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Dallas Love Field soars to best large airport in North America, while DFW slides a spot

J.D. Power gives Dallas Love Field the nod ahead of John Wayne Airport in California.

Dallas Love Field is North America’s best large airport, while its “mega”-sized counterpart DFW International Airport is the sixth-best in its category, according to rankings released Wednesday by J.D. Power.

Love Field, home to Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, pulled in the top award for airports its size. Love Field placed second in the category in 2019.

DFW fell one spot to sixth after Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport leaped from seventh to No. 1 this year.

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“DAL has been on the rise in our rankings for the past few years,” said Mike Taylor, J.D. Power’s travel intelligence lead, in a statement about Love Field. “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.”

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Dallas Love Field, with its smaller size and fewer flights than DFW, has its pluses and minuses for passengers. A year ago, traveler website The Points Guy ranked Love Field close to the bottom of its ranking of the 50 largest airports, while rating DFW as 11th best.

In that ranking, Love Field ranked low because of its size and amenities. But the size and amenities can be considered a plus for convenience compared to DFW, the world’s fourth-largest airport.

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While Love Field may not have all the designer stores and restaurants like DFW, it does have Texas-based favorites such as Whataburger, Jason’s Deli and Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, along with other staples such as Chick-fil-A and Starbucks.

“We’re thrilled that our customers have given this honor,” said Dallas Love Field spokesman Chris Perry. “Even through the pandemic, our score went up 18 points from last year.”

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The mega category includes the country’s 20 busiest airports by passenger volume while the next 27 are in the large category.

Dallas Love Field served about 16.8 million passengers in 2019, compared to more than 75 million at DFW.

J.D. Power does not release the data behind the rankings.

While DFW fell a spot in the rankings, it actually gained 18 points on J.D. Power’s 1,000 point scale, Taylor said.

“They are in the midst of multi-billion dollar construction projects and have completed some, which has had a positive effect on their scores,” Taylor said. “Luckily, DFW has a very large physical footprint and the construction doesn’t affect the overall airport experience as much as it would at smaller airports.”

Other Texas airports on the list in the mega category include George Bush Intercontinental in Houston at No. 13. Houston Hobby Airport was No. 4 in the large airport segment and Austin-Bergstrom ranked eighth. San Antonio International Airport was just below average in the medium category.

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