The results of the 2008 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) awards confirm that Asia-Pacific airports lead the way when it comes to customer satisfaction, writes Joe Bates.

BEST AIRPORT WORLDWIDE
1 Seoul Incheon (ICN)
2 Singapore (SIN)
3 Hong Kong (HKG)
4 Central Japan (NGO)
5 Halifax (YHZ)

BEST AIRPORT BY SIZE

Fewer than 5 million passengers
1 Halifax (YHZ)
2 Ottawa (YOW)
3 Guayaquil (GYE), Ecuador
4 George (GRJ), South Africa
5 Southampton (SOU), UK

5 – 15 million passengers
1 Central Japan (NGO)
2 Tel Aviv (TLV)
3 Austin-Bergstrom (AUS)
4 Houston Hobby (HOU)
5 Jacksonville (JAX)

15 – 25 million passengers
1 Taipei (TPE)
2 Zurich (ZRH)
3 San Diego (SAN)
4 Moscow Domodedovo (DME)
5 Vancouver (YVR)

25 – 40 million passengers
1 Seoul Incheon (ICN)
2 Singapore (SIN)
3 Minneapolis St. Paul (MSP)
4 Detroit Metropolitan (DTW)
5 Shanghai Pudong (PVG)

Over 40 million
1 Hong Kong (HKG)
2 Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
3 Beijing (PEK)
4 Denver (DEN)
5 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK)

Asia-Pacific airports once again dominated ACI’s annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) customer satisfaction awards with Incheon picking up the Best Airport Worldwide award for the fourth successive year as the region’s gateways won seven of the eight global categories.

In addition to the top honour, all-conquering Incheon was also voted the world’s best gateway handling between 25-40mppa, No1 in Asia-Pacific and received a special Airport People Award for the courteousness and helpfulness of its staff.

Singapore Changi and Hong Kong International Airport’s second and third rankings respectively in the Best Airport Worldwide category – Nagoya’s Central Japan International Airport was fourth – means that Asia-Pacific gateways have taken the top three spots for four years in a row.

Other top performers from the region in 2008 included Central Japan (Best Domestic Airport and Best by Size in the 5–15mppa category); Hong Kong (Best by Size in the over 40mppa section); Taipei or Taiwan–Taoyuan (Best by Size in the 15–25mppa category) and Beijing Capital, which picked up ACI’s Best Improvement award.

Abu Dhabi and Doha finished second and third respectively in the Middle East while top five rankings were earned by Beijing (3rd) and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (5th) in the over 40mppa section and Singapore Changi (2nd) and Shanghai Pudong (5th) in the 20-40mppa category.

All received their awards at a spectacular gala dinner held at the Palácio de Bolsa during ACI Europe’s recent Airport Trading Conference and Exhibition in Porto, Portugal (See pictures).

Incheon’s president and CEO, CW Lee, admits that he likes that ‘winning feeling’ and wants to experience it again next year, assuring rival airports that he will not allow his staff to get “big-headed” or complacent on customer service after four highly successful years.

“We're going to try harder to make this an airport the whole nation can be proud of – an airport admired by everyone worldwide, and the airport setting the standard for all other airports around the world,” insists Lee.

Lee is certainly generous in his praise of the airport’s staff, claiming that Incheon’s ASQ success was only made possible by everyone “working together towards a better future”.

The airport was highly praised for continuously making improvements and satisfying expectations of many travellers, the opening of its new Concourse A and AIRSTAR shopping mall helping it achieve an average satisfaction rating of 4.91.

Its various cultural and artistic events also proved popular with passengers. ACI Asia-Pacific’s regional director, Maggie Kwok, enthuses: “I am very proud that in the ASQ Award 2008; four of the five top performing airports in the world are from the Asia-Pacific region.

I believe the first impression is always important and airports are often the first point of contact when travellers visit a country. “You should never let your airport to be seen as understaffed, unfriendly, inefficient or untidy.

If the airport receives a high rating from the travellers, it will attract more passengers who will be willing to spend more time in the airport and to spend more money and therefore it is crucial for us to keep up a high standard.

I encourage all airports to keep up the high standards in customer service and to seek continuous quality improvement.” ACI director general, Angela Gittens, says being named Best Airport Worldwide Award once again is a “remarkable achievement,” particularly when considering the ever-growing list of airports competing for its crown.

Says Gittens: “I congratulate Incheon International Airport on winning ACI's Best Airport Worldwide Award for the fourth consecutive year.

This is a remarkable achievement, particularly when you consider the other excellent airports that participate in the ASQ Survey. Incheon has set the benchmark for service excellence.

“There are many impressive airport terminal buildings around the world, but ultimately it is the dedication of the airport staff that ensures that facilities are clean and serviceable, that processes are efficient, and that staff are courteous and helpful to the passengers.

Passengers rate Incheon very highly in all these aspects.

I thank IIAC for providing this role model of service quality to the industry.”

Nagoya’s Central Japan International Airport (or Centrair as it is known locally), has also come out and praised the efforts of airport staff in helping it scoop its two awards as well as a best ever fourth place ranking out of over 100 competitors bidding for the title of Best Airport Worldwide.

“The awards recognise the united efforts of all our personnel,” it said in a statement.

“Our aim remains to be the number one airport in the world for customer satisfaction.”

Airport Authority Hong Kong, operator of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), believes that the quality of service offered at the gateway sets it apart from its rivals.

“One can’t have good customer service without people dedicated to delivering it. At HKIA, this means a team of 60,000 plus airport staff working in unison to create a total travel experience,” says a spokesman.

“To foster a service-orientated culture at HKIA, an airport-wide service excellence programme – the Customer Services Excellence Programme (CSEP) – is conducted every year to enhance service quality and promote smooth collaboration among the airport community.

“The programme comprises a series of workshops and seminars that invite members of the airport community to share and learn how to enhance customer service.

Individual achievements and team spirit in customer service are also recognised in every year’s CSEP award, during which outstanding cases and employees of customer services are selected among nomination from organisations of the airport community.”

Acting Airports of Thailand (AoT) president and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi director, Serirat Prasutanond, claims that his gateway’s top five ranking in the over 40mppa category and 28th position in the Best Airport Worldwide – a rise of 13 places on 2007 – clearly shows the progress it is making.

Prasutanond hopes that Bangkok Suvarnabhumi will become a top 10 airport this year by further improving the gateway’s “atmosphere, cleanliness, facilities and services as well as passenger safety”.

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) claims that Abu Dhabi International Airport’s high ranking in the Middle East is testament to its commitment to customer service.

Sheikha Al Maskari, vice president of corporate affairs, enthuses: “We are always looking at ways to improve. We aim to deliver services and facilities above and beyond passenger expectations.

To this end, we endeavour to hire, train and retain exceptional personnel for our airport, from frontline working facing customers every day to operations and facilities management staff.

This award can be attributed to the hard work of all our airport employees. “Some credit must also go to the airport expansion and the redevelopment work taking place at the airport.

The refurbishment of Terminal 1, the facelift of Terminal 2 and the phasing in of the new Terminal 3 are important projects, which have improved both the passenger experience and the facilities we offer our partners.

“These developments are all part of a larger redevelopment programme currently underway which will ensure our high quality standards are upheld even as passenger traffic continues to rise in line with the development of Abu Dhabi as a destination for commerce and tourism.”

ACI says the awards once again emphasise the importance the world’s top airports place on the provision of a spotlessly clean terminal and a relaxed, open, friendly ambience.

The 2008 survey also revealed that comfortable waiting areas, good signage and clean, readily accessible washrooms were high on the agenda of the travelling public and that the winning airports all scored highly in these categories.

The top performing airports in other regions were Zurich (Europe), Guayaquil, Ecuador (Latin America & Caribbean), Tel Aviv (Middle East) and George, South Africa (Africa).

The only by size category not won by an Asia-Pacific airport was for airports handling less than five million passengers.

This was won by Halifax, with the Canadian airport pipping Ottawa and Guayaquil to the honour. Gittens believes that Beijing Capital’s Best Improvement Award was well deserved.

“I am pleased to see that passengers have recognised the considerable efforts that Beijing made in opening a new terminal and enhancing its services during the year and the important role it played in facilitating the very successful Summer Olympic Games,” she says.

“Their success in mobilising the entire airport community in their customer service improvement initiative resulted in significant improvement in passenger satisfaction scores in the ASQ Survey.”

A reliable monitor of airport service, ASQ is used by many airports as one of the key performance indicators of the airport’s service.

Indeed, ASQ data is often linked into service level agreements, concession agreements, privatisation agreements and remuneration contracts all over the world.

The 2008 results were based on the findings of over 200,000 questionnaires completed by passengers at 108 airports. The survey captures the passengers’ perception of the quality of more than 30 aspects of service that they have experienced at the airport.

Interviewing covers every day of the week and every month of the year to ensure coverage of all seasons and all peaks and troughs. To be eligible for the annual rankings, an airport must participate during all four quarters of the year.

Adds Gittens: “As the industry benchmark of airport service quality, the ASQ survey programme is enabling airports to understand and respond to the needs of their passengers.

“Results show that overall passenger satisfaction continues to improve year-on-year. This reflects the importance airports are placing on customer satisfaction and the innovation in services that we are seeing worldwide.

The programme continues to grow, which demonstrates that airports care very much about their customers, no matter how tough the economic situation.”

Asia-Pacific Airports 2009 Issue 2

Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s award-winning environment and energy conservation programme is reaping real benefits, writes Oliver Clark.

When the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa won the bid to design Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in 1990, it was with a vision to make Malaysia’s rainforest an integral part of the airport’s very structure – to create the first truly green airport.

A founder of the ‘Metabolism Movement’, an architectural school devoted to the idea that there is a symbiotic relationship between nature and architecture, Kurokawa planned to integrate lush vegetation into the halls and terminal buildings of the new international airport.

KLIA was constructed on 120 kilometres of wasteland under the slogan ‘An airport in the forest and a forest in an airport’ and half a million trees were transported to the site and planted around the main terminal building.

At the nearby satellite building an enclosed rainforest arboretum, the ‘Satellite Forest’ – complete with a waterfall – ensures that one of the first things arriving passengers see is a swathe of living greenery.

“A lot of thought has been put into the design of KLIA to incorporate as much of the environment as possible.

This brings together nature, technology and human imagination,” says Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad, managing director and CEO of Malaysia Airports.

“Take, for example, the roof of the airport’s main terminal building.

The roof is technologically designed to be flexible enough to withstand earthquakes, but when you gaze at it from inside it resembles the fronds of a palm tree,” he says.

Now, nearly 20 years on, KLIA’s officials are continuing the late architect’s vision with an environmental programme whose achievements were recognised with Green Globe 21 certification in 2004, the only airport in the world so far to receive the coveted award.

The Green Globe certificate is based on the Agenda 21 principles of sustainable development agreed by 182 heads of state at the United Nations’ Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, and is awarded for a clear commitment to the continual identification, control and improvement of the environmental and social impact of the airport’s operations.

KLIA has won the award an impressive five years in a row largely thanks to its self-regulating Environmental Management System (EMS), which contains key goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving energy supplies and improving planning and land use.

“KLIA is proudly a Green Globe certified airport.

In order to maintain this certification year-on-year, one criterion that needs to be met is the demonstration of continuous improvement.

Every year Green Globe revises its benchmark criteria for us,” enthuses Bashir.

To achieve this, the airport works to seven key green considerations, namely preservation of the natural environment, waste management, energy efficiency, resource management, noise control, water resource management and storm water management.

Recycling and conservation are at the heart of KLIA’s green system; chilled water is used as a cooling agent in the airport’s air conditioning system, which reduces CO2 emissions, only eco-label, recycled paper is used by its staff.

Detergents, sprays and the foam used by the gateway’s fire fighting units are made from biodegradable materials.

The airport monitors its use of electricity, natural gas and diesel, with the main terminal and satellite building equipped with sensors that automatically switch off lights, taps and air-conditioning systems when not in use.

The widespread use of large glass walls in the terminal’s design allows for greater use of natural sunlight, while carbon emissions are reduced through the use of a co-generation system (coGen), which produces electricity and heat at the same time.

While recycling and conserving energy provides an important part of KLIA’s environment programme, another key concern is the reduction of pollution generated by the gateway, whether it is noise, chemicals or air emissions.

The airport conducts monthly tests on its water supply to ensure it complies with local and international standards for physical, chemical and bacteriological content.

Noise pollution from aircraft landing and taking off is reduced thanks to the presence of the surrounding rainforest and oil plantations, which acts as an acoustic buffer to the roar of engines, while local noise levels are monitored within a 20 kilometre radius.

Meanwhile, a gazetted 10km x 10km area of the forest has been designated a ‘no residential build zone’ to prevent damage to the local habitat and animal life.

This may seem an unusual step, but the airport’s rainforest has proved far more important to its green vision than anyone could have imagined when it was built in 1998.

Boasting between 200 to 400 species of trees indigenous to Malaysia, including the Hopeaoborata and Dyera costulata, the surrounding rainforest is now home to many kinds of flora and fauna and insect life.

Established with the co-operation of the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), which carefully uprooted and transplanted trees from the nearby forest of Senawang, the rainforest’s eco-system is so well established it now offers opportunity for scientific research.

The rainforest is even proving a useful revenue source for the airport, with the planting of oil palm on around 3,200 hectares of land around KLIA , earning the gateway in excess of $5.

7 million in 2007 through the sale of palm oil.

In its ‘Project Green Planet’, KLIA launched its commitment to promoting environmental responsibility for all visitors, including local and foreign travellers.

To carry its vision forward, some of this lush greenery close to the main passenger terminal has been converted into the ‘KLIA Green Park’, an area where the general public can view the work the airport is doing and experience Malaysia’s rainforest first hand.

Visitors can go jogging, trekking or cycling and children can even camp within the park’s confines.

In June, KLIA held a ‘Walk the Environment’ day to coincide with World Environment Day.

The event featured projects such as ‘pledge-a-plant’, where participants could buy a plant for $3, and a family oriented treasure hunt.

In 2007 the fifth floor of the airport’s main terminal building played host to a photography project initiated by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), which showcased provocative photographs of nature and the planet to environmental pollution and human devastation.

“In terms of visitor and passenger involvement, we initially started with small steps, but it is crucial that we educate and raise awareness through exhibitions and campaigns,” comments Bashir.

But KLIA’s enthusiasm for environmental projects seems to be infectious, with everyone from the airport’s retailers to taxi drivers getting involved.

Shopping chain Syed Mokhsain Holdings (SMH) has agreed to donate $0.03 to the Green Earth campaign every time a customer turns down the offer of a plastic bag and this goes towards the planting of trees.

Additionally, an ever increasing number of taxi companies in Malaysia, many of which serve the airport, have converted their cars to natural gas vehicles (NGV), reducing the emissions they produce.

So what about the future? Well, during the ACI World General Assembly/North America Conference and Exhibition in Boston, USA, last September, Bashir announced that Malaysia Airports would aim to become carbon neutral within the coming years, starting with its international airports.

But why stop there? Just as Kisho Kurokawa’s vision for the airport was one of unlimited opportunities for technology and nature to be combined, so KLIA is striving to play an important and ever evolving part in fighting climate change.

“Where KLIA is concerned, the future is one filled with endless possibilities,” says Bashir.

“We are aware of the growing pressure the aviation sector as a whole feels where the environment is concerned, but at the same time, we are all set to play our part to create a sustainable environment.”

Asia-Pacific Airports 2009 Issue 4

Frances Cream is ACI Asia-Pacific’s Young Executive of the Year – Peta Tomlinson recently caught up with her.

Marketing managers are supposed to pitch their product, although it’s not only duty that calls Frances Cream, newly crowned ACI Asia-Pacific’s Young Executive of the Year, to wax lyrical about the joys of Australia’s Gold Coast.

“What’s not to like?” asks the 31-year-old marketing manager at Gold Coast Airport in Queensland.

“I live opposite the beach, and the airport overlooks the beach.

I can walk along the sand every morning, and swim in the ocean most months of the year.

I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to live and work,” she says.

Cream, an ex-Sydneysider, espouses the Gold Coast Airport’s mantra that “you feel like you’re on holiday the minute you arrive”.

She has held her current position for two years, after Cream and husband Glenn decided on a sea-change.

“I was living in the heart of Sydney, while Glenn, from Tasmania (an island, and Australia’s southern most state) is not really the city type.

When we got married we wanted a different lifestyle, and the Gold Coast seemed perfect.”

Cream had always been drawn to travel and tourism.

Originally a travel agent, she went back to study a masters degree in marketing, starting her new career at Tourism Australia.

Her arrival on the Gold Coast two years ago coincided with its airport needing a new marketing manager, a role Cream considers to be her dream job.

of it all, and the way it brings people together from all over the world.

“We have an internal word for people who are into aviation – aerosexuals – and that’s me, so this job is a perfect fit.”

When she first arrived, Cream explains, the Gold Coast Airport was already a powerful brand.

It’s the aviation home of Australia’s favourite seaside playground, world renowned for its glorious subtropical climate, seemingly endless kilometres of golden surf beaches, spectacular hinterland, award-winning restaurants, great shopping and thrilling theme park attractions.

With a A$100 million terminal redevelopment then about to begin (and now in its final stages, due for completion in March 2010), Cream’s goal was to ramp up the marketing to cement Gold Coast Airport as a first-choice destination for southeast Queensland.

“My aim was to get more locals to use it, and having Brisbane people look at the Gold Coast as their airport as well – even for (some) international departures,” says Cream.

How? “Well Gold Coast is a more affordable option for outbound passengers, with lower car-parking costs and lower fees,” she explains.

“And with our nearly completed terminal extension bringing a wide choice of retail and F&B offerings, it’s no longer a small-town airport.”

For arriving passengers, Cream adds, the airport, with its stylish interior design and views over the surrounding hinterland, will be “part of their Gold Coast experience”.

Being from the new school of marketing, Cream has drawn on technology to help spread the word: in addition to traditional media, she leverages the cost effective, broad-reaching online environment, including Facebook, news feeds, email alerts, even Twitter.

“To my knowledge, we are the first airport in Australia to have a Twitter site,” she says.

As a result, the Gold Coast Airport’s website hits are up 50%–70% from last year.

Cream’s marketing strategy has also focused on working with airline partners to develop new routes and restore flight frequency that was cut during the economic slowdown.

Marketing co-operatives were formed so the airport could join hands with airlines and the tourism industry to do larger campaigns, and the results again are proven.

Last financial year the Gold Coast Airport recorded over 4.6 million passengers, up 11.6% on the previous year, including a 97% jump in international numbers.

And the numbers so far this year look promising, too.

Working with the airline’s research department and passenger focus groups to propose new routes has also paid off, notably with Virgin Blue’s new Gold Coast–Townsville service, and the introduction of new carrier Airnorth with a Gold Coast–Mount Isa–Darwin route.

“I don’t think Virgin Blue would have thought to go to Townsville if not for that,” Cream says.

Low-cost carriers (LCCs) were targeted to give the airport a competitive edge.

When the new terminal is finished, it will be the largest purpose-built facility for LCCs in Australia, streamlining efficiency for carriers and their passengers by having a common check-in for all airlines, self-service kiosks, a single baggage collection and screening point and one main departures and arrivals area.

Cream saw her entry in the ACI Asia-Pacific Young Executive of the Year award as a way of contributing her ideas on how the airport industry can rise above the challenges of the financial crisis.

Despite the intensity of the current economic climate, she stresses the need not to lose sight of long-term sustainability.

To this end, Cream feels airports must be more strategic and innovative, becoming “more accountable for the fate of the airport user, whether it is the airline, or airline customer or concessionary owner”.

Her solution, as evidenced in initiatives at the Gold Coast Airport, involves all stakeholders in aviation business pulling together in an integrated approach.

“It is during these tough times that airports have opportunities to grow and develop partnerships and work collaboratively yet competitively to ensure sustainability and growth in the ever changing aviation industry,” Cream says.

“By knowing their position in the market, who their key customers are and understanding their needs, airports can continue to manage infrastructure costs with revenue while facilitating growth for airlines.”

Cream will be presented with her award on November 3 in Kuala Lumpur at the 19th ACI World & Asia-Pacific Conference and Exhibition.

Her $1,000 prize money won’t be spent on flying lessons, or even more trips abroad – indeed, after Kuala Lumpur, Cream will be grounded for a while as she prepares for her next challenge: the birth of her first child, due early next year.

But no doubt, during her happy time ahead while on maternity leave, at least part of this young executive’s head will be in the clouds, still dreaming of ever new heights and clever new marketing ideas for her beloved aviation business.

Asia-Pacific Airports 2009 Issue 4

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