This isn’t flyover country

Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Minnesota Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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For the second time in three years, the global consulting firm J.D. Power has recognized the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) as the nation’s leading airport in customer satisfaction among the nation’s largest airports. That’s worth a first-class toast for a couple of important reasons.

Airport experiences matter greatly. They provide the first and last impression that travelers often use to form an opinion of a region or state. Those experiences factor into return visits. The efficiencies and accommodations of airports are also critical marketing tools in soliciting and leveraging tourism, convention and business travel.

The J.D. Power survey polled more than 26,000 passengers to get feedback about their experiences, including ease of navigating airports, the quality of terminal facilities, and cleanliness, along with the appraisal of food, beverages and retail offerings.

MSP offered the best airport experience by an appreciable margin. With more than 33 million passenger visits last year, it beat out Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in the satisfaction survey. Detroit’s airport was voted best in class in the 2023 survey.

”Our purpose is to provide exceptional airport experiences, so Minnesota thrives, and this prestigious recognition demonstrates that we are delivering for our travelers,” said Brian Ryks, CEO and executive director of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which owns and operates MSP.

In addition to the J.D. Power survey, other useful indicators show that travel to Minnesota and the Twin Cities — Minneapolis in particular — continues to trend strongly in the right direction. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day this year, hotels in Minneapolis posted encouraging post-pandemic highs for summer occupancy, room demand and revenue.

Overall hotel occupancy in Minneapolis hasn’t returned to the pre-pandemic high of 69% posted in 2019. However, the hotel occupancy rates this year are expected to come in around 55-57%, which is an improvement over 2023, according to Meet Minneapolis, a convention and visitors association. Nearly 680,000 hotel rooms were sold during the summer of 2024, an increase of more than 8% from the summer of 2023, according to the association.

Another piece of good news worth noting involving MSP is the return of a direct flight to Rome next spring. Delta announced Friday that beginning in May, it will fly from MSP to Rome four times a week, with the route running from late May through late October. It’s been nearly a decade since MSP has offered that flight option.

So, while other parts of the country may continue to consider Minnesota flyover country, airline customers who fly into or out of MSP know better. The MSP experience is consistent and uniformly good.

That’s not boosterism. That’s fact. The people have spoken.