ACI’s annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey shows that Asia-Pacific gateways once again lead the way when it comes to customer service.
BEST AIRPORTS WORLDWIDE
1 Incheon (ICN)
2 Singapore (SIN)
3 Hong Kong (HKG)
4 Beijing (PEK)
5 Hyderabad (HYD)
BEST AIRPORT BY REGION
Asia-Pacific
1 Incheon (ICN)
2 Singapore (SIN)
3 Hong Kong (HKG)
4 Beijing (PEK)
5 Hyderabad (HYD)
BEST IMPROVEMENT BY REGION
Asia Pacific: New Delhi (DEL)
Middle East: Abu Dhabi (AUH)
BEST AIRPORT BY SIZE OF AIRPORT
5–15 million passengers
1 Hyderabad (HYD)
2 Austin (AUS)
3 Cancún (CUN)
4 Nagoya (NGO)
5 Jacksonville (JAX)
15–25 million passengers
1 Baltimore/Washington (BWI)
2 Taipei (TPE)
3 Shenzhen (SZX)
4 New Delhi ( DEL )
5 Salt Lake City (SLC)
25–40 million passengers
1 Incheon (ICN)
2 Singapore (SIN)
3 Tokyo Narita (NRT)
4 Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
5 Shanghai Pudong (PVG)
Over 40 million
1 Hong Kong (HKG)
2 Beijing (PEK)
3 Denver (DEN)
4 Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
5 Houston George Bush (IAH)
In another stand out year for Asia-Pacific, ACI has announced that the top five airports in the world all come from the region.
Incheon International Airport was named as ‘Best Airport Worldwide’ for the fifth successive year while Singapore Changi and Hong Kong International Airport – themselves no stranger to picking up customer satisfaction awards – finished second and third respectively for the second year running.
However, newcomers Beijing Capital and Hyderabad–Rajiv Gandhi edged out Nagoya (Central Japan) to claim fourth and fifth positions in the top category in the 2009 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) awards.
“All hail from ACI’s Asia-Pacific region, a reflection of the region’s strong customer service culture, airport management commitment to service delivery and the high quality of modern passenger facilities at each of these airports,” says ACI director general, Angela Gittens.
“I congratulate Incheon for its singular performance, having garnered the top spot for five years running. This record is no accident, nor for the others who year after year continue to receive top honours. All have learned to focus on key performance factors that their passengers most appreciate.
All demonstrate that they fully understand that what pleases a passenger today becomes tomorrow’s expectation, and that to stay at the top, an airport must continuously refresh its offer and introduce new innovations that continue to delight the passenger on subsequent trips.
”Quite simply, no other airport in the history of the annual passenger satisfaction survey has got anywhere near matching all conquering Incheon’s winning streak, the airport also securing top spot in the 25-40mppa and Asia-Pacific categories.
In the other by size categories, ACI Asia-Pacific airports picking up awards included Hyderabad, (5-15mppa) and Hong Kong (over 40mppa) while New Delhi (Asia-Pacific) and Abu Dhabi (Middle East) won ‘Best Improvement Awards’.
Abu Dhabi International Airport actually ranked top in eight customer service categories for the Middle East region.
“Naturally, we thank our customers and passengers for affording us these ratings. They clearly vindicate the hard-work of all our staff and related agencies at the airport who are striving to ensure Abu Dhabi offers some of the world’s best airport environments,” enthuses Abu Dhabi Airports Company’s senior vice president of airport operations, Ahmad Al Haddabi.
“I thank and congratulate the whole team for their continued efforts and can promise our customers we will continue to work even harder during the coming year.
”Hyderabad International Airport operator, GHIAL, is also already thinking about further improving services to ensure that it retains its 5-15mppa category title next year.
CEO, P Sripathy, muses: “What next for us? We are motivated to continue to raise the bar when it comes to service quality and wish to create new benchmarks in the coming years.”
Also doing well, but missing out on the top awards this time, were Nagoya (4th 5-15mppa); Taipei, Shenzhen and New Delhi (runners-up 15-25mppa); Singapore Changi, Tokyo–Narita, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai Pudong (runners-up 25-40mppa); and Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Muscat which finished behind Tel Aviv in the Middle East region.
Beijing Capital – which handled a record 65.3 million passengers during 2009 – also finished runner-up in the over 40mppa category.
Receiving an outstanding score of 4.99 points with 5 denoting a perfect score, Incheon International Airport garnered the top spot with the highest points ever awarded in the survey’s history.
Incheon’s president and CEO, CW Lee, says: “Winning the top honour in the ACI survey as the best airport in the world for five consecutive years is the result of the combined efforts of the government and 35,000 airport employees who have consistently
delivered excellent service every year.
“This will burnish the reputation of the airport as well as boost the standings of Korea on the international stage.” Lee indicated that Incheon will do all that it can to hold on to its title in 2010 and that efforts to enhance its reputation would involve offering a number of “unique services” designed to ensure that the gateway stands out from other international airports.
A faster and simpler customs procedure is now in operation at the airport, which recently expanded the use of self-service check-in technology and introduced an automated immigration clearance system.
The airport has also championed the concept of ‘sense of place’ with a mounting focus on cultural and arts facilities and performances. Arguably its prize asset is its Korean Cultural Museum – operated in conjunction with the National Museum of Korea – where visitors can view ancient artifacts and enjoy traditional music and artwork.
Other customer friendly features at Incheon include its ‘indoor gardens’ – which house a variety of flora and fauna – and facilities such as its own casino, golf course, spa and private ‘sleeping rooms’.
Singapore Changi’s Terminal 3 is one of the most impressive in the Asia-Pacific region and its January 2008 opening appears to have once again made the gateway a firm favourite of transit passengers.
The gateway boasts a total of 300 retail and F&B outlets spread across a total of 40,000sqm of commercial space making it possibly the largest shopping destination in Singapore.
Other facilities/services popular with visitors include a children’s playground, hair and beauty salons and a supermarket.
Hong Kong International Airport is also a shopper’s paradise courtesy of 240 retail outlets and 70 F&B facilities spread across its two terminals. In addition to shopping and eating, visitors can also experience a range of entertainment in Terminal 2 that include a 4D Extreme Screen, Aviation Discovery Centre and Asia Hollywood.
The airport also has its own SkyCity Nine Eagles Golf Course for those wanting to get some exercise in the big outdoors.
Last year’s ASQ survey was the most fiercely competitive yet, with the results based on the findings of 275,000 passenger interviews at 118 airports across the globe.
A reliable monitor of airport service, ASQ is used by many airports as one of the key performance indicators of the airport’s service.
“The awards recognise those airports having made the most progress in improving service quality,” says ASQ programme director, Craig Bradbrook. “The 2009 passenger ratings show that despite the economic crisis, overall satisfaction at airports
increased by almost 3% worldwide compared to 2008. It is gratifying to see that 82% of the airports were rated with stable or improved performance.”
Leading airports recognise that the most important aspect of providing great service in an airport is the provision of a spotlessly clean terminal and a relaxed, open, friendly ambience.
They also recognise that it is vital to address the basics first. Ten factors identified as essential for high customer service ratings are, by order of importance: the ambience of the airport; cleanliness of the terminal; comfort of the waiting areas; availability of washrooms; cleanliness of washrooms; courtesy and helpfulness of the airport staff; business lounges; ease of making connections; passport/ID inspection experience; and good shopping facilities.
The award ceremony will take place at the 5th ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition that will be held in Hainan, China, on May 13.
Asia-Pacific Airports 2010 Issue 1
