How these airports can teach Edinburgh about making flying enjoyable again – Stephen Jardine
Tallinn, Vancouver and Phoenix airports all manage to create a pleasant, friendly atmosphere. So it can be done
When did flying become such a miserable experience? It feels like a dream now but not so long ago you could be dropped off right outside the terminal for nothing. Security was a simple scan, the walk to the plane was short and, onboard, the meals and drinks were free. I also don’t remember a single flight back then being delayed.
Then along came airline deregulation and a cretin who tried to hide a bomb in his shoe and since then flying has been something to be endured, not enjoyed.
Last week our bag went missing on a BA flight from Edinburgh, the return journey was badly delayed and we were served a meal with an insect floating in it. It’s 40 years since BA introduced the slogan “The World’s Favourite Airline”. How times have changed.
Crowded cattle sheds
Just a week later, there were more flight issues due to thunderstorms. Across the UK last Saturday, nearly 1,000 flights were delayed and 120 were cancelled. Passengers flying from Heathrow to Turkey were stuck on the plane on the runway for over eight hours before the flight was eventually scrapped.
Add to that airport closures due to drones, the exorbitant cost of airport drop-offs, the crowded cattle shed that is security, and the miserable arrivals experience at Edinburgh, which feels like navigating a long closed section of the London Underground during the Blitz, and you have a very different reality from the holiday brochure dream.
It's surely no coincidence that we’re facing a national epidemic of anxiety. Is anywhere more anxiety-provoking than an airport security hall where the queue is never ending, your departure time is approaching and someone is shouting at you to take off your belt?
Most people are incredibly tolerant of the delays, changed gates, slow bag delivery and general sense that you are livestock being pushed and prodded but everyone has their limits. What might mitigate all this is a little bit of customer service.
Pensioners in ‘Welcome to Canada’ t-shirts
To be fair to British Airways, they were quick to apologise and offer compensation for the problems we faced. “We don’t always get it right and sometimes things don’t go as planned,” they said. “Airline operations are complex, with issues such as adverse weather – which is entirely outside of our control – impacting performance.” BA are also currently investing £7 billion to improve operations and customer service.
The rest of the industry could learn something from that. Instead of absolutely everything being about rinsing customers, giving a little thought to making a better experience could make a huge difference.
At Tallinn Airport, they have a free library where travellers can take and leave books. At Vancouver Airport, local pensioners wearing “Welcome to Canada” t-shirts greet you throughout the terminal. They get a free meal and to feel useful, you get to feel valued before you even collect your bags.
Phoenix Airport has been voted the friendliest in America thanks to an army of volunteers who buddy with passengers needing help, relaxation spaces throughout the terminal and art installations to provide a break from the tedium.
So it can be done. Things can get better. With more unpredictable weather disrupting travel and higher passenger numbers than ever before, the challenges are only going to grow. So surely trying to do things better needs to start now?
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