To:

Interested Parties
From: The Parkside Group, LLC

Date: September 21, 2015

Re:
Airport Users Survey


At the request of The Parking Spot, The Parkside Group conducted a poll to survey attitudes
of New York City residents who use area airports. While the survey collected opinions about all
three major area airports, and other transportation hubs, particular focus was placed upon
LaGuardia Airport in light of its ongoing and planned renovations. As a proud and growing part of
the communities around all three major New York area-airports, the Parking Spot believes that the
views of New Yorkers who use the airports is of interest to policymakers and other key
stakeholders. Key findings of this survey include:

Grand Central Station and John F. Kennedy International Airport are the most popular transit
hubs, while LaGuardia Airport is least popular. By a wide margin, most New York City air travelers
give Excellent or Good ratings to Grand Central Station (net: +58%) and JFK Airport (net: +41%). The
lowest rating was given to LaGuardia Airport, which just 4% of air travelers rated as Excellent, while
a near majority rated it as Below Average or Poor (net: -20%).

Excellent/Good

Average

Grand Central Station

62%

20%

4%

+58%

John F. Kennedy International Airport

53%

32%

12%

+41%

Newark Liberty Airport

30%

28%

9%

+21%

Penn Station

32%

29%

26%

+6%

Port Authority Bus Terminal

17%

24%

34%

-17%

LaGuardia Airport

23%

25%

43%

-20%

Transportation Hub

Below

Average/Poor Net Rating

By a 2-1 margin, JFK is the first choice for NYC air travelers. When asked which airport they prefer
flying out of, 56% of respondents chose JFK, while 28% chose LaGuardia, and 14% chose Newark.
Among respondents who own or lease a car, the preference for JFK grew to 59%, while the

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preference for LaGuardia dropped to 25%. The preference for Newark remained unchanged among
car owners. On a regional basis, the preference for JFK was largest amongst Brooklyn (79%) and
Queens (71%) residents, while LaGuardia was most popular amongst Manhattan (47%) and Bronx
(40%) residents. In Staten Island, 87% of respondents chose Newark. Many more respondents cited
proximity, or the ease of getting to the airport (58%) as the reason for their preference compared to
mass transit connections (11%) or that a preferred airline flies out of that airport (9%).


There is a broad consensus that on-time performance, terminal amenities, and sufficient parking
are important. Nearly all respondents (98%) agree that an airports record of getting its flights out
on time, without delays are important. Other characteristics that travelers view as important to
them are that an airport is modern, with first-rate dining and shopping options (67%) and that the
airport has accessible and sufficient parking (62%). Regionally, clear majorities viewed parking as
important in four of the five boroughs: Staten Island (88%), the Bronx (77%), Brooklyn (68%), and
Queens (66%). Parking was also identified as important by respondents with annual incomes of less
than $60,000 (70%), Latinos (80%), African-Americans (75%), and Asians (70%).

Most New Yorkers get to the airport via car services, but even more so at LaGuardia. At all three
airports, a majority of travelers typically use car services or taxis to get to the airport, rather than
driving or using mass transit. At JFK, 53% of respondents who have used that airport in the past 12
months typically get to the airport by taking a car service or taxi, while 10% use mass transit, and
10% drive their own cars. The numbers at Newark are similar, where 50% of respondents typically
use car services or taxis, compared to 10% who typically use mass transit and 10% who drive. The
outlier is LaGuardia, where 64% of city residents who use that airport typically get there via car
service or taxi, while 9% use mass transit, and just 6% typically drive their own cars. Even among car
owners, 65% typically get to LaGuardia via car service. This is consistent with data from the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey indicating that, overall, less than 6% of car owners drive their
own cars to the airport.1 In other words, the increased reliance upon car service/taxi usage by flyers
travelling out of LaGuardia is not due to the preference for LaGuardia among Manhattan residents
who do not own cars, rather it likely results from LaGuardias significantly lower number of parking
spaces based upon originating enplanements.2 Overall, 25% of LaGuardia users said that if there
were more parking spots and affordable long-term parking at LaGuardia, they would be more likely
to drive themselves to the airport.


1

LaGuardia Airport CTB Redevelopment Program Environmental Assessment Draft, April 2014, Appendix A,
Page A-25.

2

According to an analysis of on-airport parking availability conducted by Hunden Strategic Partners for The
Parking Spot, although LaGuardia has more originating enplanements than JFK or Newark, LaGuardia has fewer
parking stalls. LaGuardia has just 1.33 spots for every 1,000 originating enplanements, compared to 3.1 at JFK, and
4.7 at Newark Liberty.

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NYC air travelers know about Governor Cuomos planned renovation of LaGuardia and will be
more likely to use the airport as a result. Citywide, 71% of respondents are familiar with Governor
Andrew Cuomos proposed $4 Billion renovation of LaGuardia airport, including clear majorities
among all sub-groups. Among travelers who have flown out of LaGuardia in the past 12 months,
77% of respondents are aware of the Governors proposal. Two out of three respondents said that
they would be more likely to use LaGuardia once it is redesigned and improved, including strong
majorities across all sub-groups.

There is strong support for expanded parking facilities at the new LaGuardia airport. Overall, 66%
of respondents believe that the newly rebuilt airport should have expanded parking facilities, with
the strongest support voiced by Latinos (82%), African-Americans (79%) and residents of the Bronx
(82%).

A note about methodology. The poll was conducted August 20-25, 2015 among 600 air travelers
living in New York City. At the 95% confidence level, the margin of error in the survey is 4.0%. The
margin of error is higher among sub-groups. This survey was drawn from a sample of registered
voters in with a history of voting and matched against airline frequent flyer data available from
commercial databases. In addition, screening questions were employed to identify those voters in
the sample who have taken at least one flight in the past twelve months out of LaGuardia, John F.
Kennedy, or Newark Liberty airports.

About The Parking Spot. Founded in 1998, The Parking Spot is the leading near-airport parking
company in the United States with 36 locations at 21 airports. It currently operates five facilities at
metro-New York airports, including three lots near Newark Liberty, and one each near LaGuardia
and JFK.

About The Parkside Group. Described as New Yorks leading full-service public affairs firm by
Campaigns & Elections magazine, the Parkside Group has been providing electoral, corporate, and
advocacy clients with public relations, public affairs, government relations, campaign management,
and advertising services for more than 15 years.