A recent survey just noted the Gerald R. Ford International Airport as the second highest rated small-hub airport in the country.
This particular survey is done in real time, while passengers are actually at the airports, to gauge their “in-the-moment-experience.” WGVU spoke with those behind the survey and officials with the airport.
“For Gerald R. Ford, 91 percent of your passengers were satisfied, so 9 out of 10 passengers passing through that facility were satisfied. That is high for a lot of airports.”
That’s Scott Ludwigsen, Executive V.P. for the Travel Research Group with Phoenix Marketing International. He says their recent survey gave the Ford Airport the second place spot in the country for small hub airports as it relates to "overall experience". The survey comes from a new app that measures the real time experience of travelers.
“And when we detect they’re at the airport, we ask them if they’re a connecting passenger an arriving passenger, or a departing passenger and based on the type of passenger they are they’ll get different modules”
Those modules says Ludwigsen, look at everything from your drop off or parking experience to security and post security. And while the airport scored well… there are areas where satisfaction dipped just a bit.
“What we see with the Gerald R. Ford Airport for food and beverage and retail, you’re at parity with other airports. You’re not doing poorly, but you’re also not beating out others in the areas of food, beverage and retail.”
But not to worry, says Gerald R. Ford Airport Executive Director Brian Ryks. He was well aware of this survey and another that gave the airport high marks. He says the survey confirms they're on the right track with the $45 million expansion going on right now
“So we believe those results are accurate ... We take those seriously, and we’re currently investing in our infrastructure with this expansion, to ensure that we're addressing those issues.”
Ryks says once the project is complete, he expects future ratings to be even higher.
