Survey shows that Fintraffic Air Navigation Services customers are satisfied with the cooperation and with the level of compliance with safety standards
Did you know that safe, smoothly flowing and environmentally friendly air traffic is the result of a variety of parties working together? One of the important operational indicators at Fintraffic Air Navigation Services to gauge success in attaining these goals is customer satisfaction, which is probed with a customer satisfaction survey. What do the findings of the recent survey say of the quality of air navigation services? What are customers particularly pleased with, and what does the survey reveal as development points?
The annual customer satisfaction survey of Fintraffic Air Navigation Services 2021 was the fourth of its kind. Feedback was solicited with a panel of multiple-choice and evaluation questions, in addition to which respondents were invited to submit freeform feedback. Assessments were made on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).
“This year, we invested more than before in devising the questions by analysing questions and answers and absences of answers in the surveys from previous years. Then we divided up our stakeholders into customer segments and roles in order to be able to customise the follow-up questions for their particular jobs. Pilots and air traffic controllers, for instance, may have very different customer experiences,” explains Pasi Nikama, Senior Vice President at Fintraffic Air Navigation Services.
Overall satisfaction with partnership is very high
In 2020, the number of respondents to the customer satisfaction survey dropped dramatically, because many of the largest respondent group – pilots – were laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the 2021 survey, respondent numbers returned to their previous level, and because of this the 2021 survey is, exceptionally, being primarily compared to 2019 instead of 2020. The respondents were a diverse group of aviation operators, from strategic partners of air navigation services to flight schools and from minor airfield operators to general aviation bodies.
“The most recent results are very closely in line with those from 2019, with changes measured in tenths of a percentage point. The overall score for customer satisfaction in partnership and implementation of safety standards was about 4 out of 5, and even a bit higher than that for safety,” explains Kimmo Lehtimäki, Key Account Manager at Fintraffic Air Navigation Services.
The survey shows that the principal strengths of Fintraffic Air Navigation Services are: compliance with safety requirements; functional customer service; and quality of the operations of the Airspace Management Cell (AMC) and the Area Control Centre. Central government and military aviation hold this collaboration in very high regard, particularly the interaction with air traffic control units, where responses yielded an excellent average score of 4.5 out of 5.
“It is great that in this safety-critical industry we have managed to satisfy our customer’s safety expectations. Our collaboration with our various customer groups seems to be running smoothly, and our customer service personnel have been commended for their kindness and ability to respond to service needs,” says Lehtimäki with appreciation.
It was discovered through the survey findings that customer experiences had improved particularly in collaboration with Fintraffic Air Navigation Services overall (2019: 3.7 / 2021: 4.0) and with Helsinki air navigation services (2019: 3.5 / 2021: 3.8). With the latter, the trend was the most marked in the experience of airlines and pilots.
Responses provide solid input for further development
The major development point emerging in the survey was the technical challenges in logging in to the CPDLC service. Potential for improvement was also found in the predictability of cooperation between the Area Control Centre and Helsinki ATC.
“We have sought to improve predictability for instance by setting up various joint training groups as far back as in autumn 2020. A shared understanding among operators provides employees insights with how their colleagues work, which in turn improves predictability. This is also reflected in the 0.3 percentage point improvement in customer experience with Helsinki ATC,” says Nikama.
Environmental issues remained roughly at the 2019 level, showing a rise of only about a tenth of a percentage point. The responses are a good indicator of how and in what ways environmental matters in air navigation services should be improved.
“The survey shows that, on the whole, customers find our services to be good and safe. So we have performed well with regard to those goals. This is a good foundation to build on for introducing the development points highlighted in the survey into our day-to-day work, in keeping with our strategy,” Nikama concludes.
