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Customer Service at Airports: Who is the Customer? What is Service?. Ron Kuhlmann Vice President Unisys Transportation 5 March 2006 Abu Dhabi. Agenda. Historical Perspective How do we define Customers? How do they define Service?
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Customer Service at Airports:Who is the Customer?What is Service? Ron Kuhlmann Vice President Unisys Transportation 5 March 2006 Abu Dhabi
Agenda • Historical Perspective • How do we define Customers? • How do they define Service? • How do airports provide (defined) service to (identified) customers? • Where do we go from here?
Airports began as rail stations. • Rail transport was the only point of reference • Seen as a municipal service • Potential was unclear • Community pride was involved
Airlines, not airports, were the deal • Airports were functional • Points of embarkation and debarkation • They became expressions of the carrier image • They were locally funded
In a regulated (to about 1980) environment airports: • knew their operators and routes • had clearly defined markets and potential • were vehicles for particular brand identification • had few surprises • were viewed as utilities
Deregulation changed things • Massive hub and spoke systems emerged • Airports fell into clear categories • Spending at hubs was directed to the hub carrier • Spoke cities saw dramatic schedule increases to multiple hubs • Airlines drove growth
And then…? • New entrants undermined legacy carriers • Internet bookings gave customers complete price transparency • Reduced yields increased the importance of cost control • 9/1, followed by SARS, realigned the players • Cost control included all operational aspects
Suddenly: • Airports needed to be much more cost efficient • Airports saw major shifts in constituents • Airports needed to aggressively market themselves • Airports found that they, not their airlines, needed to be competitive • Security became the prime passenger activity
Which brings us to today • Functions previously performed enroute have move to the airport • Functions previously done at the airport have moved off-site • Cost competitiveness has become a fixed goal • Non-aviation revenues are ever more important • Supported utility status has been replaced by need for sustained profitability
Discussion? 2006 Who knows what we’ll do in Dubai.