Budget Travelers Less Satisfied With London Airports Than Business Flyers

Airline passengers flying into London can broadly expect a certain level of service based on the carrier that they’re on, according to LJ Research, which uses independent surveys to advice tourism and destination marketing clients.

The research company surveyed 14,000 visitors to London who arrived by plane and found that business travelers flying into London City were the most satisfied with the experience while those flying low-cost carriers into Stansted or Luton where the least impressed.

The average satisfaction scores across all categories and airports was between 6.9 and 7.7, from which the study concludes that “visitors are broadly satisfied but underwhelmed with airport services.

London City Airport was the only airport to achieve scores higher than 8 in all categories. Stansted, used most often by European on low-cost carriers ranked the lowest among its competitors in all categories.

“City Airport was designed with bankers and other professionals in mind who need quick access to the city,” explains Dr. Tom Mathar, research manager at LJ Research.

Only 400, or less than 3 percent, of the 14,000 travelers surveyed use London City Airport.

The main gateways to London, Heathrow and Gatwick, feel somewhere in between the business and low-cost experiences.