Wednesday, June 5, 2024 – Today, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) officially launched PHL WORKS — a program to inspire service excellence among the more than 16,800 badged employees at the airport. PHL WORKS is an initiative of PHL’s Guest Experience (GX) Stakeholder Council which brings together representatives from all the operating partners at PHL including the City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation, federal agencies, airlines, merchants, service providers and other tenants.
The program kicked off with two parades through the terminals culminating with an Employee Pep Rally, Celebration and Awards. Led by the GX Stakeholder Council Co-Chairs, Atif Saeed, PHL’s CEO and Lakshman Amaranayaka, American Airlines Vice President of Philadelphia Hub Operations, along with director of Guest Experience Leah Douglas.
“Every badged employee is an ambassador of the airport and has a direct role on our guest’s experience,” said Saeed. “With PHL WORKS, we are bringing everyone together with a shared vision of the standards that lead to service excellence. As we prepare for the significant increase in travelers and major events coming in 2026, it’s critical that each employee provides an exceptional welcome and experience at each step of the passenger journey.”
“Caring for people is at the core of everything we do at American,” said Amaranayaka “As Philadelphia’s Hometown Airline, we are committed to upholding the PHL WORKS mission to enhance the airport experience for our customers and team members.”
The new PHL WORKS service vision has standards of behavior that will be part of an airport-wide customer service training program. Each letter in WORKS stands for a behavior that employees should uphold. These are summarized below:
Welcoming – I create PHL friendly experiences by welcoming everyone with eye contact and positive body language.
Ownership – I am responsible for my actions and follow through. If I see something that needs to be addressed, I will do something about it. If I can’t fix it, I will elevate the issue.
Respectful – I put people first in everything I do. I appreciate everyone’s uniqueness.
Knowledgeable – I take pride in knowing my airport. I connect people with knowledge and resources.
Seeks to Connect – I create meaningful relationships. I am a resource to everyone to succeed and create meaningful relationships.
The PHL WORKS training session will be incorporated into the new hire trainings that all employees must complete to receive their security badge. Videos, tools and resources will also be provided to managers so they can reinforce the program in day-to-day interactions with their teams.
“Our vision is to elevate the airport experience, offering meaningful interactions that make each guest feel welcomed, valued, and appreciated,” said Douglas.
