The Airports Where You Won’t Mind Being Stranded (Too Much)

livemint.com:

No one enjoys waiting in long lines at airport security or suffering through a departure delay. Some airports do a better job of making those miseries less miserable. LaGuardia Airport in New York and Orlando International Airport in Florida are infamous among travelers for their problems with on-time arrivals and departure delays.

The reasons are largely the same: Both are located in highly trafficked airspace and manage inclement weather and air-traffic control issues. But in a survey The Wall Street Journal commissioned as part of this year’s ranking of the best and worst U.S. airports, LGA and MCO scored well on measures tied to comfort, convenience and value.

Airport officials say those scores show that travelers are noticing their efforts to improve the passenger experience. A happier time in the terminal can do plenty to diminish people’s anxiety when traveling, research shows. Everything from the layout of an airport to its aesthetic appeal play a role, says Anil Bilgihan, a professor at Florida Atlantic University who has studied the relationship between airport design and passenger satisfaction.

“Even the fabric they use on the seating—it all makes a big impact on the traveler," Bilgihan says. Orlando and LaGuardia have recently opened new or renovated terminals with luxe amenities, making the airports themselves a destination (to an extent). Orlando offers visitor passes for its new Terminal C that allow people to explore the terminal even if they aren’t flying anywhere.