An international council for air travel ranked Austin-Bergstrom International Airport third for best in customer service in 2015 among North American airports, based on customer survey responses.

The Airport Council International analyzed surveys from 42 airports. Austin-Bergstrom tied for third place with Sacramento, San Antonio, Detroit and Toronto Billy Bishop in 2015. The Austin airport has not scored in the top three places since 2010.

“We participate in that survey every year, and of course we track how we score,” said Jim Halbrook, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport spokesperson. “We’ve consistently scored at a high level with that survey for years.”  

The council writes standard survey questions about service, including airport security, facilities and food, which are asked by council fieldworkers in the airport before passengers take off in about 320 airports around the world.

“They collect hundreds of thousands of surveys,” Halbrook said. “Then they do a year-end compilation on it. It’s actually talking to passengers in the airport while they’re having their
travel experience.”

Undergraduate studies freshman Laney Cone traveled with her family to 38 states and six countries before moving to Austin, where she flew alone for the first time out of the Austin-Bergstrom Airport.

“I’d never really flown alone before, so being able to fly alone out of Austin is not hard, and it’s not that scary,” Cone said. “The Austin airport is nice in that it’s a lot smaller. There’s only, like, one terminal. It’s pretty easy to get around.”

The airport’s location is convenient because students can use a shuttle bus, metro bus, ride-hailing services or a ride from a friend to get there, making it easier to travel for holidays, Cone said. 

“There are nonstop flights from Austin to Lubbock and enough kids from Lubbock come to UT that I have seen like 20 other kids that I know going on the same flight for Thanksgiving and stuff like that just because it’s really easy,” textiles and apparel sophomore Hannah Wilmeth said.

The airport has gone through an 11 percent growth in 2015, and Halbrook said the ranking and growth is the result of a symbiotic relationship between the city and the airport.

“It makes us want to thank our 11.9 million passengers who selected us as their airport of choice in Central Texas,” Halbrook said. “It makes us want to be thankful and give our gratitude to our employees and our business partners who work year round to distinguish our airport with great Austin-style customer service.”

An international council for air travel ranked Austin-Bergstrom International Airport third for best in customer service in 2015 among North American airports, based on customer
survey responses.

The Airport Council International analyzed surveys from 42 airports. Austin-Bergstrom tied for third place with Sacramento, San Antonio, Detroit and Toronto Billy Bishop in 2015. The Austin airport has not scored in the top three places since 2010.

“We participate in that survey every year, and of course we track how we score,” said Jim Halbrook, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport spokesperson. “We’ve consistently scored at a high level with that survey for years.”  

The council writes standard survey questions about service, including airport security, facilities and food, which are asked by council fieldworkers in the airport before passengers take off in about 320 airports around the world.

“They collect hundreds of thousands of surveys,” Halbrook said. “Then they do a year-end compilation on it. It’s actually talking to passengers in the airport while they’re having their
travel experience.”

Undergraduate studies freshman Laney Cone traveled with her family to 38 states and six countries before moving to Austin, where she flew alone for the first time out of the Austin-Bergstrom Airport.

“I’d never really flown alone before, so being able to fly alone out of Austin is not hard, and it’s not that scary,” Cone said. “The Austin airport is nice in that it’s a lot smaller. There’s only, like, one terminal. It’s pretty easy to get around.”

The airport’s location is convenient because students can use a shuttle bus, metro bus, ride-hailing services or a ride from a friend to get there, making it easier to travel for holidays, Cone said. 

“There are nonstop flights from Austin to Lubbock and enough kids from Lubbock come to UT that I have seen like 20 other kids that I know going on the same flight for Thanksgiving and stuff like that just because it’s really easy,” textiles and apparel sophomore Hannah Wilmeth said.

The airport has gone through an 11 percent growth in 2015, and Halbrook said the ranking and growth is the result of a symbiotic relationship between the city and the airport.

“It makes us want to thank our 11.9 million passengers who selected us as their airport of choice in Central Texas,” Halbrook said. “It makes us want to be thankful and give our gratitude to our employees and our business partners who work year round to distinguish our airport with great Austin-style customer service.”