ACI World announces headliners for Customer Experience Global Summit

Airports Council International (ACI) World has today announced the headliners and programme for its second ever Customer Experience Global Summit which will be held in partnership with PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero) in Bali, Indonesia, from 2 to 5 September.

The summit programme – to be held under the theme ‘One airport community; Many passenger journeys’ – will include keynote addresses from Vimal Rai, Founder and Managing Director of TRACE Consulting and Mr. Ben Lao, AIA Managing Principal BenL Consulting International, and significant contributions from high profile industry figures from across the world.

The summit will also explore the continuing development of global airport operators who are breaking new ground in management, efficient operations, and customer experience. ACI World Director General Angela Gittens will speak one-on-one with TAV Airports Chief Executive Officer and Executive Board Member Sani Şener to explore his approach to managing operations at airport and global level.

The summit will address key subjects to explore the delivery of customer experience by the whole airport community and taking a complete view of every touch point of the passenger journey through an airport.

“ACI’s Customer Experience Global Summit brings together airport leaders and experts from every region in the world to discuss and debate the important industry trends in customer experience,” ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said.

“Airports are now destinations in their own right, offering customers unique experiences throughout their journey through the airport. This year’s summit will explore how airports can work with its partners and stakeholders to ensure each touchpoint – even those that the airport is not in control of – provides the positive experience that customers have come to expect.”

Key subjects that will be explored during the summit include:

• Maintaining customer satisfaction through times of disruption: with input from leaders of Fort McMurray Airport Authority in Canada, India’s Cochin International Airport, and the new Istanbul Airport in Turkey
• Customer Experience Accreditation: airports that are part of the ACI Airport Customer Experience Accreditation programme, including host PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero), Malta International Airport and Sydney Airport in Australia.
• Managing growth and experience in parallel: leaders from airports including Prague Airport in the Czech Republic, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the USA, India’s Mumbai International Airport, and Oman Airports, discuss how they manage growth and sustain and excellent customer experience.
• Facilitating the journey for all: representatives from Changi Airport in Singapore, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), and MacKay Airport in Australia share their best practices in service for passengers with reduced mobility. Discussions will be led by the International Disability Alliance.
• Owning the outcome: China Civil Airports Association, ISS Worldwide and Hong Kong Airport will join other industry leaders to discuss how various stakeholders within an airport collaborate to enhance the customer experience.
• One airport, many passenger journeys: Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission in the USA, Aéroport International d’Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia, Airports Authority of India, and Russia’s Sochi Airport showcase how they promote customer service excellence to a wide range of passengers that have different expectations.

The summit will also include a presentation from host PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero), an airport operator that manages 14 airports in Central and East Indonesia, on the importance of innovation in gaining a competitive edge and delivering customer service excellence.

The ACI Customer Experience Global Summit will have several elements: a training day on 2 September devoted to the running, implementation, and management of the suite of Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Surveys; an ASQ Forum providing key findings and learnings from the ASQ programme on 3 September; the Customer Excellence Global Summit 4-5 September and the gala dinner featuring the celebratory annual ASQ Awards ceremony on 5 September.