Speaking of air travel, it seems flyers are more satisfied with Burbank Bob Hope Airport than they were a year ago, according to the 2007 J.D. Power and Associates North American Airport Satisfaction Study.

This year, BUR ranked 9th out of 19 small airports surveyed in terms of overall satisfaction, compared to 18 of 19 a year ago. It scored higher than John Wayne (12th) in Orange County and Long Beach (17th), but it's index score is still a few points below average. Small airports are those that see fewer than 10 million passengers a year, and #1 among them for the second year in a row is Houston Hobby International.

Meanwhile, LAX ranked 12th of 17 large airports surveyed -- that's airports with 30 million passengers or more per year. Dallas/Ft. Worth International is the top scorer here.

The 7th annual study measures airport accessibility, baggage claim, check-in/baggage check, terminal facilities, security check, food and beverage, retail services and immigration/custom control.

Other factoids: The number of flyers who are checking baggage increased to 77 percent compared to 67 percent in 2006 due to tighter restrictions of what you can bring onboard. While customer satisfaction levels increased for the check-in process, they're not so happy with baggage claim, likely due to the increased volume.

Moreover --

• Customer satisfaction levels flattened in 2007, after climbing steadily between 2002 and 2006.

• One in five travelers experiences a flight delay—a 12 percent increase over 2006. Leading reasons for flights delays are bad weather (31%), unavailability of aircraft (20%) and mechanical problems (14%).

• Satisfaction with retail services posts the greatest decline of the measures studied, driven by decreases in satisfaction with cost and variety of products. On average, airport consumers spend $25.54 on retail purchases.

• The average airport customer spends $11.91 on food and beverage. This figure is higher ($14.72) for travelers in small airports.