ACI VIEWPOINT
View from the top
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ACI World director general, Angela Gittens, reflects on transforming the passenger airport experience.
We want people to know that airport operators are committed to the passenger experience. In an era where cutbacks and passenger aggravation can run high, renewed efforts to share stories of airports placing the passenger first are worthwhile for airports, their passengers and stakeholders. These stories reiterate the message that airports since the beginning of aviation have been invested members of the communities they serve, and as such, have and continue to be unwavering in their treatment of airline passengers as valued residents and visitors. On the theme of airports as invested members of their communities, starting in September, ACI will use our website and media contacts to showcase standout examples of airports placing passengers first under conditions of regular and irregular operations. I invite all ACI members to share their positive passenger facilitation stories, which we will use to help airports fully earn the credit they rightfully deserve within the larger aviation community, among industry stakeholders and the media for going above and beyond common expectations to facilitate the passenger journey. I encourage you to share your airport passenger facilitation stories, as an airport employee or airport passenger, including photos and videos with our communications manager, James Roach, at [email protected]. I equally encourage you to take a moment to learn more about and explore some of the tremendous offerings, old and new, available at airports worldwide. Along with your single item of carry-on luggage, I guarantee that you will board with a memorable experience. AW
hile most passengers are unfamiliar with the term ‘passenger facilitation’, much of their decision making about which airport to choose is based on this experiential dimension of airport service, planning and design. While airport operators have long embraced the concept of ‘passengercentric’ airport planning and design, the need for airports to place the facilitation of passenger flow as a central priority has become more urgent as the forces militating against facilitation have gotten stronger. The growth in traffic, coming more quickly than capacity in some cases, the red uction in baggage allowances and meal service by airlines, the intensified – and sometimes mercurial – security screening regimens, the loss of ground service resilience by air carriers as they have trimmed staffing levels, have all served to erode the quality of the passenger experience. With the increase in competition among airports as they strive to retain or grow air service for the economic vitality of their communities and their own enterprises, airport leaders are intensifying their efforts to counterbalance the deficits in other areas of the travel experience. ACI assists in these efforts with the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) programme that can help an airport operator both to understand what is most important to their passenger population as well as to measure performance in providing the facilities and services. Airports are deploying social media channels to better communicate with their customers and further improve the passenger experience. Worldwide, we have seen significant investments of financial resources and creativity to design and re-design facilities, and provide a range of innovative services, activities and on site events that elevate the airport experience to new heights.
AIRPORT WORLD/AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2013
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