Blog 
Each February since 2000, Athens International Airport’s (ATH) Communications & Marketing Department has organised an annual conference called “Airline Marketing Workshop” with the participation of the General, Commercial, Marketing and Sales Managers of all airlines operating at ATH.
On Feb 20 this year, I was invited to Athens as a guest speaker for the “14th Airline Marketing Workshop 2014” where I was surrounded with about 200 people who share my passion for aviation marketing and air service development. The main theme and slogan of the Workshop was the very well-known song “Let the Sunshine in”, indicating the positive trends for the development of traffic in 2014. Within this framework, each topic’s presentation developed around a specific “theme-song”, thus adding to the Workshop characteristics of a musical event as well!
This year’s event was summed up by Ioanna Papadopoulou, Director, Communications & Marketing, Athens International Airport, who is responsible for the award-winning marketing initiatives at AIA:
“…topics such as the market overview of the “stabilisation year” 2013 as well as the optimistic forecasts for traffic development in 2014, the incentives’ policy for the sustainability and enhancement of the overall Athens traffic, AIA’s actions aiming at boosting the city’s attractiveness and potential as a destination and the airport’s presence in the social media were presented. Furthermore, internationally renowned guest speakers presented the trends and future challenges for the global aviation industry, the potential for further development and extension of the tourist period for Athens, the destination marketing strategy in the cases of Turkey and Croatia, and, lastly, the international social media experience in terms of benefits for airports and airlines.”
Five Insights from SimpliFlying
At SimpliFlying, our understanding of aviation social media is matched only by our passion. We were invited by AIA to provide unparalleled industry insights based on our expertise, after delivering strategy guidance & insights to over 50 global airline and airport brands.
Our presentation focused on the following key insights, while taking the audience on a flight through some of the greatest marketing campaigns from some of the best aviation brands on social media:
- Airlines and airports that master the ability to really connect with their passengers will generate sustainable long term business
- The importance relevance of social media in aviation, especially with the rise of the Connected Traveller cannot be overstated
- Airports & airlines can and should monitor and measure progress — it’s no longer a choice
- Benchmarking, building resilience and technical improvement are crucial, but commonly ignored phases of a robust and sustainable strategy
- Markets are conversations more than ever before — silence is fatal
Key takeaways from the #AIA Workshop
- 2014 will be the year of recovery
- Estimates for pax traffic in 2014 look positive: +7% January 2014, +9.2% February (year-on-year)
- 31 new weekly flights for the winter period 2013-14 and 150 new weekly flights for the summer period 2014
- 17 LCCs at AIA this summer (+42%)
If you’d like to hear more about the best ways to monitor and measure progress, or how the best aviation brands are developing trust and confidence with their passengers in the world of social media or if you’d like to invite SimpliFlying to your next conference or internal discussion, feel free to reach out to me at david@simpliflying.com.