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Expanding the ‘Orlando experience’
Journal of Airport Management,
14
(4),
403-419
(2020)
Abstract
Airports have been ranked by organisations such as Skytrax, ACI World (through ASQ), and J. D. Power for their customer experience for years, but no formal identification of the factors that contribute to customer experience has been established. The authors worked together over the past three years to determine the significant factors that create world-class airports offering outstanding customer experiences. Also, the methodologies, techniques, technology, benchmarks, metrics and best practices used by recognised awardwinning airports were compared with the Orlando International Airport customer experience programme. Additional training was developed for all Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) employees to reinforce the existing customer service programme and assist in individuals and departments to embrace their role in providing the ‘Orlando Experience’. A gap analysis was performed to compare the current executive leadership’s idea, and that of management and rank and file, of their role in providing improved ‘Orlando Experience’ with the traveller’s perspective. The result is improved customer experiences throughout MCO and awards by J. D. Power for the past two years for the best airport in customer satisfaction for mega airports. This paper is intended to share the results of research, meetings within the airport staff, focus groups conducted, extensive social media analysis and methodologies employed to provide an enhanced ‘Orlando Experience’, which may be employed by other airports desiring to improve their customer experiences.
Keywords: customer experience; world-class airport; employee engagement; social media; customer satisfaction; benchmarking/metrics; key performance indicators (KPIs)
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Brian Engle is currently the Director of Customer Experience with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, a position he has held since 2014. He is responsible for promoting and leading all efforts in ensuring excellent airport-wide customer service and positioning Orlando International Airport (MCO) in the future as a world-recognised leader in providing an exceptional customer experience. Prior to his current role, Brian worked in the airline industry for 24 years, holding various executive management positions with Northwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines. Brian is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and holds a BS degree in Aeronautical Studies and Airport Management. Brian has been a Cochairman for the Passenger Terminal EXPO and Conference that is held throughout the world and brings together leading experts from airports, airlines, authorities, governments and consultants for industry updates and debate since 2007.
Dr Patricia Ryan is Director of Aviation for IOS Partners, a global consulting firm that has offered P3 services worldwide for many years. Patricia has been both staff at US Airports and a consultant worldwide, creating memorable designs, airport experiences and strategic planning for airports, including P3 projects. Patricia has more than 30 years’ experience in working with airport professionals and private industry and in developing P3 projects to improve financial success and increase both revenue and customer experiences. She is known for her Strategic Planning for revenue projects throughout the world and has been an instructor for ACI World and Professor and Associate Dean at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in addition to handling professorial work at several universities. The team of IOS Partners and the Florida Institute of Technology’s Institute of Cross-Cultural Management engaged in over three years of research to identify world-class factors, compared their findings with Orlando International Airport’s (MCO) information and then developed benchmarks and an action plan to implement recommendations and conduct training for staff of Orlando International Airport. Patricia is Principal Investigator for the IOS Partners contract with the Transportation Research Board’s Airport Cooperative Research Project 01-40 ‘Evaluating the Travelers’ Perspective of Improving Airport Customer Experiences’.
