Customer Satisfaction | The Dunce’s Cap at Montreal-Trudeau

Montreal-Trudeau Airport is breaking attendance records, but it is one of the North American dunces in its category when it comes to customer satisfaction, according to a survey by data analysis firm JD Power. Travellers will have to be patient before they see a rebound.

26^e on 27

JD Power’s verdict is final: Montreal-Trudeau ranks second to last (26^e position) in its category, i.e. airports that handle between 10 million and 33 million passengers annually. Vancouver (15^e position) gets the best rating among Canadian airports in this niche. Travellers surveyed by the American firm were asked to rate seven aspects: fluidity, terminal, level of trust, staff, customer experience at departure, restaurants, and services at arrival. In Toronto, Pearson Airport also does poorly, but in the category of places where more than 33 million passengers pass through.

Cramped

How do you explain the poor showing? The answer is simple, according to JD Power’s managing director of travel, Michael Taylor. With a record 21 million passengers last year, Montréal-Trudeau is cramped. “Year-over-year growth was 33 per cent compared to 2022,” he says. High passenger volumes mean busier parking lots, longer distances to get to the terminal and longer lines. “People are more stressed and don’t want to sit down and have a drink,” Taylor says. “They’re going to sit closer to the gate so they don’t miss their flight. That impacts satisfaction.”

Traffic and works

There are two major sources of irritation that cause headaches for airport customers: a high volume of road traffic that complicates travel and construction work that causes access obstacles. At Montréal-Trudeau, these two conditions are combined. We remember the episodes of road congestion that have angered travellers for over a year. “This has had an impact [sur les résultats du sondage] ” confirms Mr. Taylor.

Limited solutions

In the short term, Aéroports de Montréal (ADM), the manager and operator of Montréal-Trudeau, has limited means of getting things back on track. The “band-aid,” explains the JD Power manager, is to add staff to better meet customer needs in the short term. “The fact remains, however, that there is a limit to the physical space in which you can accommodate travellers,” says Mr. Taylor. In 2023, ADM saw its workforce grow by 11% to 592 people. Nearly 60 recruits joined the organization. However, this does not take into account the number of people, for example, who work in customs and other security departments.

Even more passengers

With a forecast of 25 million passengers in 2028, Montréal-Trudeau is likely to remain cramped in the coming years. Last spring, ADM presented a plan to ease congestion at the airport by adding parking lots, new boarding gates and increasing the capacity of the drop-off area. The problem: it won’t happen overnight. “We’re in a race,” acknowledged ADM President and CEO Yves Beauchamp when he presented his plan. There is room to add infrastructure at Montréal-Trudeau, according to Mr. Taylor, but the options are not unlimited.

Disputed results

JD Power conducted its survey of more than 26,000 travellers between August 2023 and last July. For Montréal-Trudeau, nearly 70% of respondents were Canadian, according to the firm. “We question the credibility of this ranking, given that Canadian airports are at a disadvantage compared to American airports, and especially since the results differ from other reputable global rankings,” retorts ADM. The organization notably mentions the most recent ranking by Skytrax – which conducts research for airlines – which placed Montréal-Trudeau eighth in the “best airports” category in North America.