Passenger experience number one for new Sudbury airport CEO

It was a packed house inside the Holiday Inn on Thursday night as members of the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce came out to hear from the new leader of the Greater Sudbury Airport.

Giovanna Verrilli was the keynote speaker at this year's annual general meeting and many were keen on learning what plans she has in store for the facility.

Giovanna Verrilli, the Sudbury airport's new CEO, was the keynote speaker at the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting. Octy. 27/22 (Ian Campbell/CTV Northern Ontario)

As a native Sudburian, she knows the city very well and has seen the airport grow into what it has become.

"While I have spent the last several years away from home, I always knew that I would come back and, fortunately, I have been able to return for meaningful work that supports the local and regional economy," Verrilli said.

CONSISTENCY OF SERVICE

Two of the questions she said she has gotten quite a lot of, since her return, have been will there be an improvement with cancelled or delayed flights? And the other, will Air Canada resume full service and will Porter continue to add more flights?

"I am happy to say that as we have been tracking on-time performance for the last few weeks, we are seeing a more consistent pattern. As we still have a long way to go, ensuring consistency in-flight service is a priority for our team along with rebuilding passenger confidence in service levels," Verrilli said.

"We have seen our airline partners add and remove flights over the last several months and we will likely continue to see that for the near term, as staffing issues continue to pose challenges. However, we have a commitment from our airline partners to have open and honest discussions so we can better inform our passengers."

She said the goal is bringing back flights and told members while the airport would like to see new routes come into the city, the reality is they need to ensure the baseline services are where they need to be.

The airport is looking at finding the right partner to restore restaurant services at the facility and will be doing some long-term strategic planning to see if expanding runways and the terminal building are feasible.

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"The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the predictability of aviation – in March 2019 there was a 90 per cent reduction in traffic overnight," said Verrilli.

"Aviation is complex. Airports are part of a large global ecosystem and also ecosystems unto themselves. It takes several organizations, each with their own span of control to ensure airports run smoothly."

While all airports in Canada are non-profit, she said it doesn't mean they shouldn't strive to generate more revenue and that her plan is to run the airport like a business.

IMPROVING THE PASSENGER EXPERIENCE

Among the key imperatives she has for 2023, she said she hopes to work on passenger experience.

"Airports that are committed to passenger satisfaction make more money. This has been proven through transaction-based studies and post-purchase survey's demonstrating that if you are less stressed coming through security and you know where to go in the airport, you are likely to spend more money on food and beverage, retail and services," she said.

Her passion appears to extend past the airport.

Another key issue she said they are excited about is land development around the airport and working with various businesses.

Cost, she adds, is something that hasn't escaped her and her team.

Verrilli said she knows it can be expensive to fly as a family of four and they'll be working on figuring out how they can address the issue.

"Airports need to embrace change because while change is constant and slow, it is an absolute must," she said.

Verrilli said it's going to take all hands to help improve the situation, from passengers to partners and the chamber's president said they like what they are hearing.

"Her experience is going to be advantageous to Sudbury because she's focusing on the airport as a business, as she mentioned, which means stronger customer service, which means less delayed flights and so her goals align with the chamber and we're very excited to have her here today," said board chair Anthony Davis.