Manchester Airport given top marks for ease of travel
When it comes to common complaints from frequent flyers, bad customer service, poor transport links, inconvenient flight times and complicated check in and arrival procedures are the worst culprits. Unless, according to a new survey, you’re flying via Manchester airport, which is bucking the trend by scoring high marks with passengers across all of these areas.
Airport parking specialists Purple Parking polled 2,000 frequent travellers and found they were impressed with the airport’s customer service with 78% of passengers finding staff friendly and 84% scoring highly on the ease of check in. The results show that the airport staff, which reach over 19,000 in total, are doing a good job in ensuring a seamless travel experience for the 22 million passengers or more that pass through Manchester Airport every year.
When it comes to arrivals the airport also fared well when rated against the usual suspects on the flyers list of pet hates; 75% scored highly for luggage reclaim, 82% for customs processes and 84% for transport links to and from the airport.
The airport’s environment was also found pleasing with 75% of passengers finding the interior decoration aesthetically appealing and 71% finding the architecture visually pleasing. The majority of passengers found the airport bright with only 6% finding it dark and dingy.
The positive feedback bodes well for the airport’s new ‘Fly Manchester’ campaign which aims to win back passengers from the airport’s catchment area that currently travel by road or rail to fly through London airports, rather than make use of routes operating from nearby Manchester airport. Whilst the success of the campaign would see Manchester airport busier, the survey indicates that the airport’s facilities and systems are well placed to deal with extra passengers, an outcome that should help alleviate congestion problems at London airports.
Purple Parking marketing and operations manager Oliver Inwards explains: “As a company that is concerned with the start and end of the passenger’s journey, we wanted to gain an overall picture of the travel experience of the many passengers travelling through the airport. We take customer service very seriously and are excited by the positive feedback on the airport. Our services are designed with ease of travel in mind, from our convenient Meet & Greet parking option to the in depth travel advice we provide on our website”.
Purple Parking is celebrating the positive results with a competition for holidaymakers to win a year’s worth of airport parking. To enter passengers are asked to submit an ‘airport anecdote’: a happy experience they’ve had at the airport, via the company’s website.
For more information, visit purpleparking.com.