24 March 2010
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Focus on service delivers global recognition for Auckland Airport in World Airport Awards
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Auckland Airport has cemented its status as a world-class tourism and trade hub, when it was yesterday voted the 9thth best airport in the world, up from 10th last year, and the best airport in the Australian Pacific region, for the second year in a row, in the 2010 independent Skytrax World Airport awards.
Auckland Airport is the only airport from the Australia Pacific region, and one of only 4 airports from outside Asia, to make this elite top-10 global list. As well as beating off strong competition to win the Best Airport Australia Pacific trophy, Auckland also triumphed in the Staff Service Excellence category for the region.
Announced at The Skytrax World Airport Awards ceremony, held yesterday evening at the Passenger Terminal Expo 2010 in Brussels, Belgium, Skytrax World Airport Awards are the industry’s most extensive air traveller-based awards, with the survey of airport customers conducted between July 2009 and March 2010. The survey covered more than 9.8 million travellers from over 100 different countries.
Mr Moutter said, “I think there is a strong link between our work with our partners on efficiency initiatives such as the Lean Six Sigma project, which has already improved the end-to-end arrivals experience considerably, and the Skytrax awards announced yesterday. Combined with the enormous investment we have made into our departures and arrivals areas, the introduction of a new and wider range of retail and parking products, the launch of SmartGate and the development of more air-services to Auckland, we’re absolutely focused on how we can make the passenger experience at Auckland Airport memorable for all the right reasons.”
Edward Plaisted, Chairman of Skytrax said: “Auckland International Airport has been improving its overall global ranking during the years of the World Airport Survey, and I congratulate them on achieving this Best Airport Australia Pacific title in 2010. The staff service at Auckland Airport was a clear reason why this airport has performed so well this year, and continued to improve its standing within the overall survey. Many survey respondents commented on pleasant security and immigration staff, as well as improvements in the standard of passenger service information. The top 5 Airports for the Australia / Pacific region was headed by Auckland in 1st with the remaining airports being Brisbane 2nd, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide who achieved 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively."
Mr Moutter said, “We work incredibly hard to listen to passengers, to understand what they want, and to do what we can to meet their needs and provide them with great choices. Our extensive customer research conducted through programmes such as Airport Service Quality (ASQ) not only gives us the information we need to keep improving, it frequently shows how important the welcoming kiwi customer service attitude is for visitors to our country.”
Mr Moutter added, “These Skytrax awards are so satisfying because they reflect the New Zealand experiences that travellers have had in terms of the friendliness, can-do attitude and responsiveness of all the people they meet. It’s a testament to the passion and commitment of everyone at the airport, from the border agencies to the baggage handlers, from retailers to rental-car companies, from emergency services to cleaners. But we won’t be standing still. We are determined to keep improving, and we want to encourage passengers to keep telling us what we are doing well, and where we can improve, so that one day kiwis might be proud to be able to say that Auckland Airport is rated the best airport in the world by travellers.”
Picture: Chief Operating Officer, Tony Gollin (right), attended the event in Brussels, accepting the award on behalf of Auckland Airport
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For further information, please contact:
Richard Llewellyn
Senior communications manager
+64 9 255 9089
+64 27 477 6120