"Florida airport's 'extra effort' pays off with honor"

Friday, December 10, 2004

Airport's 'extra effort' pays off with honor 
Orlando award might lure more tourists 
BY DONNA BALANCIA 
FLORIDA TODAY 


Orlando International Airport's ranking as the nation's top large airport
for customer satisfaction is a result of "extra effort" to provide
amenities, an airport official said. 

"In this new environment, it's a challenge to maintain top customer service
and adhere to the security standards," said Carolyn Fennell, director of
public affairs for Orlando International Airport. "But, here, there's an
extra effort in making sure the experience is good. We have the shops and
retail and bookstores people like. It's great we received this recognition.
It shows that we're No. 1 in the nation, and that's quite significant." 

Orlando International was ranked No. 1 in the United States and No. 2 to
Hong Kong worldwide in the 2004 Global Airport Satisfaction Index Study
published by J.D. Power and Associates. 

The survey polled 9,000 people who ranked 76 airports in the world in a
variety of categories, including terminal facilities; gate areas; food,
beverage and retail services; security check process; airline check-in; and
baggage claim. 

Orlando this year was in the large-airport category for airports with 30
million or more passengers a year. In the 2003 rankings, Orlando was in the
medium-airport category for airports with 10 million to 30 million
passengers, and ranked No. 3 in the United States and No. 5 in the world. 

"It's always great when you can point to an official study that recognizes
the efficiency, convenience and customer-service reputation of an airport,"
Fennell said. "We will use this information in marketing the airport to
other airlines, to attract new businesses to the community and in our
pursuit of commercial development on airport property." 

Surveys like this one from the widely respected J.D. Power and Associates
often are used in informational-marketing and public-relations campaigns. 

Although Orlando International services the already-hot tourism region of
Central Florida -- which includes Brevard County and its beaches and the
Orlando area and its theme parks -- the airport's high marks could only help
attract visitors. 

Linda Hirneise, a partner at J.D. Power and Associates and author of the
study, said Orlando International hit the target in several areas. 

"In the area of airport accessibility, Orlando is second only to Hong Kong,"
Hirneise said. "In the area of the terminal facilities -- that would be the
environment -- the airport is strong. And, in retail and other key measures,
it performed well above the segment average. What we know is people want the
ability to multitask while waiting in the airport." 

"I've been in many airports throughout the world, and Orlando does have a
beautiful ambience," said Maureen Bachmann, travel consultant with Gadabout
Travel in Melbourne. "The airport has live plants, wonderful shopping,
marvelous food courts, and it's really not a bad place to spend time. When
you're waiting for a plane, you want a nice place to spend lots of time." 

Like other airports, since Sept. 11, 2001, Orlando International Airport has
been struggling to rebuild its passenger base. 

Passenger counts dropped in 2001 and 2002, and started to recover last year.
This year the airport expects to hit 31 million passengers. 

Preliminary figures show that, for October, passenger traffic rose to 2.6
million, up from 2.4 million for October 2003.

Contact Balancia at 242-3647 or dbalancia@xxxxxxxxxxxx 

The rankings

Here is how airports with 30 million or more passengers a year ranked in the
just-released 2004 Global Airport Satisfaction Index Study published by J.D.
Power and Associates. 

1. Hong Kong 
2. Orlando 
3. Denver 
4. Dallas/Fort Worth 
5. Frankfurt 
6. Minneapolis-St. Paul 
7. Phoenix 
8. Amsterdam Schiphol 
9. Las Vegas 
10. Houston-Intercontinental 
11. Chicago-O'Hare 
12. San Francisco 
13. Detroit Metropolitan 
14. Atlanta-Hartsfield 
15. Bangkok 
16. Newark iberty 
17. Miami 
18. London-Heathrow 
19. Los Angeles 
20. Paris-De Gaulle 
21. Madrid-Barajas 
22. New York-Kennedy 
Note: Tokyo-Haneda is included in the study, but is not ranked due to
insufficient sample size. 

Other Florida airports

The J.D. Power and Associates survey also ranked medium and small airports.

Medium airports: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and Tampa ranked No. 5 and No. 6,
respectively, among 34 airports ranked in the medium category for airports
with 10 million to 30 million passengers annually. 
Small airport: Fort Myers-Southwest Florida ranked No. 11 among 20 airports
ranked in the small category for airports with less than 10 million
passengers annually. 
What about Melbourne? Melbourne International Airport was not part of the
survey. 

Orlando International Airport passenger counts

2000: 30.8 million 
2001: 28.3 million 
2002: 26.7 million 
2003: 27.3 million 
2004: 31 million (projected) 

Source: Orlando International Airport


 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************