"Air travelers downgrade Sea-Tac Airport"

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Air travelers downgrade Sea-Tac Airport in Washington state
The Tacoma (WA) News Tribune


Passenger satisfaction with Sea-Tac Airport is significantly below average,
a new study says, but airport officials promise better ratings next year. 

The survey, published by market research firm J.D. Power and Associates,
rates Sea-Tac Airport 26th among 34 medium-sized airports worldwide. On a
1,000-point scale, surveyed passengers gave Sea-Tac a rating of 630, based
on airport services such as security, facilities, retail outlets, baggage
claim and customs and immigration. The average rating for airports of
Sea-Tac's size was 656. 

Sea-Tac's downfall, said Linda Hirneise, executive director of travel
industry research for J.D. Power, was low survey ratings for the airport's
retail and food service operations. 

That relatively low rating doesn't surprise the airport's general manager of
aviation business development, Kottayam Natarajan. 

"I'm not really startled by those results," he said. "The construction we've
had ongoing in the last couple of years has made parts of this airport into
a mouse's maze of temporary corridors and closed-down businesses." 

The airport last June opened a new A Concourse to replace a concourse
demolished three years ago. And contractors have been working for more than
two years to rebuild the central part of Sea-Tac's terminal into a grand
multistory atrium with expansive views of the airfield. That new central
inside courtyard is due to open this spring. 

To build the central atrium, the airport closed many airport businesses,
including its fine dining restaurant and several smaller fast-food outlets. 

The airport was even forced to shut down some vendors outside the secured
area to give passengers more room to move between wings of the airport
beyond security. 

The construction work came at a time when Sea-Tac Airport traffic was
finally rebounding from the steep drop it took after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks. 

"We expect that our business this year will be a record," Natarajan said.
"We've had to keep the airport open and running while all of this work was
going on." The central terminal courtyard will be surrounded by retailers
and food vendors. A massive frameless window wall will provide passengers
with a view of landings, takeoffs and other airport operations. 

The airport is embarking on a new program that will bring local restaurants
and retailers to its corridors, as well as national vendors. A provision in
the airport's contract with those vendors is that they charge airport
patrons no more than prices outside the airport. 

"I predict our customer satisfaction will take a big leap upward next year,"
Natarajan predicted. "If it doesn't then, I'll have a real problem." 

In recent years, as Sea-Tac aged and other airports were built or
substantially remodeled, the airport slipped steadily downward in ratings
lists. 

While Sea-Tac slid, Portland International Airport rose in the rankings. The
same survey that ranked Sea-Tac 26th rated the Oregon airport fourth among
medium-sized facilities. Passengers have praised Portland's renovated
airport for its easy baggage claim, its comfortable makeshift airport
overnight sleeping accommodations and its inexpensive light-rail access to
downtown. 

Singapore's medium-sized Changi Airport won the highest rating among
airports of all sizes worldwide. Second was Hong Kong's relatively new
airport, followed by Pittsburgh and San Antonio. 

Boston's Logan Airport, which also has been under construction in recent
years, was the lowest-rated airport among those J.D. Powers rated. It was
followed by Rome's Fiumicino Airport and New York's JFK on the bottom end of
the list. 

The Powers survey questioned airport users between Oct. 25 and Nov. 12.

BEST AIRPORTS

Airports' annual rankings, based on a perfect score of 1,000 (Sea-Tac
Airport scored 630 in the medium-sized category):

1. Singapore: 817

2. Hong Kong: 730

3. Pittsburgh: 723

4. Calgary: 720

5. San Antonio: 720

6. Austin: 713

7. Boise: 709

8. Indianapolis: 706

9. Cincinnati: 706

10. Portland: 705

WORST AIRPORTS

1. Boston: 600

2. Rome: 608

3. New York JFK: 611

4. Washington Dulles: 612

5. Madrid: 612

6. Oakland: 614

7. New York LaGuardia: 614

8. Paris DeGaulle: 614

9. Los Angeles: 614

10. San Jose: 618


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