HKIA Staff Go the Extra Mile to Win Passengers’ Hearts

(HONG KONG, 19 April 2011) – It does not always take a lot of money, time or professional expertise to make a difference in someone’s life – just the willingness to go above and beyond in the line of duty. As staff working at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) would attest, it could even help save a life.

This was just one of the many examples set by the 123 airport staff who were recognised today at the award presentation ceremony for HKIA 10th Customer Service Excellence Programme (CSEP), each of whom went the extra mile to serve the 140,000 passengers who pass through HKIA every day.

Taren Kwong, Japan Airlines’ Duty Manager, was asked one day last March to greet a lady with an eight-month-old baby girl who was required to undergo an urgent heart operation upon their arrival in the United States. Apart from coordinating with other JAL operation teams, Kwong initiated contact with the JAL office in the U.S. to ensure that an ambulance would stand by to pick up the two. He also arranged for escorts both at HKIA and during the layover in Japan to ensure that their trip was smooth and hassle-free. The baby girl experienced smooth travels and eventually received a successful operation. 

In another instance, Hong Kong Tourism Board Visitor Services Officers Miki Tung and Ray Cheung received a European passenger who needed directions to Shekou, where his travel agent was to pick him up. Taking account of the potential language barriers that the passenger might face in Shekou, Ray immediately contacted the passenger’s travel agency in Hong Kong and arranged a pick-up service from their Hong Kong office. The two also gave the passenger a surprise birthday present after realising it was his 60th birthday.  

At today’s ceremony, a total of nine awards were presented to three airport staff, three teams and three companies including Cathay Pacific Airways, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and Plaza Premium Lounge.

Stanley Hui Hon-chung, Chief Executive Officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, congratulated all the awardees at the ceremony. “I offer my sincerest thanks to today’s awardees, each of whom exhibited exceptional service standards. I hope that you will continue to go the extra mile for passengers going through HKIA and work hard together, not only to maintain the airport’s world-class service, but also to take it to an even higher level.”

“It is especially gratifying to see that HKIA has been well recognised by air travellers over the years, which is a credit to the untiring commitment by our 65,000 airport community members to provide peerless customer service,” he continued.

Over the last decade, HKIA has won close to 40 best airport accolades from various international and regional organisations, including being named the world’s best airport eight times in the annual passenger survey by Skytrax. In addition, for five consecutive years, HKIA has been awarded by the Airports Council International the best airport among facilities serving more than 40 million passengers a year.

Also attending the ceremony, Mr James Tien, Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, commended the efforts of the awardees in bringing visitors a pleasant and enjoyable experience of Hong Kong.

“Hong Kong’s appeal as a world-class travel destination depends not only on our diverse range of attractions and unique culture, but also on our ability to offer outstanding service to visitors. This has become ever more important, as our tourism industry is poised for further growth, and our airport continues to attract record number of passengers. I am pleased to see the strong commitment of the airport staff to providing the finest levels of customer service. Their dedication and professionalism help create a wonderful first and lasting impression of our city on visitors, and raise Hong Kong’s profile as Asia’s World City with a trademark of excellence.”

Launched in 2002, the CSEP aims to promote an airport-wide commitment to customer service excellence at HKIA. In addition to the awards, campaigns and customer service seminars are organised throughout the year for airport community members to enhance their customer service skills.  

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