Airports, Airlines, Aviation

5 Most Delayed US Airports During Summer


Everybody loves to travel in the Summertime and it’s no secret that ticket prices are high in the summer. The simple rule of supply and demand will tell you to buy early because summertime demand for air travel is extremely high, especially in the US. Last week I focused on the busiest airports during summer and know I am going to focus in on the most delayed. While many in the top five won’t shock you, I was very surprised not to see ATL. Every time I have traveled through Atlanta in the summer I am always delayed due to weather, most of time because of thunderstorms. It is a testament to the work the ATC do down at ATL that even with bad summer storms the world’s busiest airport avoids delays. The following rankings came from Milescard.com measured from 2005-2014 and reflect the on-time percentages of the flights at each airport.

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Credit: cnn.com

1. Newark — Liberty International Airport — 64.5 percent

The crown jewel of New Jersey. This is no surprise to me as one of the world most delayed airlines United set up shop here as one of its main hubs. I very rarely go through Newark as I don’t fly United to much and, in general, would like to avoid Newark. It is a large airport and has never really felt that inviting to me. The layout of the terminals is poor and I dislike shuttling in between them. The drink prices match those of many NYC clubs and there are frequent gate changes.

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2. La Guardia Airport, New York — 66 percent

Coming in a close second is my favorite of the two NYC airports. I love taking off and landing at LaGuardia. The terminals are full of mildew and you have to shuttle in between the US and American terminals which can make things frustrating when connecting which plays into their poor on-time record. Laguardia has an old school feel about it. You know it has been around a long time when you see rusty hangers still standing. The shopping and dining are scaled back compared to JFK but for all its faults Laguardia is a fun place to fly into. Hopefully, they can improve their act once the new terminal is built.

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3. John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York — 67.5 percent

Nothing will try your patience more than flying internationally into JFK in the middle of August. The line for customs is the most frustrating part of your journey. Last summer I flew in from Dubai, after a 13-hour flight I spent an hour and a half in customs. It is a terrible setup that has you meet with an agent once to check your credentials and then once on exit. Just awful. That might contribute to the delays, but I am sure it has more to do with the extremely congested airspace and the amount of flights that come in daily. You may get a better price flying into JFK, but you will pay for it on the ground.

4. San Francisco International Airport — 68.9 percent

SFO always ranks high with poor on-time performance mainly due to the bay and all the fog that creates poor visibility. If I am flying to Asia I would much rather fly to SFO than LAX but you always run the risk of being delayed. I enjoy the SFO terminals much more than the retro 70’s style of LAX. I enjoy the monorail that runs in between the terminal and public transport. It is quick, efficient and pleasant. A great airport for a great city.

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5. Boston Logan Airport — 70.0 percent

Noooooo. Not my hometown airport say it isn’t so. I do love BOS, but I also know you can easily get delayed. As international traffic has picked up in recent years, so have delays. It is a pretty good airport to get delayed at as there is plenty of shopping, eating and drinking to do. Also if you get delayed over night the airport is only a subway few stops from downtown. There are definitely worse airports to be stuck at.

Where are you heading this summer? Any airports that you don’t mind getting stuck at? When you are traveling be sure to use tripchi as your guide. Travel On!

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One response to “5 Most Delayed US Airports During Summer”

  1. […] Most delayed airports for summer travel. Everybody loves to travel in the summertime in the Northern hemisphere and it’s no secret that ticket prices are high this time of year. The simple rule of supply and demand will tell you to buy early because summertime demand for air travel is extremely high, especially in the US. The following rankings of most delayed airports reflect the on-time percentages of the flights at each airport, and come from Milescard.com. Read more on Seth’s blog here. […]

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