Shannon Airport has bagged the number one spot in the travel category and ranked in the top 20 overall in the renowned Customer Experience Insights report.
The Mid-West based airport has not only bagged the top spot amongst the travel industry but also as the number one airport surveyed for customer experience.
The Ireland Customer Experience Insights (CXi) Report 2023, which was published this week, surveyed 175 organisations, in which 150 were ranked in the league table under 11 different categories.
The report states that “Shannon Airport, a new entrant to the survey, holds the top spot [in the Travel category] and sits at 20 in the overall survey. Customers attribute their high scoring to the trust built by Shannon Airport on the back of it being easy to travel through and the understanding and knowledge of their staff.”
Commenting on the report, Mary Considine, CEO of The Shannon Airport Group said, “The results of the CXi report is a credit to our staff here at Shannon Airport. Our teams across the Group work extremely hard to ensure our promise of ‘making it easy’ is part of everyone’s journey through the airport. It is a great achievement for us to see that in our first year being included in the report, we now score in the top 20 organisations across the country and the highest in the travel category.
“This has been made even more significant when you look at the last few years in the wake of the pandemic and how it hit the aviation industry. On days like today, a spotlight is shone on the dedication and teamwork of our people, and I would like to thank them for the world-class services they provide to our passengers and the Shannon Airport experience.”
The airport, whose brand promise is “making it easy,” boasts of many firsts when it comes to making their passenger’s journey as hassle-free as possible. In 2017, the airport installed the first airport sensory room in Europe for passengers with sensory needs, in conjunction with its Autism Awareness Programme. In 2021, Shannon became the first state airport in the country to allow liquids, gels, and electronics to remain in carry-on luggage, thanks to a multimillion-euro state of the art security screening system, and in 2022 the airport was designated as the world’s first Age Friendly Airport along with Ireland West Airport, by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Chair of the CX Company, Michael Killeen said that while Aer Lingus and the Dublin Airport Authority (daa) performed well, Shannon was the star performer in the travel category.
“This year both daa and Aer Lingus improved their CX scores by 17% and 15% respectively. As a result, Aer Lingus jumped 58 places from 99th last year to 41st this year, the second highest jump, while the daa improved its position by 20 places to 110. Ryanair in contrast remained close to the bottom of the table at 144th. The authors say that the focus for the airline is much more on managing costs – which does benefit the customer – rather than improving passenger’s experience. However, feedback in the survey highlights terrible customer service, difficulties in getting compensation and refunds for delays and cancelled flights, rising prices and rude staff.
“However, this year’s CX Excellence champion in the travel sector is without doubt Shannon Airport. To come in and secure a hugely impressive ranking of 20 on its first year in the survey is a fantastic achievement. The airport deserves great praise for its focus on improving the passenger experience. It has done a lot of testing of ideas to see what works best and has really listened to its customers, catering for their different needs. That has helped it to build relationships based on trust with customers. They have also been innovative in how they have deployed technology, particularly around security scanning. The airport sees itself and is seen by people in the mid-west as being an integral part of the community. They are justifiably proud of their local airport.”
Ireland’s overall Customer Experience (CX) score rose by a record 4.9% this year with 85% of companies and organisations recording improved scores. That score was buoyed by strong performances from companies in the supermarket and retail sectors, with representatives of both making up 26 of the Top 30 rankings.
However, Ireland’s undisputed CX Champion remains the Irish Credit Union, not only claiming its table topping position for an unprecedented ninth year in a row but also improving its CX score and widening the gap between it and its rivals in the process. In contrast, companies, and organisations such as RTÉ, Ticketmaster and Fastway couriers which represent the Public Sector, Entertainment & Leisure and Logistics respectively were among the worst performers in the survey.
The biggest faller this year was undoubtedly RTÉ, which tumbled to last position in the table in the wake of revelations surrounding secret payments to Ryan Tubridy. The broadcaster’s overall CXi score fell 17% which is also the biggest fall recorded by any brand over the last three years. In addition, its trust score fell by a massive 25%.
You can read and download the full report at www.thecxcompany.com
*The CXi survey was conducted from June to August this year, by The CX Company with Amárach Research. Representatives from a cross section of Irish consumers were asked to give feedback on their experiences with the 150 companies. Categories include, Entertainment & Leisure, Financial, Insurance, Communications, Public Sector, Restaurants, Retail, Supermarkets, Travel, Utilities & Services, and Logistics & Delivery.