Report: U.S. Airports with the Best Lounges 2023

Matthew Justice
person holding a trophy over their head in the sun
Source: Adobe

I do love data, and when the data is applied to lounges, I get extra excited. Recently Upgraded Points analyzed lounges at the 50 largest (by size) airports in the United States. They analyzed 226 lounges, and only airports with five or more lounges were included in the rankings. The study examined a range of factors, including available amenities, dining options, lounge saturation, customer reviews, and operating hours.

Airports with Best Lounges (Top 10)

  1. Miami, Florida (MIA)  81.1%
  2. LaGuardia, New York (LGA)  76.4%
  3. Los Angeles, California (LAX)  74.9%
  4. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (DFW)  65.7%
  5. Regan National, Virginia (DCA)  64.7%
  6. Houston Bush International, Texas (IAH)  64.6%
  7. Kennedy, New York (JFK)  64.2%
  8. Atlanta, Georgia (ATL)  63.6%
  9. Seattle-Tacoma, Washington (SEA)  62.9%
  10. Phoenix, Arizona (PHX)  62.7%

Most Lounges per Mile (Top 10)

  1. LaGuardia, New York (LGA)
  2. Regan National, Virginia (DCA)
  3. Newark, New Jersey (EWR)
  4. Los Angeles, California (LAX)
  5. Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)
  6. San Diego, California (SAN)
  7. John Wayne Santa Ana, California (SNA)
  8. Seattle-Tacoma, Washington (SEA)
  9. Kennedy, New York (JFK)
  10. San Francisco, California (SFO)

Best Lounge Operators (Top 10)

  1. American Express (92%)
  2. Plaza Premium (70%)
  3. Airport Dimensions (69%)
  4. Delta (68%)
  5. British Airways (66%)
  6. Alaska Airlines (66%)
  7. Air France (61%)
  8. American Airlines (58%)
  9. United Airlines (54%)
  10. Lufthansa (44%)
infographic showing the top 10 airports with the best lounges

Closing Thoughts

I would have liked to seen have this based on lounges per passenger (enplanements) instead of size. I think that would have been a better metric. I also think they should have set the lounge cutoff at four instead of 5 per airport. Also, taking into account lounge diversity would have been nice; for example, LaGuardia (LGA) ranked number one, but there is currently no Priority Pass option (although a Chase Sapphire Lounge is coming soon). Overall the report was a good read and shows lounge operators that they must improve their game. Thank you to Upgraded Points for taking the time to do this report.