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Thanksgiving is coming up, and many Americans are set to fly this week. As travelers will be going from airport to airport, most will say some airports are better than others.

But which airport is the best?

The answer is San Francisco International Airport, according to The Wall Street Journal. SFO was named the best “large” airport of 2022.

Wall Street Journal: Top 10 Best Large Airports in U.S.

  1. San Francisco (SFO)
  2. Atlanta (ATL)
  3. Minneapolis (MSP)
  4. Detroit (DTW)
  5. Phoenix (PHX)
  6. Los Angeles (LAX)
  7. Houston Bush (IAH)
  8. Las Vegas (LAS)
  9. Charlotte (CLT)
  10. Seattle (SEA)

SFO ranked first in reliability (72) and first in convenience (69), according to the the article. However, the airport ranked last of the 20 large airports in the “value” category (28) — a contrast to top-ranked Orlando (81).

In further analysis within the three categories, SFO also ranked first in on-time departure rate (84%) and average taxi in time (six minutes) under the reliability category. SFO also ranked first in Yelp restaurant rating (2.82) under the convenience category.

For the best midsize U.S. airports, The Wall Street Journal ranked San Jose International Airport (SJC) third and Oakland International Airport (OAK) tenth.

Oakland airport ranked first among midsized airports in average domestic fare ($262) under the value category, the WSJ said.

Methodology

Wall Street Journal’s overall score took into account three major categories: reliability, value and convenience. Each of those three categories had its own separate score, which is then used to compile the airport’s overall score.

For reliability, factors used include on-time arrival, on-time departure, flight cancellation rate and “fast security clearance.” Factors measured under “value” include average domestic fare, UberX cost and on-site parking. The “convenience” metric factored in Yelp restaurant rating, maximum walking distance and nonstop destinations.

Overall, the WSJ measured 19 factors, such as on-time performance, security waits, J.D. Power customer-satisfaction score and ticket prices.

The report, which was released Thursday, analyzed 50 of the largest airports in the U.S. Twenty were categorized as “large” based on which has the highest number of passengers. The next 30 airports were categorized as “midsized.”

The full study and methodology can be viewed HERE.