Toronto Pearson pushes back against bad rap with survey saying most travellers love it

Toronto Pearson International Airport is trying to transform its poor reputation after yet another abysmal ranking that put it second-last on a list of North American travel hubs this week.

Placing 20 out of 21 when it comes to customer satisfaction, 64 out of 100 for overall quality and dead last for both on-time flights and ease of travel in recent memory, the airport has been fervently hiring more staff and implementing new procedures and tech to make things run more smoothly for travellers.

Still, tales of flight delays, baggage troubles, lost pets and other horror stories from the pandemic era and onward — not all of them Pearson's fault, mind you — remain hard to scrub from people's minds whenever they think of having to catch a flight into or out of Toronto.

So, in response, Pearson has decided to release its own survey to contend the latest assertion that most who travel through the facility are aggrieved with their experience.

New @Pollara research conducted for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (#GTAA) shows 78% of travellers through @TorontoPearson Airport in past 90 days (75% past year) are satisfied with their experience. Full report at Pollara website: https://t.co/ymJD8pP975 #YYZ #airtravel pic.twitter.com/qTHohxBskx

— Pollara Strategic Insights (@Pollara) September 20, 2023

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority commissioned Pollara Strategic Insights to canvass some 2,000 Canadians regarding their feelings about T.O.'s terminals, finding that 78 per cent of recent passengers are indeed satisfied and have had four times more positive than negative impressions of the airport.

"After much public grumbling about lineups at airports across North America in the summer of 2022, travellers appear in a good mood about their experiences this year," the report, published on Wednesday, reads.

"Travellers through Pearson are over twice as likely to be satisfied rather than dissatisfied with all aspects of airport service tested, including the check-in process, terminal facilities, and baggage claim."

Those who travelled in the last 90 days (vs. in the last year) were most likely to have positive perception, with 19 per cent saying they had a "very positive" experience, 55 per cent citing a "somewhat positive" experience, 24 per cent reporting a neutral experience and six and five per cent, respectively, complaining of a somewhat negative or very negative time.

And, the bulk of those who have employed the hub's new digital tools — such as its wait times dashboard, mobile passport clearance or advance customs declaration — found them to be beneficial (78 per cent to 90 per cent of respondents relayed a somewhat or very good experience, depending on the feature used).

Despite the complaints, concerns and unfavourable anecdotes that still persist about the airport online, it seems that many have been noticing service enhancements in the last while, and the GTAA's own weekly operations figures show impressive improvement.