Worst Airports for Connections in the USA

Philadelphia International Airport.
(photo: Getty Images/CNBC)

Some people prefer to connect on a flight rather than flying direct because it breaks down what can be very long journeys. But connections also leaves open the opportunity for a delay or missed connection not to mention leaving one wondering if checked bags make the flight as well.

CNBC reports that several factors come in play: "Some U.S. airports have more late or missed connections than others, depending in part which airlines use them and where they're located. Some airlines are notoriously unreliable, and some airports are in cities that take regular beatings from bad weather."

The ranked airports were based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation using statistics from worst records for on-time arrivals in 2011 and on-time departures covering 29 major airports (defined as serving at least 1 percent of total passengers boarding domestic flights in one year, excluding small airports). The report shows two figures, the first is the percentage of flights that arrived late and the second those that departed later than scheduled.

1. Newark Liberty International (NYC)  33.28% arrived late / 27.03% departed late.
2. San Francisco International   28.62% / 23.72%
3. LaGuardia Airport (NYC)  27.82% / 22.49%
4. Logan International Airport (Boston) 26.39% / 21.11%
5. John F. Kennedy International Airport (NYC)  24.66% / 22.49%
6. O'Hare International Airport (Chicago)  24.52% / 25.6%
7. Philadelphia International Airport  23.84% / 21.1%
8. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport  22.28% / 17.59%
9. Washington Dulles International Airport  21.39% / 20.19%
10. Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport  21.12% / 19.74%

Regarding #1 ranked Newark, the report says: "When it comes to on-time arrivals, Newark Liberty International Airport has the worst record of any U.S. airport. A whopping one in three flights -- 33.28% arrived late. It also has the worst record for on-time departures, with 27.03 percent taking off later than scheduled.

In a 2011 article on the Consumer Reports website, the two most chronically delayed flights in the U.S. both originate from Newark. Both flights go to Atlanta during rush hour, both flights have an average delay of one hour and 21 minutes, and both flights delayed between 50 percent and 60 percent of the time.

To add insult to injury, Frommer's give this unkind assessment of the Newark airport itself, particularly Terminal B: "The airport's idiotically puts security before individual piers in Terminal A and B, which means that rather than having a whole terminal's food and shopping to entertain you, you're stuck on a single pier."

Click HERE for the full report on the CNBC website.

Newark Liberty International.
(photo: Getty Images/CNBC)