President's Message
Greetings! I’m newly arrived at the airport, but I am happy and proud to be the Airport Authority’s new President and CEO. An airport is a hive of activity, with new situations and challenges arising every day. From weather events to special events, it has been a great introduction so far.
It’s officially spring, and yet we still have snow on the ground. Unless you are a diehard skier, you’re willing it to melt like I am. On the positive side, the extended winter weather gave me the chance to ride along with the Airport Authority’s ground crew as they tackled the last (hopefully) big snowstorm of the season. To say I was impressed by the talent and professionalism of the operators would be an understatement. I learned that it is no easy task to drive for long hours through hypnotising snow conditions, and yet that is what our crews did many times during this seemingly endless winter. They do a tough job to keep everyone safe during inclement weather, and I thank them for their effort.
Aside from dealing with snow, there’s a lot going on. We’re planning for the installation and deployment of a new, state-of-the-art baggage handling system, a new public address system and we’re planning the next phases of airport expansion. While we don’t have details to share just yet, we are looking at the best and most efficient ways to address demands in passenger growth, particularly in the areas that serve our transborder (US-bound) flights. We will provide more specific information as the final plan is determined.
The results of the 2012 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) customer service benchmarking program results were recently announced. I am very pleased to say that The Ottawa International Airport continued to delight passengers finishing 2nd in North America and 3rd in the world (2-5 million passengers). We take extreme pride in the fact that our total satisfaction score improved from 4.47 out of a possible 5.0 points in 2011 to 4.51 in 2012. All eyes are on the top spot, and our efforts will focus on areas where we can improve the customer experience and increase our score even further. Thanks to everyone on the airport campus for their continued commitment to providing outstanding service – keep up the great work! And, a big thank you to each and every passenger who took the time to complete a survey; your feedback is extremely important to us, and it makes a difference.
To find out what else has been happening at the airport, I invite you to attend our Annual Public Meeting, which is being held on May 9th at the Hilton Garden Inn (airport location) at 4 pm. If you can’t attend, you can always read about our 2012 results in the Annual Report which will be posted on this website concurrently.
I would like to extend my thanks to Board and the members of the Airport Authority team who have made me feel so welcome and who have made my first few weeks so much easier. Through the many conversations I’ve had, I sense a huge amount of pride at the accomplishments of the airport and the Authority, and I feel the commitment everyone shares where customer service is concerned. I look forward to working with the team to continue the tradition of excellence, and I look forward to getting to know many more members of the campus family who also share the commitment.
I also look forward to hearing from the community at large. As I said, your feedback, whether provided in a survey, via the web or by mail, is important to us and it helps us to continuously improve.
Mark Laroche
President and CEO
Ottawa International Airport Authority
