Sea-Tac Gets High Marks from International Travelers

Despite construction, Sea-Tac rates 5th in world among large airports

(Seattle)- International travelers have a simple message for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport: they like it- they really like it. The International Air Transport Association's latest annual survey of travelers ranks Sea-Tac fifth in the world in overall customer satisfaction among airports handling more than 25 million annual passengers.

IATA's Global Airport Monitor 2001 report also puts Sea-Tac 15th in the world for airports of all sizes. The report is published annually, and ranks airports on customer service for international travelers.

"This would be a prestigious ranking for any airport at any time," said Gina Marie Lindsey, Managing Director of Aviation for the Port of Seattle. "To receive this award when we are doing major renovation speaks extremely well of our staff."

Sea-Tac is in the middle of a $3 billion capital improvement program, which includes reconstruction of the airport's Central Terminal, rebuilding of its oldest concourse, a major update to the 30-year old subway system, renovation of more than 60 restrooms, and the addition of a third runway. More than 100 total projects are under way, while passenger counts continue to grow.

"It's like remodeling your kitchen during Thanksgiving dinner," Lindsey said. "We can't shut down the airport while we rebuild, so we have to find a way to help passengers get where they're going."

The IATA survey measures a number of airport features, ranging from cleanliness to helpfulness of staff. It's the latter at which Sea-Tac really excelled.

Sea-Tac has two similar but distinct programs to help travelers make their way through the facility: Airport Pathfinders and Airport Volunteers.

Pathfinders are paid staff, many bilingual, who station themselves at key locations around the airport. Their job is to look for problems and solve them. Whether that's helping a lost traveler, or calling a custodian to clean up a coffee spill, the job of the Pathfinder is customer service.

Airport Volunteers, unpaid but professional in appearance and skill, are available as information resources for travelers. They carry large clipboards that say "Airport Information" on the back, so that travelers know to approach them with questions.

The airport's rest room renovations will play a big role in maintaining the high IATA ranking. Travelers consistently rate cleanliness of restrooms as very important in terms of customer service. Sea-Tac's improved rest rooms are designed to be easy to clean, and to stay cleaner between visits by janitors.

Another area of survey interest was way-finding and signage. Sea-Tac has recently adopted a consistent standard for all airport signs, which is introduced as work starts on capital projects.

Among airports with more than 25 million annual passengers, the only airports to receive higher ratings were Singapore, Hong Kong, Minneapolis and Amsterdam Schiphol. Sea-Tac is the 18th busiest airport in the U.S., the 29th busiest in the world.