"[Working with SimpliFlying] has expanded our minds, opened our eyes and showed us what to do in concrete, practical, and tangible terms. We see the benefits not only to ourselves but to our members as well." - 
"SimpliFlying has a great balance - providing strategic insights and directions while maintaining a down-to-earth attitude in guiding LAN in strategy implementation. Justifying our investment to senior management was not difficult." - 
"The SimpliFlying MasterClass was a combination of trends and insights from the industry, as well as tailor-made topics designed to help Lufthansa progress to the next level of customer engagement. By having every management level participate, Lufthansa achieved great results in regards to 'social status' and loyalty, which was one of the key topics." - 
"At Estonian Air, we always look for partners who can bring innovation and good ideas, with the ability to execute. With Simpliflying, we get exactly that." - 
Influencer marketing comes of age in aviation – American Airlines Klout and Eindhoven Airport Facebook VIP in focus
The power of key influencers is well documented in marketing. And in the age of the connected traveller, it’s not uncommon to see airlines bringing influential bloggers on fully-paid FAM trips, or even engaging them as official brand ambassadors. Of late, such influencers have been getting real-world benefits too! Take Estonian Air’s much-feted social loyalty program, the first in …. continue reading →
[Interview] Gary Wicks shares how Boeing Commercial Airplanes takes the social media bull by its horns
![[Interview] Gary Wicks shares how Boeing Commercial Airplanes takes the social media bull by its horns](http://simpliflying.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/boeingHQ-660x350.jpeg?dbce70)
If you’re wondering why Boeing has such a strong social media presence, even though they can’t sell any planes on Twitter, we’ve got the answers for you in this interview. Boeing wants to position itself as a “forward thinking, thought leading driver of innovation in the industry”, shares Director of Digital Strategy at Boeing Commercial …. continue reading →
Becoming a World Class airline brand – what Emirates can learn from Singapore Airlines (and how I missed my first flight)
I recently read a quote by famous poet, Dr Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” The essence of this quote is a person’s true colors show when things go wrong. …. continue reading →
Two tales of Customer Experience – AirAsia X versus Kingfisher Airlines
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Shaun Smith, who has been a key catalyst in expanding management focus from the tactical issues of customer service to the much wider and strategic issue of customer experience. Shaun is also the author of “BOLD”. Find out more about him here. What’s the biggest obstacle to implementing …. continue reading →
How airlines can drive and measure ROI from social media (Plus: Free passes for webinar)
In a recent conversation with a senior airline executive at a conference in Singapore, he proudly boasted to me how successful his airline’s social media efforts have been. “We will soon be the most followed airline in the country, even ahead of the national carrier!”. I didn’t quite understand what he was so happy about. …. continue reading →
Airlines and airports in social media should think about scalability of efforts, not just buzz!
Recently, the Eurpoean airline Jet2 shut down its Twitter account. Possibly because they couldn’t scale up their efforts. Well, at least Jet2 officially shut it down. Many other airlines and airports that caught the wave of excitement about social media last year and started Twitter and Facebook accounts didn’t have a strategy behind scaling their …. continue reading →
Travel agents can differentiate by displaying online reviews
It’s not just airlines that are in a blood-bath when it comes to competing for customers. Real-world travel agents themselves often find themselves amidst cut-throat competition with one another. Especially in times when airlines are cutting commission rates to zero percent. Moreover, there are online travel agencies taking away business. These travel agents can now …. continue reading →
How AirAsia is rocking it in India, and how airlines in India can leverage their entry
AirAsia’s India market entry has recently created waves and lots of discussion about what this means for the future of the industry in India, specifically local airlines. I was interviewed by a leading business newspaper in India on this, and here are excerpts from that interview. How do you think Air Asia permeates a market …. continue reading →
Is Alaska Airlines' Social Media Execution heading South of Expected?
Alaska Airlines is known for being nimble when it comes to customer service, and well loved, because it is smaller than most US airlines. When they got started with social media, there were one of the first to do things right, and had a great vision too, as I highlighted in my interviews and articles …. continue reading →
Kulula Airlines – the most "fun" airline brand in the world?
I’ve often mentioned in my keynote presentations, that an airline brand is not what you say it is, it’s what they say it is. And I found a perfect example of this today – reading a post in the Airliners.net forums about Kulula.com – the South African LCC. Wait….let me rephrase that. Kulula.com – THE …. continue reading →