Airports celebrate commitment to customer service at 2015 ASQ Awards Ceremony; and explore “the people behind the numbers” in first ASQ Forum of 2016
Montreal, 3 May 2016 – The world’s top-performing airports in the realm of customer service met on 19 April for the 2015 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards Ceremony, held in Gold Coast, Australia during the 11th Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition. The world’s premier passenger service benchmarking programme for airports, ASQ, delivered over 550,000 in-depth passenger surveys at some 300 airports across more than 80 countries worldwide last year. The 2015 results represent the world’s best in class airports where improving the customer experience is concerned—as appraised by passengers while they are traveling and the experience is fresh in their minds.
Given the growth of the ASQ programme, the 2015 results were expanded to include a new category (Best Airport by Size and Region) and a more robust winners’ lists (several airports have tied in their respective categories). Furthermore, new Top Airports by Region lists are now available on the ASQ website. These enhancements highlight the high proportion of worldwide airports—both large and small, from developing and developed countries—that are focusing on customer service as a means of fostering traveler loyalty in a highly competitive operating environment. For a complete list of winners, please click here.
“Airports’ increasing concentration on ensuring a stellar passenger experience is part of a larger trend,” noted Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI World. “Airports have evolved into complex, customer-focused businesses in their own right that in many cases are in competition for passenger traffic. From duty free and restaurants, to ambience, cleanliness, courtesy of staff, amenities, efficiency and more, air travelers are expecting big things from the airports through which they travel. Congratulations to our 2015 winners for the good work they are doing on behalf of the world’s passengers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
ASQ Forum Brisbane
Immediately following the 2015 ASQ Awards Ceremony, the first ASQ Forum of 2016 took place in Brisbane, Australia from 20–22 April, kindly hosted by Brisbane Airport. Participants, which included 22 airports from 10 different countries, took part in the forum, which was organized around the theme, “The people behind the numbers.” Indeed, ACI’s ASQ programme provides participating airports with a wealth of data on their passengers’ needs and expectations, building a solid foundation for excellence in customer service, but this is only half the story. At its core, ASQ is about the people behind the numbers: the 7 billion passengers that moved through the world’s airports last year. The ASQ Forum Brisbane was designed from the ground up to help delegates develop a deeper understanding of their customers’ wants and needs with the end goal of crafting a passenger service strategy that not only meets expectations, but also exceeds them.
The ASQ team offered a full-day training session prior to the start of the forum, and presentations during the forum covered recent ASQ developments and additional services; key drivers of satisfaction; analysis of passenger personas; the importance of airport ambience; and IT trends and facilitation. And to encourage networking in a relaxed setting, delegates were treated to a gala event at Brisbane’s iconic Museum of Modern Art. To view pictures from the ASQ Forum Brisbane, please click here.
Two more ASQ Forums are planned for this year in Guayaquil, Ecuador and Napoli, Italy. To learn more about the forums and how you can attend, please click here.
“ACI would like to thank Brisbane Airport for hosting the first of three 2016 ASQ Forums,” added Director General Gittens. “Events like this, wherein airports are given the opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences, hear how ongoing ASQ research can inform their decisions and discover new ways of better serving the passenger, bode well for the future of airport customer service and the continued enhancement of the air travel experience.”
Notes to editors
1. Airports Council International (ACI), the trade association of the world’s airports, was founded in 1991 with the objective of fostering cooperation among its member airports and other partners in world aviation, including the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Air Transport Association and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation. In representing the best interests of airports during key phases of policy development, ACI makes a significant contribution toward ensuring a global air transport system that is safe, secure, efficient and environmentally sustainable.
2. The ASQ Survey covers 34 key service areas and includes 8 major categories such as access, check-in, security, airport facilities, food and beverage, retail and more. All participating airports use the same survey questions, creating an industry standard set of responses that allows participants to track and analyze their performance, as well as benchmark results against airports across the globe. All participating airports can view the ASQ survey results of all other participating airports on a confidential basis.
Benchmarking allows participants to compare their airport’s performance against industry best practices. Through the use of key performance indicators, participants see where their airport under—and over—performs; where improvements are required; and where investment is most likely to deliver the biggest return.
Benchmarking offers a broad range of benefits, allowing participants to:
- Get an independent perspective on performance;
- identify areas of opportunity;
- understand passengers’ needs, priorities and expectations;
- prioritize improvement opportunities;
- set and monitor performance expectations; and
- manage change effectively.
For more information on ASQ, please visithttps://aci.aero/Airport-Service-Quality/ASQ-Home. To view details of the 2015 ASQ results, please visithttps://aci.aero/Airport-Service-Quality/ASQ-Awards/Current-Winners.
3. To view pictures from the 2015 ASQ Awards Ceremony, please click here.
4. To view pictures from the 2016 ASQ Forum Brisbane, please click here.
5. To learn more about attending an upcoming ASQ Forum, please click here.
4. To download a pdf version of this media release, please click here.
Media contact
Ryan White
Manager, Communications
ACI World
Telephone: +1 514 373 1226
Email: rwhite@aci.aero