According to the 2008/09 Airport Cargo Excellence (ACE) Survey, Toronto Pearson International Airport’s cargo operations placed second in the ”below one million tonnes” category for airports in North America.

Air Cargo World, a global news authority on air logistics and freight transport, unveiled the findings on March 2 of its fifth annual ACE Survey, which measures airlines and airports on specific criteria and ranks these to identify above or below average performance.

Steve Prince, publisher of Air Cargo World, said, "The ACE Survey provides a benchmark for the industry with quantifiable customer feedback on key performance measurements. Carriers and airports use the results of this survey to track their own year-on-year performance through the eyes of their customers, and to measure themselves against competitors.”

In this year’s survey, 93 airports were rated by airlines on the following four criteria: performance, value, facilities and regulatory operations.

For each measure, the average rating across all companies in the survey was calculated and set to a value of 100. Ratings for each company are presented as an indexed score, relative to the average, to allow for easy comparisons. A score greater than 100 represents above average performance. A score of less than 100 represents below average performance.

Toronto Pearson scored an impressive 106 in the performance criteria, 102 in value, 108 in facilities, and 107 in regulatory operations. With an overall rating index jump from 98 to 105.5, Toronto Pearson replaced San Francisco in second place only behind Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, who had an overall score of 114.7. Atlanta placed third with an overall score of 104.5.

More than 45 per cent of Canada’s air cargo is processed through Toronto Pearson, representing $31.7 billion in goods per year. On June 19, 2008, the GTAA announced a reduction in cargo landing fees at Toronto Pearson by 25 per cent, effective January 1, 2009. This fee reduction has encouraged cargo businesses to choose Toronto Pearson for the movement of their goods, boosting the competitiveness of Canada’s leading cargo gateway.

At the time of this announcement, Lloyd McCoomb, GTAA President and CEO said, “Maintaining Toronto Pearson’s competitiveness is important to our region and ultimately for Canada’s economy. It also shows that we are responsive to the needs of our cargo carriers.”

When a cargo freighter lands at Toronto Pearson, it is greeted with world-class facilities, infrastructure and services. Landing on one of five runways designed to handle heavy all-cargo aircraft, freighters taxi onwards to 232,300 square metres (2.5 million square feet) of dedicated apron space for cargo operations.

Off the apron, facilities include 111,500 square metres (1.2 million square feet) of cargo handling facilities, including in-ground fuelling, a live-animal facility, 24/7 Canada Border Services on-site and 240 truck loading doors. In addition, world-leading freight forwarders are in close proximity to the airport, and the strategic location, near four main highways, all contribute to Toronto Pearson’s popularity among world-wide cargo transporters.

“The GTAA has been working hard to ensure that Toronto Pearson offers an attractive cargo platform that mirrors the needs of our shipping community,” said Mark Ruel, Senior Manager Cargo and Aviation Support. “The extraordinary results of this survey are a true reflection of the dedication and ongoing collaborative efforts of the GTAA, Canada Customs and the shipping community.”

The full results, including index rankings by region for each of the measures evaluated, are available online at www.aircargoworld.com.