Release date: 
Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Ottawa International Airport is on top of the world! The airport was ranked first in the world for customer satisfaction among airports that serve between two and five million passengers per year, according to the results of the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) customer satisfaction benchmarking program that were published earlier today. The airport was also ranked second among all airports in North America, regardless of size.

ASQ is an Airports Council International (ACI) initiative. Through the program, a prescribed number of passengers are surveyed each quarter to ensure an equitable breakdown between business and leisure travellers across domestic, transborder and international destinations. The surveys cover approximately 36 touch points of the customer experience including everything from the friendliness of the check-in staff to the efficiency of security screening to the overall cleanliness and ambiance of the facility.

“This award is very meaningful to us because it comes through our clients, and because it’s the celebration of a team effort” said Paul Benoit, Airport Authority President and CEO. “Every organization and individual at the airport has the opportunity to make a difference for our clients every day, and clearly many of them do just that. I could not be more proud”.

Ottawa had enjoyed a second place rank in our class of airport for five years, but it has always remained focused on the top spot and used the results of previous years’ surveys to work with partners and tenants to make changes where clients ranked the airport lower.

“Our thanks to our airline partners, our cleaners, government agency representatives, concessionaires, volunteers and our employees for their contributions to the excellent results, and thanks to the passengers who took the time to complete the survey” added Raymond Brunet, Chairman of the Airport Authority’s Board of Directors. “We share this award with the entire community”.

These honours cap-off an award winning year for the airport and the Authority. Other awards include the Ottawa Business Achievement Awards’ Ottawa Company of the Year, Ottawa Tourism Partnership of the Year for a partnership with Air Canada to market the Frankfurt flight, and three awards from Airport Revenue News: Best Concessions Program Design; Best Overall Concessions Program; and Best Concessions Management Team.

OMCIAA operates Ottawa International Airport without government subsidies under a 60-year lease transfer agreement with Transport Canada. The OMCIAA’s mandate is to manage, operate and develop airport facilities and lands in support of the economic growth of the National Capital Region.

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