While going through these, you’ll also realize that most of those that made the list aren’t one-off campaigns, but mature strategies made up of tactics that drive very specific business goals. So gone are the days of fluffy, one-off social-media campaigns with questionable ROI. Hope these inspire you for 2012!

1. Estonian Air social loyalty program: AirScore, the airline’s groundbreaking, yet simple, loyalty program rewards travelers for online advocacy. You earn virtual points on Facebook for sharing a trip report or booking through the airline’s Facebook app. And these can be redeemed for simple privileges like fast-security lane access. In 10 days, the program generated over a million impressions on Facebook, more than the number of passengers carried by the airline in a year! It’s now won three global awards in three months. Read more… (airlinetrends.com)
2. SpiceJet Bombardier Q400 launch: Imagine launching new destinations between secondary and tertiary cities in a market that is scared of flying turbo props. SpiceJet did just that with Bombardier’s Q400 this year and educated the customers about the superior product and new destinations., primarily through social media. The result? 88% load factors for the five newly launched destinations in  just three weeks. Read more…
3. Finnair launch Helsinki-Singapore with Angry Birds: Route launch marketing is critical to fill up the plane (see our Top 10 case studies). And Finnair this year tapped on the most famous Finnish brand (no longer Nokia) – Angry Birds – to drive awareness of the new route. They filled up the plane full of Angry Birds fans who were not just passionate about the game, but really good at it too – who played throughout the 15 hour flight! And while at that, got the world to know about the new route. Read more…
4. KLM Miami route launch and customer service: KLM changed the dates of their new route to Miami after a Twitter challenge with Dutch radio host to fill up the plane. They have also set the standard for customer service through Twitter and Facebook, where all requests are addressed within 60 mins. No wonder they won the best airline in social media award this year! Read more…
5. Delta Assist: Delta Airlines goes a step ahead of even KLM, by promising to answer tweets within 10 mins, and resolving the situation within 24 hours! Now that 88% of all tweets from travelers to airlines are about customer service issues, this is certainly needed. Read more…
6. Air New Zealand’s safety videos and Rico: Think about an airline with a personality, and it’s Air New Zealand that pops into your mind today. Their quirky safety videos are complemented by their edgy and furry mascot, Rico – who had almost of a cult following. You wither loved him or hated him! Interestingly, he was recently “killed” by the airline through a murder mystery. Read more…
7. Virgin America GiltCity giveaway: 2011 was the year  of group-buying deals. But Virgin America launched the mother of all giveaways where not only could you charter a full plane but also get to name the plane for $60,000 (about $410 per person for a round trip). The deal generated a ton of buzz for Virgin America, and was grabbed by a group of Stanford Alums. Read more… (Gadling.com)
8. Airline booking on Facebook uses the social graph: A year ago Delta Airlines introduced their Facebook booking engine. Then this year, Malaysia Airlines started allowing booking through Facebook and allowed you to sit next to your Facebook friend too (or avoid one!). Recently, Alaska Airlines started allowing you to make a booking by clicking on your Facebook friend’s profile photo! Certainly lots happening in the travel distribution space. Read more…
9. SAS Scandinavian crowd sourcing a new route: SAS became the first airline to get its social media followers to decide one of the new routes for Summer 2012 through online suggestions and voting. Turkish city of Alanya became the clear winner by the end of the contest. All decided by fans alone! Read more about crowd sourcing initiatives…
10. Indigo Airlines’ uber-chic brand campaign: India’s Indigo Airline started flying international in 2011 and launched a brand campaign through YouTube, featuring a Chicago-musical styled advertisement that generated a tremendous amount of interest, given how different it was from the typical airline marketing efforts in India. Read more about their campaign…
11. AirAsia’s leading marketing through social: AirAsia was one of the finalists for our best airline in social media award this year, and for good reason too. They’ve pushed the envelop for driving key business goals through social media – they’re handling customer service through AskAirAsia, launching new routes through Chinese social networks and driving revenue through BIG sales on Facebook! The result? They’re the first airline outside the US to get a million fans. Read more about the AirAsia story…

So, there you have it! The 11 best marketing initiatives by airlines in 2011. Do you feel we have the complete list? If you have a favorite we missed out, please feel free to add it in the comments section or Tweet us @SimpliFlying.

Meanwhile, we’re working on the 12 key airline marketing innovations to look out for in 2012, which will be out in the first week of Jan. Do check back then, or subscribe to SimpliFlying, if you already haven’t done so!

Full Disclosure: SimpliFlying worked with Estonian Air and SpiceJet/Bombardier to bring the above-mentioned projects to reality.

• How SpiceJet launched Bombardier Q400 in India through social media and achieved 88% load factor
• Vote for the SimpliFlying Hero of February 2011 – Finnair vs Delta Air Lines vs Malaysia Airlines
• Delta Assist brings airline customer service to Facebook
• Socializing the airline booking process – Germanwings follows Alaska Airlines’ lead
• For successfully leading SpiceJet’s launch of the Bombardier Q400 via social media, Pooja Dua is the SimpliFlying Hero for January 2012

And Qatar Airways is not the only airline expanding into Africa. Gulf Air is adding flights, so are Turkish Airlines and regional giants Ethiopian and Kenya Airways. Which begs the question, if a nation doesn’t yet have a national airline, should it start one to boost tourism, or get other airlines to fly more often into its airports? I’d say starting a national airline would be self-defeating today.

Travel is growing, but not airline profits

While the growth in the number of air travelers continues to surge ahead in the developing world, due to fast growing middle-class, that doesn’t necessarily co-relate to airlines making profits too.

The last decade, 2001-2010, was a horrible one for airlines. As a group, airlines in the US lost $54.6 billion, and made money in only three of those years (2006, 2007 and 2010). The Air Transport Association has numbers going back to 1947. In the 64 years from 1947 through 2010, the industry has been profitable in 45 of those years. However, the profits in those 45 years, $63 billion, is more than offset by the losses in the other 19 years, $97 billion). That means the industry since 1947 has cumulatively lost about $34 billion.

This trend accentuates further when we look at national airlines.

National airlines are bottomless pits for taxpayers’ money

While some of the private budget carriers somehow make a profit through innovative marketing and product offerings, majority-government owned airlines are almost always complete basket-cases. Look at Air-India. It loses so much money that it’s enough to feed 400mn Indians for a year. If we analyze Alitalia, it’s no  mystery the airline is still flying only because of multiple bailouts by the government. Air Canada is not only loss-making, but the Canadian government is too scared of allowing competition in, as jobs are at stake. Or at least that’s the thinking.

So why is having a national airline still in fashion in government corridors?  Because it is “the mother of all cash-cows — milked by the political and bureaucratic class she is now being forced to give their life blood since she has already been sucked dry”, as Devesh Agarwal from Bangalore Aviation puts it, referring to Air India.

And that’s possibly the only reason why unprofitable national airlines still fly – to serve as private jets for the political class and their cronies. Which is why I was shocked when I read an article in the Daily Monitor in Uganda advocating that a national airline should start a national airline to boost tourism.

Does Uganda need a national airline? Nope.

For those who’re unaware, Uganda is known as the “Pearl of Africa” for its scenic beauty, temperate climate and flora and fauna. Certainly lots to do for a tourist. But that doesn’t justify setting up an airline.

The article, written by a former employee of the now-defunct East African Airways, advocates that a national airline is needed to boost tourism. Unfortunately, that was the case in the 60s, not today. Ryanair carrier more passengers to and from Britain than British Airways. AirAsia has more planes on order than Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines combined. Even in Africa, non-national airlines like Mango and Kulula carry more passengers than the likes of South African Airways. Moreover, the capacity added by other airlines from the Gulf and Europe cannot be ignored.

So in order to boost tourism, a conducive environment for airlines to operate out of should be created. In fact, Uganda is very well located in the center of Africa, to act as a natural hub for airlines flying small regional aircraft across the country. Perhaps, the money should be spent upgrading the airport, which is decades old, like the Rwandan government is doing. And airlines already flying to the country should be empowered to spread the word about the tourism potential, as if they were the national carriers.

Listen to Warren Buffet

Warren Buffett, who put some money into US Airways back in the 1990s, wrote in his 2008 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders: “The worst sort of business is one that grows rapidly, requires significant capital to engender the growth, and then earns little or no money. Think airlines. Here a durable competitive advantage has proven elusive ever since the days of the Wright Brothers. Indeed, if a farsighted capitalist had been present at Kitty Hawk, he would have done his successors a huge favor by shooting Orville down.”

A national airline can only promise to provide direct employment, but in no time has the likelihood of turning into a government stooge, and burn up taxpayers’ money.

Hence, if a country doesn’t have a national airline, precious resources should be spent in boosting tourism by bringing other airlines to the country, not plundering money into a new source of national pride.

• Gulf Air and Kuwait Airways up for sale – do the brands stand a chance?
• What does 2010 have in store for Middle East airline brands like Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and others?
• Why Indians need to get over Air India and recognize Emirates as the national carrier
• The future of Middle East Super-Airlines: Emirates and Etihad to merge, and Qatar to join an alliance
• How business lessons from AirAsia can rescue the battered Air India brand

In light of the article I wrote in this space a few months ago, I must say I was quite proud. Since I wrote that first article, UA has merged their Twitter presence with Continental (and are actually still tweeting from both), but it’s nice to see them complete the message by including the Twitter handle this time. Glad somebody’s paying attention…and well done, United!

This is how it looked previously on their napkins!

• Why Should I Friend you on Facebook or Twitter, United?
• Thoughts on the United and Continental merger – as quoted in the press
• The day airlines’ Twitter accounts were hacked, and three steps to reverse the brand damage
• SimpliFlying in The Media: FinanceAsia, USA Today and Aviation Security International
• Southwest vs. United: Why Authenticity Wins, Even In TV Advertising

Yes, Singapore Airlines is no longer the most profitable airline in the world (Cathay Pacific took over that title), and yes they’re losing market share to the likes of Emirates and AirAsiaX (to a lesser extent), but to go with a business model that’s hardly proven was a surprise move for a brand that’s been risk-averse of late.

While the initial reports stated that a good amount of analysis has gone into the decision and a “largely untapped market” exists, it’s safe to say that SIA is playing catch up in a market carved out in its backyard by AirAsia X and Jetstar. While the key success factor for SIA till date has been its endearing Singapore Girl brand, that’s exactly the dilemma they need to address – whether to extend the brand to the low cost airline or not.

Will the Singapore Girl fly budget? Probably not.

One big question everyone is wondering about is whether the Singapore Girl would fly this new airline. For those who’re familiar with SIA, they know that the airline is very protective of its brand icon. And multiple questions will be raised if the same Singapore Girls walk the aisle of the new airline.

1. How to ensure that people know SIA and the new LCC are different, yet have the same flight attendants?
2. Will service failures like flight delays or cancellations be dealt in an SIA manner, or Tiger Airways manner?
3. Will SIA Economy Class passengers transferring on to the LCC be offered free meals and amenity kits?
4. What baggage allowances will people get if they are transferring from one airline to another?

Close brand association between the two airlines might prove to be too risky for both brands. Hence, it’s likely that SIA will dis-associate itself completely from the new brand. For example, when things went bad for Tiger Airways in Australia, no one boycotted SIA – the latter still holds its reputation for impeccable service. SIA’s greatest leverage will be that they’ve run a long haul airline successfully, with a very low cost base.

Learn from the competition, then fight on your own turf

While SIA’s track record is an asset, it is also a reason for concern. The airline already has a very low cost base – how would they reduce it further, if operations are to be based in Singapore? One of the reasons for the success of AirAsia X and Jetstar have been the feed from their short haul operations. Interestingly, SIA is a purely-long haul airline, hence feeding the network for this new long-haul airline would depend on SilkAir and Tiger Airways. These and other factors will require SIA to re-think its commercial strategies for the new airline, learning from the competition.

1. SIA till today only sells airline tickets on its website (trying to book a hotel will take you to an external site). Whereas on AirAsia’s RedTix website, I can even buy Justin Beiber concert tickets! So the new LCC SIA sets up must re-evaluate what businesses it gets in and how best to leverage the brand
2. SIA’s frequent flyer program, Krisflyer, also currently only allows burning or miles on SIA flights. This is in stark contrast to Qantas’ Frequent Flyer program, where I can redeem and earn miles by shopping for groceries! Krisflyer will also have to evolve, just like Jetstar has been introduced into the Qantas’ program.
3. SIA’s new long-haul LCC can expect very stiff competition from AirAsia X and Jetstar. Moreover, the competition has one year to sharpen its knifes before SIA launches the new airline. While Jetstar would want to start routes Melbourne-Singapore-Athens flights sooner, the Malaysian government has even more reasons to grant AirAsia X coveted routes like Sydney. SIA needs to run two steps ahead to out-think the competition.
4. SIA also needs to learn from mistakes made in its Tiger Airways venture – running the new airline like a Ryanair may not work, especially in long-haul. They need to ensure high customer service standards, like they have with themselves.

A golden opportunity to co-create the brand with the customers

To provide exceptional customer service, SIA will also need to understand that the customers of the new airline more like those of Tiger Airways’ than its own. And they need to deal with them in a different manner. What do I mean?

Currently, SIA has no official Facebook fanpage. No official Twitter account. Or any other new medium engagement channels. All this when AirAsia, right next door, has become the first airline outside the US to reach 1 million Facebook fans. Tiger Airways’ social media interaction isn’t something to speak of either.

SIA needs to hire manager who believe that the brand is no longer about control. Rather, it’s about influencing a certain behaviour, and engaging with customers using mediums they’re familiar with (I still have to fax in certain requests to Krisflyer!). They can no longer be in a state of educated nonchalance about these new ways of building a brand, as I had mentioned earlier.

Singapore Airlines has a rare opportunity to involve the potential customers in the brand creation process of its new low-cost long haul airline brand. For starters, they can look at how the best airlines in the world are crowd sourcing ideas. And then wholeheartedly embrace the customer.

Given their track record, I think Singapore Airlines is going to do a good enough job setting up this new airline – what remains to be seen is whether they are able to sustain profitable operations in the face of changing customer realities and fierce competition. Exciting times ahead! What do you think?

(Special thanks to Khoa Huynh and Anthony Prsakasam – my two aviation geek friends who helped seed some of the ideas in this article)

• Australia’s Qantas Airways – the world’s most agile airline brand?
• AirAsia X: a brand with a huge potential, but remember, “you’re only buying the flying”
• Five reasons why budget airlines in Asia are successful
• Malaysia Airlines launches FireFly to Singapore – a community airline brand. Interview with Head of Marketing
• Is Premium Economy here to stay? A brand review of All Nippon Airlines

As I boarded my flight, I got an email that had a Xmas wish that got me all cracking up! It was a prose style composition by my friend Christian Kamhaug, also the Head of Social Media at SAS Scandinavian Airlines. And Christian was kind enough to allow me to publish his original piece here on SimpliFlying.

Hope it brings a smile to your faces as well, and you get to spend the holiday season with your loved ones. I’m halfway there, with a last flight to Vancouver to catch tomorrow. Merry Christmas everyone!

’Twas a week before Christmas at London-Heathrow
The skies darkened over and it started to snow

And just as they say that it pours when it rains
The snow kept on falling, grounding all planes

Pretty soon all terminals were flowing over
With passengers wanting to go home to their lover

For two long days, not a plane left the ground
And we brought the old Facebook-team around

From early morning, to late at night
We were on Facebook, setting things right

With the help of our friends, all over SAS
We did what we could to help with some class

Rebookings and care, refunds and trains
The questions came back – “Where are the planes?”

Our colleagues all over this great air line
Pulled all the stops, to make it all fine

When it all seemed hopeless, and spirits started to fall
Someone wrote “SAS – you rock!” on our wall

All spirits were lifted and we had another go
Helping out or passengers, stranded by snow

And just as we said: “Enough with this trouble”
“We’re going to London – bring your own shovel!”

The good news came, from that snowed-in aerodrome
“Both runways are open – we’re flying home”

And the news started flowing, on Facebook and Twitter
We’re back in business – we’re leaving this sh***er!”

And as planes rose into that wintery sky
With cheers from every SAS-gal and –guy:

“Let’s fill those airplanes, and don’t groan!”
“We’re finally, finally binging’em home”

With only a few hours until Christimas-dinner,
We’ve proven once again – social media’s a winner!

With lightening speed, and in a folksy tone
We reach out to people’s PC and smart-phone

So next time you find yourself in a mess,
Type in facebook dot com slash S-A-S

So Santa, as you fly with your raindeer
Don’t you worry – we will be here!

We have what we want, but just so you know:
Santa, please give another snow-plow to Heathrow!

• Five airlines (and an airport) that surprised passengers this Christmas with Wow campaigns
• [Video] The best holiday greetings from airlines this season
• True account of a Qatar Airways passenger stranded in Sudan
• Virgin America takes in-flight experience to a new level
• KLM Surprises and Spanair delights! Can surprises be used as a sustainable brand strategy for airlines?

The last session at the conference turned out to be an intimate round-table sharing session, where all those present shared their key takeaways from the conference. It was unique because unlike most sessions where someone speaks and others listen, everyone loosened their ties and got up-close-and-personal.

I’ve compiled here some of those sharings, which essentially gives us a to-d0 list of senior airline executives from a commercial perspective in 2011.

What does the future of airline marketing look like?

1. “Gotta get off the fence on social media. Time to act is now, otherwise it’s too late” – a major west-European hybrid airline
2. “The expansion of the traveler lifecycle is a key development to be acted upon, as travel begins much before the passengers board the aircraft.” – Stuart Barwood, Brolin Consulting
3. “It’s time to accelerate data personalization for travelers, both online and offline” – Datalex VP
4. “Turkish Airlines should become a lifestyle brand – selling all top brands that are co-related to the THY brand, eg women’s apparel, co-branded credit cards etc.” – senior Turkish Airlines executive
5. “Stuff you’re selling on the web should also be sold on the phone” – a senior airline executive from an Asian carrier
6. “We’ve got to revenue optimize the whole travel process, not just the passenger seat” – senior Navitaire executive
7. “We’ve got to start listening more – better feedback, quicker” – Frank Kardonski, Director of eCommerce, COPA
8. “Use content to add value to specific customer segments you’d like to market to” – major regional European airline
9. “We’ve got to learn from retailers like eBay and Amazon, not just airline websites for marketing” – Ethiopian Airlines CIO Sushil Bagaunt
10. “That travelers search 21 sites over 9 sessions before booking shows sheer indulgence in the travel process – and that’s a missed opportunity. How do you know you’ve got enough information?” Sarah Kotlova, VP, Geary Interactive
11. “Customers are willing to give us data, and we should be able to use it. Usability is critical for online sites. Why not have Facebook connect for Check-in? Why need a PNR number? People are not logging on to airline websites >> no incentive! Why should they?” – Karlis Smiltens, airBaltic
12. “Is your airline cheaper cheaper or better? It’s both! Unique value that you offer to your customers.” – senior VP, Sabre
13. Trend is toward merchandising and personalization.
14. If you see something you like, do it.

Well, I hope with these top 14 takeaways, you’ve got a good idea of what the IATA CSS was about and what senior executives took away from there. If you weren’t able to join this year, do join us next year in Singapore during the IATA Passenger Week in October, where the CSS will be held.

• SimpliFlying and IATA partner to offer training courses on airline social media strategy
• Join me in Istanbul, for IATA Commercial Strategy Symposium (two passes up for grabs!)
• KLM Surprises and Spanair delights! Can surprises be used as a sustainable brand strategy for airlines?
• IATA Commercial Strategy Symposium 2010 – Live from Istanbul
• Keynote from IATA Commercial Symposium 2009 – Driving revenue for airlines from real-time customer insights on social media

A brilliant analysis of the situation has been done by Miquel Ros on the AllPlane blog, and they’ve kindly allowed us to re-post their article here. It’s quite insightful as to how the events have unfolded. Enjoy the read!

——-

At the time of writing these lines the effects of the Spanish air controllers unannounced and almost total strike are still being felt throughout the whole South-Western European airspace. This industrial action has forced the closure of the entire Spanish airspace and gravely affected that of the surrounding countries (Portugal, Morocco), the chaos at airports has been total, more so when the controllers’ walk-away has coincided with the start of a five day holiday in Spain. The Spanish government has had to recur to extreme measures such as declaring the “state of alert” and putting the ATCs under military control.

It is not my intention here to delve into the causes of the crisis or on the chronology of the events , but to look at how the different actors of the crisis have been using social media to get their message through.

The role of social media during crisis has become more and more important and this crisis. I find that the current situation has many points in common with the recent volcanic-ash episode that forced the closure of practically all European airspace. As I explained in a previous post, the recent Social Media for Airlines conference, dissected the response of airlines and organisations to sudden short-term disruption of air traffic. In that case, the crisis was a catalyst that pushed organisations to embrace social media. And this case is no different…

Spanish air traffic controllers dived into social media first

In fact when the crisis started all the social media artillery seemed to be on the side of the air traffic controllers, that had their own blog and at least two Facebook fan pages presenting their point of view (this one seems to be the main one, but has much less activity than this other page that is focused on the current conflict…This put them automatically on the spotlight, with thousands of angry people directing their anger at these platforms. The Spanish ATC Twitter account was replying to comments and actively tweeting until Saturday morning when it seems that it stopped tweeting (the deluge of mostly negative comments was possibly too much for whomever was managing this account).

Snapshot of Radarvirtuel around 7pm CET, air traffic returns slowly to Spanish skies, spot the empty region in Central Spain and around Madrid airport (MAD).

AENA jumps on Twitter

The government side did not have this sort of social media channels in place when the crisis started to unfold. Spain’s airport and air traffic management organisation (Aena) had an institutional website that was in no way suited for this task, providing just some informative notes and a contact telephone. There was no Twitter account to speak of until Saturday mid-morning (more than twelve hours after the strike had started), when the official Aena Twitter account was opened. The first time I checked it out it had only two followers and they had not even had the time to upload an avatar picture for their Twitter profile. To their credit however, they got up to speed fairly quickly, I checked it again 15 minutes later and it had already over 1000 followers, by early afternoon they had reached 3000 and it was tweeting a constant flow of information on Spain’s airport network situation. Besides English and Spanish it had also streams in the other official languages of Spain: Catalan, Basque and Galician. We hope that, as in the volcano crisis, this level of engagement with the public will remain going future.

Key hashtags to follow

It is unusual for events taking place in a mid-sized non-English speaking country with little Twitter penetration to make it to Twitter’s global trending topics, but at some times today the Spanish airport chaos made it to the top of the list, for example: #controladores, #barajas,

Other hashtags you can monitor to follow the events are:
#aena #huelga #controladores #prat #estadodealarma #DGAC #Spanishstrike

most of the tweets related to these hashtags are in Spanish, but quite a few are in English too.

And obviously Eurocontrol, was also informing via Twitter, by the way, it must have been a complicated day for them since there were not only issues in Spain but also closures and disruption due to snow at Schiphol (AMS), Paris-Orly (ORY) and UK airports such as London-Gatwick (LGW).

Airport Hotels get part of the action

Other unexpected side actors of this crisis have been Hotel Auditorium, a huge hotel next to Barajas airport with its own twitter account as it is in this hotel that air traffic controllers were holding a meeting on Friday night while the crisis was at its peak. They required police protection after the ATCs were discovered by a number of distressed passengers that had been hosted at the hotel after their flights got cancelled (as a side note, I also had the chance to stay at Hotel Auditorium earlier this year after my flight was cancelled due to an air traffic controller’s strike in France).

I have also seen the potential of Twitter as a tool to arrange alternative travel plans, for example, I have spotted several people on Twitter looking for car-sharing arrangements to travel by road to their destinations as well as some online car-sharing companies, such as Comuto and Amovens, promoting their services.

And other online services that thrive with public attention in days like this are the air traffic live monitoring sites, such as FlightRadar24 or Radarvirtuel, that I already used, with spectacular results, during the volcanic-ash crisis.

• American Airlines rocks on Twitter during the AA24 security threat, while passengers tweet from the plane
• Top 12 things to do if you are stuck at an airport when the next Hurricane Irene or earthquake strikes US East Coast
• Introducing the newly expanded SimpliFlying team, with special focus on community engagement and airport marketing
• [LIVE!] How airlines and EuroControl are conquering Icelandinc volcanic ash through social media #ashtag
• Best airlines, airports and hotels in social media – SimpliFlying Awards Live from Amsterdam

As airlines become more active in this sphere, we attempt to answer a crucial question: Has social media truly benefited any airline? If so, how? To answer this question, we put together a series of case studies. In this set of six case studies, top executives from airlines such as Qantas, Volaris, airBaltic, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue, and of course, Southwest, talk about how their social media strategies are pushing their airlines into the next era.

Recently, Facebook announced that its user base now exceeds 500m. Twitter, on the other hand is still lagging in numbers, but the growth rate of users easily outstrips that of Facebook. As our case studies will show, both of these platforms offer their unique advantages in terms of customer engagement and information sharing. However, more importantly, each requires its own unique strategy.

The heady growth of social media has brought its own advantages and ills. While platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs and wikis offer unprecedented levels of engagement and information sharing with customers, there are perils as well. For instance, a clear line has to be drawn between what is “too little” and “too much”. This is not always an easy task. Our case studies will show why and much more!

We’re sure you’ll find these case studies inspiring and useful. Please click here to download the PDF containing all of the six case studies.

Special thanks to Shubhodeep Pal, Li Guen and Matt Brennan – all of whom have put in a lot of effort in helping bring these to shape. All feedback welcome at feedback@simpliflying.com

• Top 10 Airports on Social Media – case studies of the airports best at driving engagement
• 52 Airline Marketing Strategies to engage today’s traveler: A walkthrough of our free iPhone app!
• The Best Airlines Driving Customer Service & Crisis Management Through Social Media: Top 5 SimpliFlying Awards nominees
• Airlines, stop putting lipstick on a pig!
• The SimpliFlying Social Media Cheatsheet for Airline Marketers

Airports demonstrating leadership

For starters, no speakers backed out, and the conference hall was full. This may not sound significant, but it’s one of the early indicators of things getting back to normal. Among all the speeches, I was impressed by the efforts airports like Melbourne and GoldCoast are making to work in-tandem with airlines to ensure a healthy, business-driving relationship.

In fact, Malaysia Airports is doing a tremendous job creating the hub of the future, with an LCC terminal interconnected with the existing Kuala Lumpur International Airport. That means when the new LCC Terminal is ready in 2011, passengers would be able to seamlessly connect from a Cebu Pacific flight from Manila, to an AirAsia X flight to Delhi, or a Malaysia Airlines flight to London. And at a combined capacity of 53 million per year, it would be the largest airport-hub in the region.

To read more about what folks from Dubai, Melbourne and other airports are doing, head over to SimpliFlying Airports.

Now you see why I’m excited about the future?

Below, I have highlighted key points from a number of speaker’s presentations, to give you a sneak peek into what was discussed at the conference. Enjoy!

Dr Temel Kotil – Turkish Airlines

Every time I’ve met Dr Kotil, the CEO of Turkish Airlines (TK), I’ve felt a sense of calm and humble attitude that probably earns him a lot of fans. He delivered a keynote and shared the roundtable with other airline CEOs at the conference, and here are highlights form his speech.

• Two types of crises – global/industry-wide, and company-wide – the last one was global and Turkish Airlines (TK) came out stronger
• TK 24 new routes in four months (!!)
• 2008 was the best year in terms of profit, in 77 years of history!
• How to get staff aligned to industry realities? TK is still a small company in terms of employees – and it’s all about communication. Communicating to them what’s right for the company and what they need to do.
• TK’s focus: Good network, frequencies, products, brand and a low cost structure needs to be taken care of and passengers will come
• The balance between five-star service and low price – that’s the key

Airlines vs Airports debate

• Convergence of LCCs and legacies causes a problem for airports
• Airports have been built with the network carrier in mind
• The sudden explosive growth from LCCs result in airports trying to morph. By then LCCs change again – that’s the dilemma

A tsunami of statistics from Frost & Sullivan’s Amartya De

The panel discussions were followed by a presentation by Amartya De of Frost & Sullivan, who provided his typical tsunami of insightful and statistically based observations and predictions.

• By the end of 2010, 1bn travelers, 1.6bn by 2020. Of this, 75% will be short haul, 25% will be long haul (from 18% currently)
• Travel has become a commodity –> Service component at the point of sale that is the tipping point
• South Asia has grown to 50mn pax per year. North Asia – personal travel has increased
• LCCs have transformed not just the travel industry, but the entertainment industry – now, people
• Asians travel when they have a discretionary spending, as opposed to planning only 1 or two vacations per year
• 50% increase in fuel prices in 2009, and now it’s dipped by a lot – both changes are dis-proprtionate
• US – LCCs % has remained constant. It has grown in EU and Asia Pacfic
• Both LCCs and legacies are focusing mostly one the same segment – but yield management can be drastically different
• Legacy – -0.8% in EU, decreasing everywhere
• LCCs are growing by 45%
• 10-12 different fare buckets in LCCs – first bucket accumulates the losses (hence they need to be reduced?)
• How about rewarding passengers for booking late, like adding perks? Because
• New classes of travelers – The Busy Class – between Econ and Biz
• Upper movement from LCC to hybrid airlines, and downward from Legacies
• LCCs may switch to GDS – so traveler can mix and match – KL-SIN on Tiger, SIN-Auckland on SIA
• There can be class upgrades
• Social media as a distribution tool
• Airlines of the future will give value for money – unified model

CEO Court

One of the more interesting sessions of the day was CEO Court, where 5 airlines CEOs were asked a variety of candid questions.

• Turkish Airlines – 3 types of Mkt – domestic, intl P2P, intl transit
• Malaysia Airlines – more point-to-point (P2P) or origin-destination, like Malaysia-UK. enough demand for 1 daily 747. But 2 flights a day – that means at least 50% connecting. P2P is most profitable in the 3 hour flying distance.
• Oman Air
  • Focus on P2P traffic – the biggest strength. Especially to India and Pakistan. There’s also the Ramadhan period when yields are very high
  • After GulfAir pull out, Oman Air is now into mid/long-haul market. 3rd/4th freedom market
  • Won’t look at a market if in some time it can’t develop into a daily service
  • Won’t be like EK and EY, but will be a niche player in the market
• Alliances
• How has Star Alliance helped Turkish Airlines?
  • Alliance has helped TK like never before, much more than Interline
  • The biggest help has been in terms of spreading the brand – can reach many new markets. You can have the best product in the world, but can’t sell any seats if the brand awareness is not there
• Malaysia Airlines: Alliances are good for the customer, it offers choices. Want to get in, but with a position of strength
• Oman Air
  • Heavy investment in product – joining an alliance will dilute the product distinction
  • First widebody broadband wifi in the world, LiveTV – all with OnAir
  • Leverage the partnerships with suppliers – when times are tough, you get very good prices
  • Competition from regional A380s: “We’re still the best way to get to Oman – tight focus on P2P markets”
  • “We do not need alliances” when you’re a small, niche carrier focusing on P2P
  • We’re not big on transit market
  • Putting your code on someone else’s product is a BIG risk in terms of brand dilution
  • “I will build my penetration in the markets I want to target”
  • Domestic growth will also be key – 2 to 6 destinations in the next couple of years – much like public service
• How will MH win the battle with LCCs?
  • The Odd Couple – Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia/other LCCs
  • Live together in one market, supposedly for different markets
  • Implementing OpenSkies is ideal, but difficult to implement
  • MH needs to focus on types of aircraft, and P2P – high yielding
  • There are lots of opportunities following a Blue Ocean strategy
  • Go for different markets and not go for bloodbath – different markets, increase the pie for both
• Business opportunities for growth
  • TK: Focus on transit, in addition to P2P: TK – Timing is key, when it comes to finalizing strategies – 10Mn P2P,
  • TK: Last 3 years, 3X the pax, 4X the cargo (!!!), a lot of it thanks to the alliance and increased brand awareness
  • MH: Focus on codesharing – eg with OmanAir for domestic M’sia, MH+TK for eastern EU/Germany – hence pick and choose your partners
  • OmanAir – when you think of p’ships, think about 10-15 yrs, not 2-3 years. Plans must be in-sync
  • If EK flies 3X daily to KL, 60% of pax connect on to other cities on MH – so that helps too

Feel Air rises in Scandinavia – following in the footsteps of AirAsia X

Another reason to think that things are getting better is when airlines start popping up around you. A new airline will soon be taking flight in Norway – FEEL Air, duplicating the low-cost, long-haul model AirAsia X is starting to prove works. Kai Holmberg, the CEO, introduced his airline to the audience.

• Market opportunity – Scandinavia is one of the most underserved, given how much they travel -
• Every Scandinavian travels 4X/yr, EU = 1.5X/yr, Global average = 0.4X/yr
• Low cost long haul is sustainable
• Top 10 LCC carriers made a collective $1bn profit last year, while the industry overall lost $9bn
• LCC model is embraced in Scandinavia, hence driving awareness won’t be a problem
• First routes: Norway-NYC, Norway-Miami, Norway-Bangkok
• Launching in Feb 2011

AirAsia X going strong, and independent

Azran from AirAsia X shared the stage with Kai and shared some of his statistics, which startled the audience.

• Low Cost Long Haul = creating new markets. It’s not about sharing traffic, but stimulating demand
• Cost structure = 2.8cents vs 7.3cents operating cost per ASK. 2.5 liters per seat per 100km flown, vs 5.0 in legacy like Cathay Pacific. Over 50% cost difference
• Malaysia was one of only 1 of 6 countries that recorded +ve growth. , and average spend per tourist also grew!
• AirAsia X’s primary customers – families with little kids and retirees, not just backpackers
• 1/3 of the average business class fare, for the flat-bed seats (which I will be flying from London-Melbourne)
• KL-LON = 90 tons of fuel for AirAsia X vs 160 tons of fuel for 747 of Malaysia Airlines
• AirAsia X no longer part of AirAsia group, and gearing for IPO in 2011.

Hope you now see why I have a positive feeling about the industry. What are your thoughts? Let’s discuss in comments, and over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

• Turkish Airlines – The atypical Middle Eastern airline brand. CEO Dr Temel Kotil outlines global dreams in interview
• Five Reasons for low cost airlines to take loyalty seriously
• How AirAsia is rocking it in India, and how airlines in India can leverage their entry
• AirAsia X: a brand with a huge potential, but remember, “you’re only buying the flying”
• Why Air Asia’s “budget alliance” with Qantas and Jetstar is a stroke of genius – Live on CNBC Asia with Martin Soong

While we can expect the likes of Air Canada and Lufthansa to seek more protection from their respective governments, the order is likely to dramatically change the airline environment in the Middle East itself. Specifically, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways – both of which have been closely following the Emirates model – that of connecting any two cities in the world in one stop – will be forced to think about how to compete with a bigger, much bigger, Emirates. Here’s what I foresee happening within a couple of years.

Etihad Airways – if you can’t beat them, join them

I’ve dismissed an immediate merger of Emirates and Etihad previously on this blog, though it cannot be ruled out in the medium term.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ CEO has promised the Abu Dhabi government that the airline will be profitable by 2011. Given that Etihad lost $1.2 billion last year, it looks difficult to achieve, with all the competition the airline faces. If he doesn’t keep his word, then his Arab employers may be forced to seek a replacement. And this new CEO would have a tough job at hand – either beat Emirates, or join forces with them.

In the long term, it actually makes sense to combine two mega-hubs that are a couple of hours drive away and leverage upon each other’s strengths, rather than scavenge for passengers. Moreover, the Dubai World Center (DWC) airport that opens this month is perfectly located halfway between the two emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Most importantly, it will be better for the country of UAE as a whole, to have one strong airline, than one very strong and one potentially weak airline. Just like an AirFrance-KLM is better for France and Holland.

Ultimately though, the final call will be that of the rulers’ of the two neighboring states, and they might surprise us all.

Qatar Airways – can’t join them? Join others

What happens to Qatar Airways’ business plan even if Etihad doesn’t merge with Emirates? They certainly can’t just keep on expanding at the rate Etihad is expanding, or grow to the size of Emirates. What’s the next best option – join an alliance.

Though the three super-connectors have resisted alliance talk till recently, it will be in Qatar Airways’ benefit to join one of the three global alliances. The CEO has already expressed that he’s not averse to being approached by Star Alliance. Moreover, they already have code shares with United, US Aiwarys and ANA. Joining an alliance would help counter the massive scale of Emirates, at least for some time.

Something else that would help Qatar Airways is if they clearly differentiate their business strategy from Etihad and Emirates. They’re already showing signs of this by expressing interest in buying Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft (watch video tour), which would offer them a very efficient short-haul capabilities.

There are lots more ways the competitive environment would change in the Middle East thanks to Emirates, and this is how I see them affecting their closest competitors – Etihad and Qatar. What do you think? Let’s discuss in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

• What does 2010 have in store for Middle East airline brands like Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and others?
• Will the Dubai crises lead to a mega Emirates + Etihad airline brand?
• Etihad Airways charging a second bag fee? Bad idea for a brand trying to establish itself
• How airlines in the Middle East are enhancing brand value through their frequent flyer programs
• Etihad Airways video trip report – Business Class: Athens to Delhi, via Abu Dhabi