The Focus on Passenger Experience and Satisfaction: How Should Middle Eastern Airports Respond?

Transcription

1 The Focus on Passenger Experience and Satisfaction: How Should Middle Eastern Airports Respond? DR. DAN WONG ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT MODERN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND SCIENCE MUSCAT, OMAN

2 Evolution of Airports Airports were initially developed by governments as a public utility to facilitate the intermodal transfer of passengers and cargo between ground and air-based transport modes Prior to the 1978 deregulation of the US airline industry, government regulated the entry and exit of airlines using a particular airport, and the destinations the airlines were allowed to serve The 1978 deregulation of the US airline industry began a worldwide trend in which government controls of the number of air carriers, the destinations served, and fares charged were either significantly reduced or eliminated

3 Evolution of Airports The introduction of Open Skies agreements beginning in the 1990s expanded the number of both air carriers and flights internationally, increasing the number of air passengers at those airports serving as ports of entry As a result of both airline deregulation and Open Skies agreements, airline passenger volumes climbed dramatically resulting in airports becoming unable to handle increased air passenger and flight volumes Airports have also had to accommodate changes in aircraft both on short haul (e.g., CRJ) and long haul (e.g., Airbus 380) routes as well as airline changes (e.g., hub and spoke, and LCC)

4 Evolution of Airports Many governments began privatizing their airports starting in 1986 in the UK to reduce government expenditures related to expanding airports to accommodate increased air passenger and flight volumes Airports remaining under government ownership became enterprise agencies that were financially self-supporting through their commercial activities (e.g., concessions, landing fees, and rental income) As self-supporting or commercial enterprises, airports have had to adapt their management priorities to increase their revenue streams from all sources, including those services for air passengers

5 Airport Management Typologies to Enhance Revenues through Customer Experience Source: National Academy of Sciences Airport Cooperative Research Program Report 157

6 Response by Airports to Enhance the Customer Experience SITA reported in their 2016 Airport IT Trends Survey that airports worldwide are projected to budget over $9 billion USD in 2006 on IT-based information and communications technology projects with over 70% projecting increased expenditures in 2017 While much of these airport IT projects classified as high priority were based in the past on improving passenger processing, the number of projects dedicated to increasing passenger safety and security is steadily increasing The focus of these expenditures on customer experience included: Expand self-service processing by air passengers (e.g., passenger and baggage check-in)

7 Response by Airports to Enhance the Customer Experience Increased use of mobile technology (e.g., smartphones) and wi-fi connectivity for airport and airline-based applications New initiatives will include interactive wayfinding and biometric identify management with costs being offset by revenues that could potentially be collected via connected mobile devices Data collected from mobile units can form a significant database for real-time airport operations decision-making through further integration of A-CDM between airlines and airport operators Organizations such as ACI-World and IATA have either introduced or expanded programs designed to improve the level of customer services being provided by airports to air passengers

8 Response by Airports to Enhance the Customer Experience Airport Cooperative Research Program Report 157 identified that airport facilities could be improved moving from an ordinary experience is the basic facilities are done properly to one in which air passengers are surprised in a delightful way However, while airports may embark on an aggressive program to improve the air passenger s customer experience, the abovementioned report also indicated that airports are dependent upon collaborative governance efforts with the multitude of airlines, concessionaires, government agencies, ground service providers, and the armies of employees and contractors that staff these operations in the airport if these changes are to be effective in holistically enhancing the customer experience

9 Airport Operator Governance in Improving Customer Services In Skytrax s 2017 list of the top 20 world airports based upon passenger surveys: 8 of the 20 airports or 40% were based in Asia 7 of the 20 airports or 35% were based in Europe 2 of the 20 airports or 10% were based in the Middle East 1 of the 20 airports or 5% were based in Africa 1 of the 20 airports or 5% were based in Australia 1 of the 20 airports or 5% were based in North America

10 Airport Operator Governance in Impacting Customer Services In studies performed by Queensland University of Technology in evaluating governance of US airport taxicab operations, the following was discovered: US airport operators collaborated well with their peers in other government departments with significant two-way communication occurring US airport operators were also very collaborative with the airlines and other companies that are seen as important in the day-to-day operation of the airport (e.g., airport hotels) US airport operators exhibited varying, but less collaborative relationships with concessionaires and contractors under contract with the airport to provide services

11 Airport Operator Governance in Impacting Customer Services US airport operators reported exhibiting essentially one-way directed communications towards the personnel directly responsible for providing customer services to the traveling public

12 How Should Middle Eastern Airports Respond? Identify and remediate any airport terminal facility issues that are impeding or otherwise disrupting passenger flows and services Examine the airport s current implementation and use of technological improvements designed to improve the air passenger s customer experience Evaluate the airport s customer services programs to objectively determine whether they are adequately meeting the needs of the traveling public at the airport Map out the airport s governance processes to determine if airports can better collaborate with all of the other airport entities to foster improvements designed to improve the passenger experience

13 References: Graham, Anne. Managing Airports 4th Edition: An International Perspective. Routledge (2013) National Academy of Sciences. Airport Cooperative Research Program 157: Improving the Airport Customer Experience (2016) Skytrax. The Worlds Top 100 Airports in (Viewed September 25, 2017) SITA Airport IT Trends Survey (2016)

14 Dr. Dan Wong, PhD MITE Associate Professor and Deputy Head of Department Transport Studies For Additional Information, Contact: Business and Economics Department Modern College of Business and Science PO Box 100 Al Khuwair 133 Sultanate of Oman Phone: GSM: