Tampa International Airport ranked second among U.S. airports in the 2010 Zagat airline and airport survey, whose respondents found fault with New York airports, luggage fees, and flights on which "the only thing missing is a blindfold and a cigarette."
The travel guide publisher's survey based on 8,000 flyers who took 139,300 flights in the past year produced its customary collection of cheeky comments along with rankings.
The survey results put Continental and American Airlines atop "premium" domestic airlines; JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines were listed as the best "economy" carriers.
Portland International Airport in Oregon ranked atop 30 U.S. airports, followed by Tampa, Salt Lake City, Detroit and Denver. Portland and Tampa ranked first and second in the 2009 survey, as well.
New York's LaGuardia airport ranked last, behind Miami, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and New York's John F. Kennedy, which ranked 26th.
Southwest Airlines ranked best in value, luggage policy, check-in experience and eco-friendliness.
Nearly two of three respondents were business travelers. The overall group ranked direct routes (65 percent), ticket price (55 percent), and past experiences (50 percent) as the main considerations in booking a flight.
The survey indicated only 7 percent of people purchase food on board flights in which free meals are not offered, compared with 55 percent who buy food at the airport and 18 percent who carry food from home.
Results indicated 45 percent of respondents try to avoid flying airlines that charged for checked luggage and 33 percent typically travel with a carry-on, so checked baggage was not an issue.
"My bags get better service, but they pay extra," one respondent commented.
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