Jo Ann Holt
Dallas Love Field (DAL) received some good news recently, as the North Texas airport was named North America’s best large airport in a J.D. Power survey. The airport, owned by the City of Dallas, is best known as the home of Southwest Airlines.
Dan Landson, a representative for Southwest Airlines, said, “We congratulate the City of Dallas and Dallas Love Field on its award. Our Customers love traveling through Love Field as it’s easy to navigate, centrally located, and provides a great experience for those traveling to or from North Texas.”
DFW #6 in Mega Airports
Photo: City of Dallas/Dallas Love Field
DFW International Airport, DAL’s mega-sized counterpart in North Texas, fell from fifth to sixth place in the survey. The 20 busiest U.S. airports by passenger volume are included in the mega category, while the next 27 fall into the large category with DAL. Houston Hobby Airport was ranked #4 in the large airport segment, and Austin-Bergstrom was #8. Texas had one other mega category airport, George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, which was ranked #13 in the survey.
J. D. Power’s travel intelligence representative Mike Taylor said, “DAL has been on the rise in our rankings for the past few years. They’ve completed the vast majority of their internal construction and really exemplify the positive trends in airport design. The experience at DAL is more like an upscale shopping mall with some planes parked outside.”
Dallas Love Field
Photo: City of Dallas/Dallas Love Field
About 16.8 million passengers were served by Love Field in 2019, while DFW Airport handled over 75 million passengers that year. Vendors at DAL include such local favorites as Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, Chick-fil-A, Jason’s Deli, and Whataburger.
DAL spokesman Chris Perry said, “We’re thrilled that our customers have given this honor. Even through the pandemic, our score went up 18 points from last year.”
DAL was ranked #2 in the previous year’s survey. John Wayne Airport in Orange County tied with Tampa International Airport for the #2 spot in this year’s survey.
Dallas Love Field had its start in 1917, when the U.S. Army used the location to train pilots for WWI. The City of Dallas purchased the field for use as an airport in 1927. DAL is located at 8008 Herb Kelleher Way in Dallas. For more information, please call 214-670-5683 or visit dallas-lovefield.com.
