The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today issued its Quality of Service Report - price-monitored airports, reporting on the availability and standard of airport facilities at Australia's major airports.
The ACCC's role of monitoring quality of service is complementary to its prices monitoring role for aeronautical and aeronautical-related services.
The results of the report show the following rankings of the airports over the period of ACCC monitoring ranging between satisfactory and good.
The report found that over the past four years, Brisbane has been the top-ranked airport, achieving an overall rating of good. Melbourne and Sydney airports rated at the mid-point between satisfactory and good. Perth airport has been rated between satisfactory and good. Both Canberra and Darwin overall have generally rated at the satisfactory level, with Darwin's overall rating decreasing this year to be just below satisfactory.
Rating
Rank
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06
Good
1st
Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane
2nd
Melbourne
Melbourne
Perth
Perth
3rd
Sydney
Sydney
Sydney
Adelaide
4th
Perth
Perth
Melbourne
Melbourne
5th
Adelaide
Darwin
Canberra
Sydney
6th
Darwin
Canberra
Adelaide
Canberra
Satisfactory
7th
Canberra
Adelaide
Darwin
Darwin
Note: Not all airports provide the same level of quality of service information.*
Following ratings of satisfactory over the reporting period, Adelaide's overall rating increased significantly, up to just below good which appears to follow the opening of the new Multi User Integrated Terminal in 2005–06.
However, despite increasing slightly in 2005–06, Melbourne airport's rating has declined since 2002–03, as has Sydney and Darwin airport since 2003–04. Canberra airport's rating has decreased in 2005–06.
*Airport Regulations 1997 do not require Canberra, Darwin and Adelaide airports to undertake passenger surveys. Accordingly, the ACCC's guidelines do not require these airports to undertake passenger surveys. Adelaide airport does, however, survey passengers for its own purposes and provides this information to the ACCC voluntarily. Further, Canberra airport has not provided the number of arriving and departing passengers per peak hour and therefore no objective indicator data is included in the overall ranking of the airport.
The ACCC has been monitoring the quality of service at airports since the privatisation of airports began in 1997.
Quality of service monitoring, along with reporting of airport financial accounts was introduced to increase the transparency of airport performance. It is intended to discourage airports from providing unsatisfactory service standards, provide information to airport users that will assist them in their commercial negotiations with airports, and assist the government to address public interest matters relating to the regulation of airports.
The airports currently subject to quality monitoring are: Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. These airports are also subject to prices monitoring.
As well as its quality of service monitoring role, the ACCC is required to:
monitor the prices, costs and profits of aeronautical and aeronautical-related services at Australia's major airports (the ACCC's 2005–06 prices monitoring and financial report will be released early next year)
administer the financial accounts reporting provisions of the Airports Act 1996 (this information is reported in the ACCC's prices monitoring and financial report).
