The Envoy team in Rochester, Minnesota (RST) may be small, but they’re mighty. Just a short connection away from Chicago O’Hare (ORD), the Envoy team in RST sees travelers from around the world visit the rural Minnesotan town to receive specialized medical treatment from the Mayo Clinic every day.
“We get a lot of different types of customers here, and plenty of wheelchair requests to support our Mayo Clinic customers,” explains RST General Manager Sean Kelly. “On top of that, we saw wind chills of below -51F this winter, with blizzards, snow and much more. Despite these operational challenges, we overcame. This win wouldn’t have been possible without our close partnership between the airport and the team here working hard every day.”
The win? An American Airlines Customer Cup – the first win for team RST since the program’s introduction in 2008.
“The metrics are really where you can make a difference, and I’d like to take a minute to show you how impressive you all performed in the first quarter of 2025,” said Envoy Senior Vice President, Customer Services, John Jaynes during the team’s Cup celebration. “To achieve a 95.8% T0 [Turn Performance] in the middle of winter, with a large volume of wheelchair customers, is very impressive. On top of that, your MBR [Mishandled Baggage Ratio] was so low that out of more than 11,200 bags, just 13 were mishandled. You achieved all these metrics while also focusing on the most important thing – Safety.”
Year-to-date, the Envoy team at RST has no reportable employee injuries and no aircraft damage events.
“All these metrics add up, and it means one key thing – that we’re delivering on our promise to our customers,” adds Envoy Regional Managing Director, AnnMarie De La Paz. “It’s great to see such a strong partnership with the airport and our colleagues at the TSA to make sure every customer has a positive experience here at Rochester.”
Over lunch catered from a local Italian restaurant, team RST shared stories and photos of chartered aircraft – Boeing, Airbus, Gulfstream and more – with foreign dignitaries on board who arrive at RST for specialized medical treatment. The team also shared stories of the occasional customer who arrives expecting to be in Rochester, New York (ROC)! The team is quick to help customers – and their bags – get to the other Rochester when this happens.
“At the end of the day, it comes down to building a team where you have fun, look out for customers and each other, and feel comfortable calling each other out if something isn’t right,” said Envoy Vice President, Airport Services, Jude Mayeux. “All of this adds up and you should all be proud of your Cup win.”
Congratulations on your win, team RST!