J.D. Power surveyed more than 26,000 travelers from the United States and Canada for this year's North American Airport Satisfaction Study. The Denver airport scored 777 on a 1,000-point scale in 2023, putting DIA in seventh place among twenty "mega airports," or any airport with more than 33 million passengers a year. Denver averages about 78 million passengers a year.
This year's study switched to a new point scale for questions, among other changes, so all airports had a lower score this year, according to Michael Taylor, the practice lead for the airport study — but DIA still dropped five spots to twelfth place, with a below-average score of 588.
"There's a lot of things that are sub-optimal for Denver right at the moment," Taylor says. "But, of course, they're taking steps to fix those things."
DIA now sits among perennial bottom-dwellers throughout the study's two-decade history, including Los Angeles International Airport, which also scored 588, and Boston Logan International Airport, which scored 591.
DIA has gone up and down in the rankings over the years. However, it consistently ranked above average before 2020, even cracking the top five in 2017 and 2018.
"It's mostly that we see these scores go down when we see a huge uptick in passenger volumes," Taylor adds.
DIA has gone up and down in the rankings over the years. However, it consistently ranked above average before 2020, even cracking the top five in 2017 and 2018.
"It's mostly that we see these scores go down when we see a huge uptick in passenger volumes," Taylor adds.
The survey is based on how passengers rate the ease of travel through the airport, the level of trust with the airport and terminal facilities, their experience with airport staff, how hard it was to get to the airport, the price and quality of the food, beverage and retail there, and how easy it was to get out of the airport.
Here are some of the areas that hurt or helped DIA in this year's survey:
Denver International Airport Construction
Anyone walking into DIA will likely notice all the construction. The airport is in the middle of the Great Hall Project, a $2.1 billion renovation of Jeppesen Terminal, which funnels all passengers through security. The terminal was made to accommodate 50 million people, and the renovation, ongoing since 2018, isn't projected to end until 2028.
Last year, Phil Washington, the airport's CEO, acknowledged that travelers are tired of the construction — along with other problems like car thefts and train malfunctions — but he's expecting recent milestones with the project to make travelers happier.
In a statement responding to the drop in rankings, Washington promises the "substantial renovation" will "transform and modernize the airport in ways that will surpass passenger expectations."
In a statement responding to the drop in rankings, Washington promises the "substantial renovation" will "transform and modernize the airport in ways that will surpass passenger expectations."
The project entered its third and final phase of construction and opened the West Security Checkpoint in February. Since it opened that security checkpoint, the airport has seen "considerable enhancements in customer satisfaction," according to Washington.
"We are opening dozens of new shops and restaurants and have made upgrades to our parking technology and other operational efficiencies," he says. "We eagerly anticipate the phased completion of our renovation work and look forward to sharing these improved experiences with our passengers in the future. As each phase of construction completes, we continue to improve satisfaction and receive more positive feedback from our passengers.”
"We are opening dozens of new shops and restaurants and have made upgrades to our parking technology and other operational efficiencies," he says. "We eagerly anticipate the phased completion of our renovation work and look forward to sharing these improved experiences with our passengers in the future. As each phase of construction completes, we continue to improve satisfaction and receive more positive feedback from our passengers.”
Travelers Say DIA Is Too Crowded
Last year, DIA was projected to have 100 million passengers a year by 2027, five years earlier than originally expected. The Great Hall should be done by then, but its initial completion date was 2021.
J.D. Power notes that crowding tends to take a chunk out of airports' scores. "The average overall satisfaction score when airport terminals are perceived as 'not at all crowded' is 736," it noted in a press release. "That score plummets to 429 when terminals are perceived to be 'severely crowded.'"
Accommodating massive amounts of people isn't anything new for DIA, which boasts itself as the third-busiest airport in the country, but Taylor says that the Great Hall construction is compounding people's irritation.
"Obviously that impacts people's satisfaction, if they have to wait or you have a line that is excessively long," he says. "It's not going to be a pleasant experience until construction is actually finished."
Denver Airport Scores High in Food, Drinks and Shopping
Airports always get low scores in the pricing part of the survey. But according to J.D. Power, scores are even lower in 2024 and people are spending less, with the average airport visitor spending almost $4 less at airports than in 2023.
But this year Denver scored better than the average in food, beverage and retail, Taylor says. The survey found travelers like buying "things that have a Colorado or western states theme" at DIA, and the airport did a good job meeting that demand while presenting an image that offers a taste of Denver.
"Elway's Taproom and the Tacos, Tequila and Whiskey thing, that kind of reflects the Colorado milieu or culture," he says. "That's what people want in airports. They want to be able to say, 'Hey! I'm in Colorado!'"
Taylor says that DIA's facilities, including the train and gates, scored above average, too, despite the construction. In perhaps the biggest surprise, he says travelers didn't score the airport harshly for being "too far away."
