WastnageJ_Aviation Business_01SEP13
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aaa Aviation Business Magazine Sunday, September 01, 2013 Page : 52 Section : News Edition : 1st edition Region : Magazine Page : 1 of 1 Circulation : 2937 Area Of Clip : 616.5 sqcm Clip ID : 0000001 Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) licensed copy or Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth) s 48A copy Tourism & Transport Forum Justin Wastnage Our airports need a continuation of service level excellence T HE GUIDING principle of online book store Amazon is to view customers as guests. "It is our job as hosts to make the customer experience a little bit better," opines the site's founder Jeff Bezos. Australian airports have adopted this ethos for more than a decade. Our inter- national gateways know they are the first - and last - impression visitors have of Aus- tralia and they more than hold their own in global comparisons of customer service. In the annual Skytrax ranking of the world's 100 best airports, Australia is in elite com- pany, with Brisbane, Mel- bourne and Sydney all in the top third. The only other countries with air- ports ranked that highly are Germany with three and Japan with four. By contrast, the US has just one - Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International. Atop the list is Sin- gapore Changi airport which swaps top honours almost annually with Incheon airport outside Seoul. What separates these two airports from the other contenders is a common custom- er service ethos that extends to the entire tourism supply chain, from airport check- in to hotel pillow. Crucially, it also includes government border and security agencies. A study last year by aviation IT special- ists Amadeus showed that the majority of travellers would be willing to spend more time (and thus more money) at airports if the total experience was a pleasant one. To capitalise on this, airports need to provide a compelling leisure, dining and retail of- fer akin to the world's best shopping malls. But they also need border formalities and security to be unobtrusive and striving for improved performance. At Changi, travellers are asked to rate every aspect of customer service using a simple touch screen with five faces rang- ing from happy to sad. As well as at shop checkouts, these terminals are also located As Australia orients itself into the Asian century, Asian service standards will become the norm. at passport control, customs inspection ar- eas, baggage reclaim and airline lounges, delivering the airport a unique snapshot of the entire passenger experience. The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service also measures its per- formance: it monitors average wait time against a target. Despite significant staff- ing and funding challenges, the service performs well with 92 per cent of all pas- sengers cleared through the passport line within 30 minutes of landing. However, technology- led passenger facilitation being championed by the International Air Trans- port Association means the airport of the future will be a very different place with human inter- action largely replaced. Qantas was a world lead- er in this regard, with the introduction of re- programmable baggage tags for domestic flights in 2010. With the push from I ATA, global stan- dards should help these baggage tags work in- ternationally beyond the current trans-Tasman trial. Another body of work, released in late August by the Queensland University of Technology, presents the most compre- hensive view yet of the Australian Airport of the Future. Remote check-in will flow through to on-the-fly visual recognition technology to validate a passenger's iden- tity against electronic passports and bag tags. A tunnel will replace x-ray arches, explosives tests and bag scanners to allow security screening to occur while passen- gers simply walk through. There will be privacy concerns to over- come and the public will have to accept greater amenity and convenience in return for sharing their data with government agencies. Airlines will have to ensure their systems are robust enough to meet data sharing protocols in privacy-loving juris- dictions like the European Union. Government will have a part to play too and there are some encouraging signals in this regard. Customs' Blueprint for Reform 2013-2018, published in June, entrenches customer service in a way never publicly recognised before, establishing that "legiti- mate travellers" should "experience a fast, seamless process using automated tech- nologies". Change is already underway. The Smart- Gate self-service passport kiosks are set to be opened to nationalities other than Aus- tralians and New Zealanders. There is a study looking into automating outbound passport control too and Customs has a dedicated team looking into future travel- ler processing technologies. Other government agencies are start- ing to follow Customs' lead. Biosecurity will soon replace quarantine as the con- cept behind secondary inspections, with a risk-based approach replacing a mandated regime. The Office of Transport Security is also slowly ratcheting down Australian air- ports' level of preparedness from paranoid to alert through measures such as a review of Australia's liquids bans that are now out of step with global best practice. As Australia orients itself into the Asian century, Asian service standards will become the norm. Everyone on the supply chain will have a part to play, from airlines and air- ports to limousine providers, baggage han- dlers and wait staff in airport cafes. Border agencies will be in the background, ensur- ing Australia's frontiers are not breached by unwanted persons or goods. One day, perhaps in the not too distant future, the last impression an international visitor, may have of Australia is a pre-flight swim or three-hatted terminal restaurant and not the queue for passport control. Justin Wastnage Director, Aviation Policy Tourism & Transport Forum TTF Australia is a CEO forum representing Australia's major airports, all domestic airlines, as well as the majority of inttemational airlines servicing Australia. 52 AVIATION BUSINESS ASIA PACIFIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 www.aviationbusinessxom.au Clip ID : 8362398 Page 3 of 4
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Aviation Business MagazineSunday, September 01, 2013Page : 52Section : NewsEdition : 1st editionRegion : Magazine
Page : 1 of 1Circulation : 2937
Area Of Clip : 616.5 sqcmClip ID : 0000001
Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) licensed copy or Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth) s 48A copy
Tourism & Transport ForumJustin Wastnage
Our airports need a continuationof service level excellence
THE GUIDING principle of online bookstore Amazon is to view customers asguests. "It is our job as hosts to make
the customer experience a little bit better,"opines the site's founder Jeff Bezos.
Australian airports have adopted thisethos for more than a decade. Our inter-national gateways know they are the first- and last - impression visitors have of Aus-tralia and they more than hold their ownin global comparisons of customer service.
In the annual Skytrax ranking of theworld's 100 best airports,Australia is in elite com-pany, with Brisbane, Mel-bourne and Sydney all inthe top third. The onlyother countries with air-ports ranked that highlyare Germany with threeand Japan with four. Bycontrast, the US has justone - Cincinnati/NorthernKentucky International.
Atop the list is Sin-gapore Changi airportwhich swaps top honoursalmost annually withIncheon airport outsideSeoul. What separatesthese two airports fromthe other contenders is a common custom-er service ethos that extends to the entiretourism supply chain, from airport check-in to hotel pillow. Crucially, it also includesgovernment border and security agencies.
A study last year by aviation IT special-ists Amadeus showed that the majority oftravellers would be willing to spend moretime (and thus more money) at airports ifthe total experience was a pleasant one. Tocapitalise on this, airports need to providea compelling leisure, dining and retail of-fer akin to the world's best shopping malls.But they also need border formalities andsecurity to be unobtrusive and striving forimproved performance.
At Changi, travellers are asked to rateevery aspect of customer service using asimple touch screen with five faces rang-ing from happy to sad. As well as at shopcheckouts, these terminals are also located
As Australiaorients itself
into the Asiancentury,
Asian servicestandards will
become thenorm.
at passport control, customs inspection ar-eas, baggage reclaim and airline lounges,delivering the airport a unique snapshot ofthe entire passenger experience.
The Australian Customs and BorderProtection Service also measures its per-formance: it monitors average wait timeagainst a target. Despite significant staff-ing and funding challenges, the serviceperforms well with 92 per cent of all pas-sengers cleared through the passport linewithin 30 minutes of landing.
However, technology-led passenger facilitationbeing championed by theInternational Air Trans-port Association meansthe airport of the futurewill be a very differentplace with human inter-action largely replaced.Qantas was a world lead-er in this regard, withthe introduction of re-programmable baggagetags for domestic flightsin 2010. With the pushfrom I ATA, global stan-dards should help thesebaggage tags work in-ternationally beyond the
current trans-Tasman trial.
Another body of work, released in lateAugust by the Queensland University ofTechnology, presents the most compre-hensive view yet of the Australian Airportof the Future. Remote check-in will flowthrough to on-the-fly visual recognitiontechnology to validate a passenger's iden-tity against electronic passports and bagtags. A tunnel will replace x-ray arches,explosives tests and bag scanners to allowsecurity screening to occur while passen-gers simply walk through.
There will be privacy concerns to over-come and the public will have to acceptgreater amenity and convenience in returnfor sharing their data with governmentagencies. Airlines will have to ensure theirsystems are robust enough to meet datasharing protocols in privacy-loving juris-dictions like the European Union.
Government will have a part to play tooand there are some encouraging signals inthis regard. Customs' Blueprint for Reform2013-2018, published in June, entrenchescustomer service in a way never publiclyrecognised before, establishing that "legiti-mate travellers" should "experience a fast,seamless process using automated tech-nologies".
Change is already underway. The Smart-Gate self-service passport kiosks are set tobe opened to nationalities other than Aus-tralians and New Zealanders. There is astudy looking into automating outboundpassport control too and Customs has adedicated team looking into future travel-ler processing technologies.
Other government agencies are start-ing to follow Customs' lead. Biosecuritywill soon replace quarantine as the con-cept behind secondary inspections, with arisk-based approach replacing a mandatedregime. The Office of Transport Security isalso slowly ratcheting down Australian air-ports' level of preparedness from paranoidto alert through measures such as a reviewof Australia's liquids bans that are now outof step with global best practice.
As Australia orients itself into the Asiancentury, Asian service standards will becomethe norm. Everyone on the supply chain willhave a part to play, from airlines and air-ports to limousine providers, baggage han-dlers and wait staff in airport cafes. Borderagencies will be in the background, ensur-ing Australia's frontiers are not breached byunwanted persons or goods.
One day, perhaps in the not too distantfuture, the last impression an internationalvisitor, may have of Australia is a pre-flightswim or three-hatted terminal restaurantand not the queue for passport control.
Justin WastnageDirector, Aviation PolicyTourism & Transport Forum
TTF Australia is a CEO forum representingAustralia's major airports, all domesticairlines, as well as the majority ofinttemational airlines servicing Australia.
5 2 AVIATION BUSINESS ASIA PACIFIC SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 www.aviationbusinessxom.au
Clip ID : 8362398
Page 3 of 4
