[News] Changi now 4th best airport
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Changi gets a wake-up call
Pipped by KL airport in honours list as competition hots up
Wednesday • March 14, 2007
Leong Wee Keat
[email protected]
SINGAPORE'S gateway to the skies has been brought back to earth by an upstart in its own backyard.
Often acknowledged as the world's best airport — it swept 25 international awards last year — Changi finds itself in the unfamiliar position of being pipped in the rankings by Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
When the Airports Council International (ACI) announced its service quality awards yesterday, KLIA came out top in the "15 to 25 million passengers per year" category.
Changi, which handled a record 35 million passengers last year, finished second in the category for bigger airports — those handling under 40 million passengers — behind South Korea's Incheon.
But in the race for the overall prize — Best Airport Worldwide — Incheon finished first, Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok second, KLIA third and Changi fourth.
With 573 members operating more than 1,643 airports, ACI is the global trade organisation for the airport community and its list cannot be scoffed at.
Analysts said that KLIA's achievement comes as a wake-up call to Changi at a time when the chase for tourist dollars is hotting up and several cities are trying to position themselves as air hubs.
As far back as 2004, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had stressed the importance of this when asked about the threat of budget carriers to Singapore Airlines. Mr Lee said then: "My job is to see that Singapore's position as an air hub is not lost. And if budget airlines were to eat up Singapore Airlines' profits but retain Singapore as a hub ... so be it."
Analysts pointed out that while Singapore had set the benchmark with its airport, cities like Dubai and Kuala Lumpur were now copying the template — making it imperative for Changi to move even faster.
The awards measured the performance of various airports based on service quality, facilities and passengers' feedback. In the 2005 survey, Changi had finished second behind Incheon, while KLIA was third.
Determined to turn the tables last year, the Malaysian airport planned its assault on the award systematically.
"There are 28 features in the ACI survey and we had to monitor each feature to ensure that we did not slip behind," said Malaysia Airports Holdings managing director Bashir Ahmad.
"This is a very nice feeling," said Mr Bashir of edging out its southern neighbour in the list. "As you all know, we are always compared to Changi Airport and it's nice to know that we have done very well this particular year."
There was no response from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore by press time.
While aviation analysts said that awards could be subjective, some were surprised by the turnaround. "I thought Changi did quite well last year," aviation consultant Prithpal Singh told Today. "In terms of facilities, efficiency and comfort, Changi is second to none."
Last year, the signs were particularly encouraging. More than 7.2 million airline passengers surveyed by London-based market researcher Skytrax helped Changi win its first Skytrax Airport of the Year award. Britain's Business Traveller magazine voted it the best airport for the 19th straight year. Its weekly flights reached a record high of 4,199.
The fact that KLIA has sneaked ahead in this particular survey underlines the constant need for improvement, analysts said.
Even minor things — like shops being understaffed or hiring unhelpful sales staff — could sway perceptions, Mr Singh said. "You cannot ignore this ranking. Basically it shows that we need to put more emphasis on this human aspect," he added.
Just last week, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said in Parliament that the "software" aspects of the "Changi Experience" would be strengthened. When Terminal 3 opens its doors next year, Changi's handling capacity will rise by about 45 per cent to 67 million passengers a year, he said, adding that the airport "will also continue to provide training for frontline staff to ensure that the highest service standards are maintained".
This was critical as airports sought to attract transit passengers as well as tourist, said Flight International's regional managing editor Nicholas Ionides.
Mr Peter Harbison, executive chairman of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation, said: "There is a great deal at stake for airports, for their airlines and for the national economy.
"This has been recognised in Singapore by the importance attached to the success of Changi. Its neighbours will continue to be tough competitors, although Changi has set the benchmark in the past." -
It's a real wake up call
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Somebody gonna get hurt real bad.
But but but.. the last time i was at KLIA.. alot of shops no tenants leh.. but tt was very long ago..
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Plus they lost my luggage..
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now quite a lot of shops....Originally posted by Gackt247:Somebody gonna get hurt real bad.
But but but.. the last time i was at KLIA.. alot of shops no tenants leh.. but tt was very long ago..
i think it must be their push for budget airlines... >__< -
downfall of the world best airport?
omg -
Air Asia X tio grounded till next yrOriginally posted by ^tamago^:now quite a lot of shops....
i think it must be their push for budget airlines... >__< -
Looked people. We keep dong things to achieve higher awards. One day we might lose if we keep doing the same things. One day we will run out of capacity to handle the most limits that the airprt, or country can hold, but dn't worry we have URA.
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*&$^#
really.. i ask you all.. when you go on vacation, do you care if the airport is the best in the world? or do you care about the place you are going to?
like visitors are going to stop coming to singapore because the airport isn't no.1 anymore??
if the asshats in power and in CAAS think so, they are more stupid than i gave them discredit for -
I am no expert in airports but i suppose the following factors swing the vote:
Service level of the staff - are they deterioriating? Already, SIA has been knocked off the padestral as the best airline in the world and this is now followed by Changi Airport. And one of the common complain is that the cabin crew service has gone down.
Ditto for the airport staff - have the service level gone down already? Its not easy to maintain pole position because customers once, experienced a "high" level of service now expects maintenance or even more, so its really up up all the way.
Singapore is not particularly known for the service level and this is reflected through the complains of the service staff and its widely acknowledged that the shop assistants in HK offer better service than Singapore.
Also, price wise - I think the prices at the various airports are now comparable and Singapore Changi no longer has this distinct advantage. Also, although govt's efforts to revamp Changi airport, it still is a bit old compared to the newer ones eg: Incheon.
the writing is on the wall, give a few more years, and you have even the Chinese airports coming up and then the Indian airports. Changi i think can forget about regaining the throne....its history. -
Service standard is dropping.
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don't think SG is known for high service quality though efficient, as compared to JP and HK... Still have got a long way to go and to stay abreast in fierce competitions...Originally posted by littlearea:Service standard is dropping.
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I just ignore the top 3 and we are still lumber 1 mah. Tomorrow afternoon I ish going to CAP T1 again. I'll look look see see and find out why our ranking drop so fast.
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Maybe the staff getting a bit fark up.
I think some of the part time staff might have fark up the ranking.. Just wanna
tell Singapore that you are first but it won't be forever. We need to always
improve ourselves. Don't just improve the pay you got to improve the service
too. -
Sad to say, when you're on top, the only place you can go is down.
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well i dun mind we lose to korea hk or others...but to MALAYSIA?KL?!
we really need to wake up.come on ppl/...haiz
the standard of SIA girls oso drop -
Changi Airport 4th best airport ? Are you kidding me ?
Wait until they get heavy traffic (passengers and cargo ) like Tokyo, Hong Kong , Sydney , Los Angeles ..etc .
I wonder whether they can still maintain the so call high standard. -
lose face sia... of all the countries lose to our dear neighbour...
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I'm sure our dear govt will sure take immediate actionOriginally posted by BrUtUs:lose face sia... of all the countries lose to our dear neighbour... -
fWAH... nINJA-ED. -
Originally posted by ^tamago^:
[b]Changi gets a wake-up call
Pipped by KL airport in honours list as competition hots up
Wednesday • March 14, 2007
Leong Wee Keat
[email protected]
SINGAPORE'S gateway to the skies has been brought back to earth by an upstart in its own backyard.
Often acknowledged as the world's best airport — it swept 25 international awards last year — Changi finds itself in the unfamiliar position of being pipped in the rankings by Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
When the Airports Council International (ACI) announced its service quality awards yesterday, KLIA came out top in the "15 to 25 million passengers per year" category.
Changi, which handled a record 35 million passengers last year, finished second in the category for bigger airports — those handling under 40 million passengers — behind South Korea's Incheon.
But in the race for the overall prize — Best Airport Worldwide — Incheon finished first, Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok second, KLIA third and Changi fourth.
With 573 members operating more than 1,643 airports, ACI is the global trade organisation for the airport community and its list cannot be scoffed at.
Analysts said that KLIA's achievement comes as a wake-up call to Changi at a time when the chase for tourist dollars is hotting up and several cities are trying to position themselves as air hubs.
As far back as 2004, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had stressed the importance of this when asked about the threat of budget carriers to Singapore Airlines. Mr Lee said then: "My job is to see that Singapore's position as an air hub is not lost. And if budget airlines were to eat up Singapore Airlines' profits but retain Singapore as a hub ... so be it."
Analysts pointed out that while Singapore had set the benchmark with its airport, cities like Dubai and Kuala Lumpur were now copying the template — making it imperative for Changi to move even faster.
The awards measured the performance of various airports based on service quality, facilities and passengers' feedback. In the 2005 survey, Changi had finished second behind Incheon, while KLIA was third.
Determined to turn the tables last year, the Malaysian airport planned its assault on the award systematically.
"There are 28 features in the ACI survey and we had to monitor each feature to ensure that we did not slip behind," said Malaysia Airports Holdings managing director Bashir Ahmad.
"This is a very nice feeling," said Mr Bashir of edging out its southern neighbour in the list. "As you all know, we are always compared to Changi Airport and it's nice to know that we have done very well this particular year."
There was no response from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore by press time.
While aviation analysts said that awards could be subjective, some were surprised by the turnaround. "I thought Changi did quite well last year," aviation consultant Prithpal Singh told Today. "In terms of facilities, efficiency and comfort, Changi is second to none."
Last year, the signs were particularly encouraging. More than 7.2 million airline passengers surveyed by London-based market researcher Skytrax helped Changi win its first Skytrax Airport of the Year award. Britain's Business Traveller magazine voted it the best airport for the 19th straight year. Its weekly flights reached a record high of 4,199.
The fact that KLIA has sneaked ahead in this particular survey underlines the constant need for improvement, analysts said.
Even minor things — like shops being understaffed or hiring unhelpful sales staff — could sway perceptions, Mr Singh said. "You cannot ignore this ranking. Basically it shows that we need to put more emphasis on this human aspect," he added.
Just last week, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said in Parliament that the "software" aspects of the "Changi Experience" would be strengthened. When Terminal 3 opens its doors next year, Changi's handling capacity will rise by about 45 per cent to 67 million passengers a year, he said, adding that the airport "will also continue to provide training for frontline staff to ensure that the highest service standards are maintained".
This was critical as airports sought to attract transit passengers as well as tourist, said Flight International's regional managing editor Nicholas Ionides.
Mr Peter Harbison, executive chairman of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation, said: "There is a great deal at stake for airports, for their airlines and for the national economy.
"This has been recognised in Singapore by the importance attached to the success of Changi. Its neighbours will continue to be tough competitors, although Changi has set the benchmark in the past."[/b] -
http://www.airports.org/cda/aci/display/main/aci_content.jsp?zn=aci&cp=1-7-46^12875_9_2__
Best Airport Worldwide
1) Incheon, South Korea
2) Hong Kong
3) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
4) Singapore
5) Dallas Fort Worth, USA
Best Airport Europe
1) Zurich, Switzerland
2) Brussels, Belgium
3=) Helsinki, Finland
3=) Porto, Portugal
5) Munich, Germany
Best Airport Americas
1) Dallas Fort Worth, USA
2) Halifax, Canada
3=) Ottawa, Canada
3=) Detroit Metropolitan, USA
5) San Diego, USA
Best Airport Middle East-Africa
1) Abu Dhabi, UAE
2) Cape Town, South Africa
3) Doha, Qatar
4) Johannesburg, South Africa
5) Durban, South Africa
Best Airport Asia-Pacific
1) Incheon, South Korea
2) Hong Kong
3) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
4) Singapore
5) Central Japan (NGO) -
Best Airport fewer than 5 Million Passengers
1) Halifax, Canada
2) Ottawa, Canada
3) Porto, Portugal
4) Malta
5) Sandefjord, Norway
Best Airport 5 - 15 Million Passengers
1) Central Japan (NGO)
2) Adelaide, Australia
3=) Helsinki, Finland
3=) Christchurch, New Zealand
5) Abu Dhabi, UAE
Best Airport 15 - 25 Million Passengers
1) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2) San Diego, USA
3) Zurich, Switzerland
4) Brussels, Belgium
5) Vancouver, Canada
Best Airport 25 - 40 Million Passengers
1) Incheon, South Korea
2) Singapore
3) Detroit Metropolitan, USA
4) Toronto, Canada
5) Munich, Germany
Best Airport over 40 Million Passengers
1) Hong Kong
2) Dallas Fort Worth, USA
3) Denver, USA
4) Amsterdam, Netherlands
5) Beijing, China
Best Domestic Airport
1) Austin, USA
2) Halifax, Canada
3) Ottawa, Canada
4) Dallas Fort Worth, USA
5) San Diego, USA
Airport People Award
Middle East-Africa) Abu Dhabi, UAE
Europe) Brussels, Belgium
Asia-Pacific) Incheon, South Korea
Americas) Halifax, Canada -
take this rankings with a sack of salt..
AMS is not inside.. DOH beating DXB when they dont even have airbridges.. and DTW wtf is up with that ... -
Yesterday I was at the CAP T1. Went to the basement lvl CHEERS outlet twice within a time frame of 3 hours. Same cashier manning the counter. 1st time I bought a bottle of water and MARS snake bar. 2nd time I bought a pack of cigarettes. And both time the cashier fail to say thank you after I make payment. So this is so call customer service. No wonder ranking drop lah.