The Air Cargo Excellence Survey was established in 2005 and is carried out and published annually by Air Cargo World. The survey is based upon a rating system that measures airlines and airports on specific criteria and subsequently ranks them to identify above or below average performance. There are two surveys – one for airlines, and one for airports – based on their performance during the previous 12 months.
Air Carrier Survey
Air carriers are rated by freight forwarders on:
Customer Service: Quality of customer service; tracking and tracing of shipments; electronic air waybill (e-AWB) capabilities
Performance: Timeliness of delivery; space availability; availability of main-deck capacity
Value: Competitiveness of rates; availability and quality of special services; route network
Airport Survey
Airports are rated by freight forwarders, cargo agents, and third-party logistics providers on:
Performance: Quality of customer service; handling of exceptions
Value: Competitiveness of rates and charges; customs clearance efficiency
Facilities: Airside capacity; apron capacity and aircraft parking; warehousing; operational restrictions; ground connectivity
In addition to highlighting winners, the survey data indicates airline or airport performance against an industry average.
Methodology and Purpose of the ACE Survey:
The surveys are completed by Air Cargo World subscribers located throughout the world. Airlines are rated by readers identified as freight forwarders; airports are rated by readers identified as airline employees, freight forwarders, cargo agents, and 3PLs. The purpose of having two survey groups is to ensure the integrity of having actual customers rate their service providers, rather than opening up the survey to the general audience.
The survey asks participants to rate the airline(s) or airport(s) with which they have conducted business in the prior 12 months. Using a scale of 1 to 5 – with 5 being the highest – respondents are asked to rate those qualifying airports or airlines in the three areas of measurement noted above.
The airlines are grouped by annual freight tonnes carried, according to IATA data, and the airports are grouped by regional location and sub-grouped by annual tonnage handled. These groupings are done within the survey analytic structure and are not known to the person who is rating the airline or airport. The purpose in grouping the airlines and airports is to provide an equitable rating system in establishing the surveys’ results.
The average rating for each measurement is calculated within each group, and that average is indexed to a value of 100. Ratings for airlines and airports are presented as an Indexed Score, relative to the average, to allow for easy comparisons. Scores greater than 100 represent an above-average performance. Scores of 100 represent exactly average performance. Scores less than 100 represent below-average performance.
Customized data can be purchased by contacting us at [email protected]. Deliverables include:
- Detailed airfreight-related data for your company
- Sortable by geography, monthly cargo volume, respondent title, and more Competitor data
- Includes identification of airports/carriers cited as alternative cargo providers
- Detailed data for up to two competitors
- Exclusive research report that analyzes air cargo performance
- Data delivered in format that allows for additional analysis
- Presentation of results
