On-time performance data are year to date through April 2007. Load factor data are year to date through February 2007.
| Airport code | City/Name of airport | Pct. of flights on time | Pct. flights delayed | Average load factor | Misery index ranking (lower is better) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRR | Grand Rapids, MI: Gerald R. Ford International | 64.88 | 35.1 | 78.1 | 53 |
| RSW | Fort Myers, FL: Southwest Florida International Airport | 70.61 | 29.4 | 79.0 | 52 |
| BUF | Buffalo, NY: Niagara International | 65.52 | 34.5 | 75.9 | 51 |
| PWM | Portland, ME: Portland International Jetport | 59.98 | 40.0 | 74.7 | 50 |
| PBI | West Palm Beach/Palm Beach, FL: Palm Beach International | 70.87 | 29.1 | 77.4 | 49 |
| COS | Colorado Springs, CO: Peterson Field | 70.95 | 29.1 | 77.4 | 48 |
| SJU | San Juan, PR: Luis Muñoz Marín International | 72.73 | 27.3 | 78.4 | 47 |
| ALB | Albany, NY: Albany County | 70.26 | 29.7 | 74.4 | 46 |
| DSM | Des Moines: Des Moines Muncipal | 70.02 | 30.0 | 73.6 | 45 |
| CMH | Columbus, OH: Columbus International | 67.13 | 32.9 | 71.1 | 44 |
| SYR | Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Hancock International | 57.37 | 42.6 | 70.1 | 43 |
| ROC | Rochester, NY: Rochester Monroe County | 56.96 | 43.0 | 68.9 | 42 |
| BDL | Hartford, CT: Bradley International | 72.18 | 27.8 | 71.5 | 41 |
| MSN | Madison, WI: Truax Field | 68.24 | 31.8 | 68.8 | 40 |
| LGB | Long Beach, CA: Long Beach Daugherty Field | 74.94 | 25.1 | 74.8 | 39 |
| PSP | Indio/Palm Springs, CA: Palm Springs Municipal | 74.8 | 25.2 | 74.0 | 38 |
| TUS | Tucson, AZ: Tucson International | 80.08 | 19.9 | 78.9 | 37 |
| RIC | Richmond, VA: Richmond International Airport | 68.09 | 31.9 | 65.3 | 36 |
| OMA | Omaha: Eppley Airfield | 73.35 | 26.7 | 70.6 | 35 |
| DAY | Dayton, OH: James M. Cox/Dayton International | 72.89 | 27.1 | 70.2 | 34 |
| OGG | Kahului, HI: Kahului Airport | 90.09 | 9.9 | 82.0 | 33 |
| SRQ | Sarasota/Bradenton, FL: Sarasota Bradenton | 75.22 | 24.8 | 73.4 | 32 |
| JAX | Jacksonville, FL: Jacksonville International | 74.37 | 25.6 | 71.4 | 31 |
| PVD | Providence, RI: Theodore Francis Green | 73.79 | 26.2 | 71.3 | 30 |
| MHT | Manchester, NH: Manchester | 75.49 | 24.5 | 73.5 | 29 |
| CAK | Akron/Canton, OH: Akron/Canton Regional | 70.21 | 29.8 | 65.7 | 28 |
| PNS | Pensacola, FL: Pensacola Regional | 73.7 | 26.3 | 70.6 | 27 |
| GEG | Spokane, WA: Spokane International | 79.89 | 20.1 | 75.7 | 26 |
| SAV | Savannah, GA: Savannah International | 73.19 | 26.8 | 68.8 | 25 |
| KOA | Kona, HI: Keahole | 90.59 | 9.4 | 77.1 | 24 |
| RNO | Reno, NV: Reno International | 79.02 | 21.0 | 72.3 | 23 |
| ANC | Anchorage: Anchorage International | 71.51 | 28.5 | 66.0 | 22 |
| GSO | Greensboro/High Point, NC: Greensboro High Point | 68.41 | 31.6 | 58.4 | 21 |
| LIH | Lihue, HI: Lihue Airport | 93.75 | 6.3 | 76.9 | 20 |
| BOI | Boise, ID: Boise Air Terminal | 79.44 | 20.6 | 71.9 | 19 |
| SDF | Louisville, KY: Standiford Field | 73.51 | 26.5 | 68.2 | 18 |
| OKC | Oklahoma City, OK: Will Rogers World | 73.38 | 26.6 | 67.2 | 17 |
| ORF | Norfolk, VA: Norfolk International | 73.35 | 26.7 | 67.0 | 16 |
| CHS | Charleston, SC: Charleston International | 71.28 | 28.7 | 62.5 | 15 |
| SAT | San Antonio: San Antonio International | 77.83 | 22.2 | 70.4 | 14 |
| ICT | Wichita, KS: Mid-Continent | 71.28 | 28.7 | 58.6 | 13 |
| GSP | Greenville/Spartanburg, SC: Greenville/Spartanburg Airport | 71.24 | 28.8 | 58.1 | 12 |
| ONT | Ontario/San Bernardino, CA: Ontario International | 81.79 | 18.2 | 71.1 | 11 |
| BHM | Birmingham, AL: Birmingham Municipal | 76.44 | 23.6 | 67.8 | 10 |
| BUR | Burbank, CA: Burbank Bob Hope | 79.98 | 20.0 | 69.9 | 9 |
| AUS | Austin: Austin-Bergstrom International | 76.52 | 23.5 | 67.4 | 8 |
| ABQ | Albuquerque, NM: Albuquerque International | 79.86 | 20.1 | 68.3 | 7 |
| LIT | Little Rock, AR: Adams Field | 75.48 | 24.5 | 64.9 | 6 |
| TYS | Knoxville, TN: McGhee Tyson | 74.84 | 25.2 | 61.0 | 5 |
| TUL | Tulsa, OK: Tulsa International | 75.91 | 24.1 | 62.7 | 4 |
| ELP | El Paso, TX: El Paso International | 81.51 | 18.5 | 64.0 | 3 |
| ISP | Islip, NY: Long Island-Macarthur | 84.67 | 15.3 | 64.1 | 2 |
| JAN | Jackson/Vicksburg, MS: Jackson-Evers International | 81.32 | 18.7 | 56.9 | 1 |
Sources: Dept. of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics; the Boyd Group
advertisement
