Start strong, finish strong. That’s what the Envoy team at Evansville Regional Airport (EVV) did in 2024. Recognizing this achievement, team EVV not only started the year with an American Airlines Customer Cup win for the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24), but also ended the year with a second Cup win for the fourth quarter of 2024 (4Q24).
“I’ve asked the airport to build a trophy case for us!” joked EVV General Manager, Derrick Ford during the station’s 4Q24 celebration. “We had some challenging winter weather – including severe ice storms – but we made it through as a team and I’m proud of all that this team has done.”
Every quarter, American’s Customer Cup program groups stations into categories of operational likeness and recognizes the top-performing stations in each category based on operational performance and customer satisfaction. For a station to win a Cup, they must outperform their peers across a wide range of objective and subjective metrics such as on-time Departure Performance (D0), Turn Performance (T0), Mishandled Baggage Ratio (MBR), cost control, safety, customer satisfaction surveys, overall airport experience and more.
“For the fourth quarter, team EVV handled more than 26,600 bags and mishandled just 29. Baggage performance is a key driver of customer satisfaction, and achieving 99.9% MBR is really impressive and something you all should be proud of,” said Envoy Senior Vice President, Customer Services, John Jaynes during the station’s celebration. “Across the board, you all did an outstanding job on the metrics – from 100% Controllable Completion Factor to exceeding your turn performance [T0] and departure performance [D0] goals as well.”
“I’d also like to add one key metric that we talk about all the time: Safety,” adds Envoy Vice President, Airport Services Planning, Kevin Ward. “Safety – both injuries and damage – is a prerequisite for being in the running to win a Cup. Team EVV does a great job looking out for each other, the equipment we use and the aircraft we handle. That’s something we should never take for granted, and I’m glad to see the team focusing on a safety culture here.”
“I’m incredibly proud of each and every one of you who made this possible,” adds Envoy Regional Managing Director, Kathy Rice. “This win is a reflection of your commitment to safety and helping our customers and colleagues.”
In a conference room on a Monday afternoon, the team came together to eat lunch, enjoy cake and congratulate each other for a job well done.
The station’s celebration was also marked with a bittersweet farewell, as EVV General Manager Derrick Ford will be soon moving to lead the Envoy operation at Greensboro, North Carolina (GSO).
“There are a few people in this room who have been here for all of our Cup wins, but about 80% of the team are relatively new,” adds Derrick. “The senior team members and really everyone at the station do a great job at welcoming new folk to the team and showing them how it’s done correctly. I feel like I’m leaving the station in safe hands, and we’ll be seeing another Cup from team EVV before we know it.”
Congratulations, team EVV on another well-earned Cup win!
