Auckland voted second best airport in region

Auckland's international gateway offers travellers an experience second only to one other airport in the region, according to a survey released today.

For the second year in a row, Auckland Airport has been ranked the second best airport in the Australia Pacific region in the 2008 independent Skytrax awards, with this year only Brisbane Airport receiving a higher ranking from within Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific.

Auckland Airport's chief executive, Don Huse, said "It is very rewarding that the enormous amount of work we have been putting into improving the experience at Auckland Airport is appreciated by the people who matter the most, the travellers.

"We also recognise that airports such as Auckland compete in a global market and that we need to continually raise our standards."

The strength of the competition from the Asian region was evident with Hong Kong, Singapore Changi, Seoul Incheon, and Kuala Lumpur taking the first four spots in the overall best airport in the world rankings.

Hong Kong International Airport was named the World's Best Airport for 2008. A notable achievement, this is the 7th time in ten years that the accolade has been won by Hong Kong.

Singapore Changi Airport remains firmly positioned itself at the top end of the rankings, in 2nd position worldwide, ahead of Seoul Incheon International Airport in 3rd place. Asian airport dominance of the high survey rankings is topped off by Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which moves up into 4th place in the 2008 results.

The World Airport Survey is conducted by UK-based aviation research organisation, Skytrax. The survey covers more than 190 airports around the world with approximately 8.2 million questionnaires completed by passengers across the world, during the 10 month survey period.

Passenger interviews include a detailed appraisal for more than 40 categories of product and service quality from check-in to departure, from arrivals to baggage collection - including terminal cleanliness, staff efficiency, staff courtesy, terminal signage, security processing, immigration and customers, walking distances, as well as features like shopping, dining options, internet services.

Skytrax CEO, Mr Edward Plaisted said, "In recent years, the whole air travel experience has become much more focussed on the time customers spend in the airport environment. What was notable from this survey is that customers are becoming much more discerning about airport standards and facilities available to them, be they travelling for business or leisure. "