Travel + Leisure magazine ranks Portland’s airport as the best in the nation; labor union bristles at the distinction.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
Travel + Leisure magazine ranked Portland’s airport as the best in nation for the third-straight year.
PDX beat Tampa International Airport Florida, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Dallas Love Field to take the top honors in the magazine’s yearly World’s Best Awards.
PDX spokeswoman Kama Simonds called the ranking “fantastic,” and attributed the airport’s popularity to the efforts of airport employees, airline partners and transportation security personnel, among others.
Simonds acknowledged the airport has gotten a lot of attention for its uniquely patterned carpet, which reached social media celebrity status after its removal was announced in 2013.
(SOURCE: OregonLive.com)
The union representing airport workers bristled at the distinction.
But the Service Employees International Union’s Local 49,which represents some airport workers, said the honor “runs in stark contrast to the daily reality for the hundreds of rampers, cabin cleaners, and passenger service agents who make the airport a safe and welcoming place for passengers.” Many of them earn less than $20,000 a year.
“As a result, the people who make PDX such a great place are working hard but still unable to make ends meet,” SEIU’s leaders wrote. “It is up to the airlines that operate at PDX, the contractors they work with, and the Port of Portland to take action to support airport workers by paying living wages and improving safety measures.”
(SOURCE: Portland Business Journal)
The magazine’s methodology explained:
Readers answering questionnaires between November and March decide the awards, according to Travel + Leisure editors. The airport award is based on criteria that includes location, access, ease of check-in and security, good restaurants and bars, shopping, family-friendly atmosphere and design.
(SOURCE: Portland Tribune)
