Vancouver’s International Airport (YVR) has been voted the best airport in North America by SkyTrax for the last decade. So why would they need a passenger experience audit?

Retaining this illustrious award was certainly a motivating factor as well as ensuring that the passenger experience was a high priority for the upcoming 20-year, 5.6-Billion-dollar expansion plan dubbed “Flight plan 2037”.

James went undercover as a frontline customer service representative to evaluate the training program, assessing if it was adequately covering all areas that come up in the passenger experience and how the frontline passenger experience team navigated their day-to-day challenges.

Secondly, he was asked to identify what other opportunities might exist to enhance the passenger experience throughout the airport.

James spent 3 months both observing and working undercover. He engaged both staff and passengers daily to truly understand the challenges faced by both. Working shifts that covered all times of the day and night, he was able to get a solid perspective of the massive operation that the customer services team faced daily.

A report and subsequent presentation of findings were provided to the senior management team.

As of 2020 YVR won a record 11th consecutive award as best airport in North America.