The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is taking the recent results of an annual national airport satisfaction survey in stride, despite its airports falling below average scores.
Reagan National Airport ranked 20th and Dulles International ranked 23rd among 27 “large” airports — the middle size level among three categories — in the J.D. Power 2025 North American Airports Satisfaction Survey. The 27 airports in that cohort had an average satisfaction score of 656, and both Dulles (612) and National (623) fell short of it.
But MWAA staff looked at the results from a different perspective during a meeting of the board of directors and committees on Wednesday. Gene Sutch, director of revenue strategy and analysis, said it was more appropriate to compare the two local airports with those that serve as hubs, or major transfer points, for airlines.
Dulles is a major hub for United Airlines, and Reagan National has a large presence from American Airlines, with perhaps enough connecting traffic to make it a hub.
The complexities of running a hub airport are more intense than running a facility where most traffic is point-to-point, he said.
Looking at it that way, Sutch said Reagan National was the highest scoring American Airlines hub in the J.D. Power survey, while Dulles was second among United’s hubs, running slightly behind San Francisco International Airport.
In the J.D. Power large-airport category, John Wayne Airport (Orange County, Calif.) ranked highest for a second consecutive year, with a score of 730. Tampa International Airport (709) ranked second and Dallas Love Field (705) ranked third.
Philadelphia International Airport (570) ranked last.
The analysis of the J.D. Power survey came as MWAA officials said they are generally pleased with results of their own 2025 traveler-satisfaction data.
“Customers like our airports,” Sutch said in a briefing to the authority’s business administration committee.
Based on more than 60,000 surveys completed by travelers throughout the year, Reagan National scored 3.8 on a 1-to-5 scale, with Dulles coming in at 3.7 via the MWAA survey.
Both sit in what airport officials termed the “very good” category, with room for improvement. Among individual components of the surveys, National generally scored better than Dulles, but typically not by much:
- Shopping: National scored 3.8, Dulles 3.7
- Rideshare dropoffs and pickups: National scored 4.3, Dulles 4.2
- Wifi connectivity: National scored 3.7, Dulles 3.6
- Signage enhancement: National scored 4.0, Dulles 3.8
- Restroom improvements (Reagan National): Travelers gave the airport a rating of 3.8
- Parking enhancements: The airports scored a collective 3.9 out of 5
On parking, Dulles slightly outperformed National, with 89% of Dulles respondents ranking it “excellent,” “very good” or “good.” At National, 88% of respondents scored it at those levels.
New MWAA board chair Mark Unchapher noted that one of the “areas of challenge” at the airports is baggage delivery to incoming passengers. He acknowledged the authority could not control all the facets of that service.
“We have our role,” he said. “The airlines have a significant role, too.”
Sutch said that when survey data points to a decline in baggage-handling satisfaction, MWAA staff try to isolate the issue and work with specific airlines on it.
The annual survey, based on responses received throughout the year, is just one way the authority tracks how it is viewed by the traveling public. During the year, nearly 168,000 responses came through the “Feedback Now” QR-code-based response line, as well as several thousand from a response program targeting problems in restroom facilities.
A similar effort is being launched to get immediate feedback on concession issues at the airports.
“Customers need to know we care about their experience,” Sutch said.
Last year, the Trump administration decried the state of Dulles, issuing a request for proposals from outside entities that would be interested in upgrading the nearly 65-year-old airport.
The administration singled out the ongoing use of mobile lounges at Dulles as a relic of the past that needs to be eliminated for both safety and to improve the ambiance of the airport. But Northern Virginia officials pushed back on the criticism, just as they pushed back on a proposal during the first Trump administration to sell off Reagan National.
The federal government owns both Dulles and National, but since 1987, the regional airports authority has operated both facilities under long-term leases.
