Airlines are in a unique and somewhat enviable sector when it comes to social media. They all fly to exotic destinations, are able to sponsor the biggest events, use amazing machinery, have huge amounts of glamour and produce reams of interesting facts. The sector is literally bursting with potential for engaging Facebook posts.

According to Unmetric’s data (based on secret sauce technology and kept as confidential as Coca Cola’s recipe), the average engagement score for the airlines sector is 33. Interestingly, European airlines tend to be well ahead of their American competitors when it comes to engaging their customers. However, if there is one unifying factor for all the airlines, it is that above everything else, photo posts are the driving force behind getting fans to “SimpliEngage” with a brand.

We have selected 10 worldwide airlines for this short article, but our research shows that the results are the same across the sector: if you want engagement, post photos. Below you will find a screenshot of the average engagement scores for the 10 airlines based on posts in the last 30 days.

If we take a quick peek at Virgin America’s Facebook page you’ll notice a dearth of specific photo posts. Infact, even though Virgin America are the most prolific airline when it comes to posting with 79 admin posts in the last 30 days, only 9 were photos. Most tellingly, the photos they have posted result in engagement way above average.

Air New Zealand and Air France take a less is more approach to posting on Facebook with just 9 and 10 posts respectively in the last 30 days. However, in a clear case of quality over quantity they had amongst the highest engagement scores for the whole airline in the last 30 days. Air France has a very clear content strategy: 70% of their posts were photos and post equally between current events and brand related content.

The chart below illustrates just how stark the difference is between the average engagement score and the engagement score when the airline posts a photo. Airlines are seeing 500% or more increases in engagement scores when they post interesting photos.

Clearly, Virgin America and others should consider posting more photos if they want to drive up their engagement scores. Lufthansa is already posting plenty of photos but not all of them are striking a chord – something for their social media team to look at perhaps!

Find out more about how Unmetric can help your airline benchmark its social media prowess here. Or drop us a line directly at unmetric@simpliflying.com. Among Unmetric’s list of illustrious clients are are Citibank, Nestle and AirTel. Look out for even more exciting stuff from our collaboration with Unmetric in the days to come.

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The benefits of crowdsourcing, and its effectiveness for problem solving, are well-known. The power of the social web is being harnessed by airlines more than ever (in fact, a cargo-carrier has recently got into the game as well). Crowdsourcing initiatives are now being used not  just to engage customers but also to find ways to improve their product and services, as well as at the same time building their brands. Hence, “crowdbranding”.

With today’s Top 10 case-pack we would like to highlight some of the best examples of airline crowdsourcing. At the same time, we also invite our readers to have a look beyond the surface and into the deeper strategic goals that drive each of these strategies. In some cases it will be clear that the end game was indeed solving a problem or finding an innovative way of addressing existing issues, but in others it will also be clear that the stated goal of the crowdsourcing campaign wasn’t the only goal.

Most of the airline examples included in this Top 10 used crowdsourcing to solve problems related to visible parts of their product such as in-flight meals or routes, and did so in very “socially active” ways, using their social media pages and often creating dedicated websites where participants could interact.

Looking deeper into the reasons that drove these airlines to choose crowdsourcing, we found that the most common goals were:

1. Solving a particular problem
2. Reducing costs
3. Associating their brands with a specific concept (for example: quality or low prices)
4. Obtaining first hand-data from their community of users
5. Promoting a new feature/product/route

With this teaser, we’ll leave you to discover how some of the best airlines in the world harnessed the power of the web in the most tantalizing and innovative ways possible.

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Here are nine airlines doing it right. Quite inspiring actually!

View more presentations from SimpliFlying.

So, what do you think about these airlines’ efforts? Serious social business, or hot air? Do you know other examples? Let’s discuss in comments, and over on Twitter

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What Air France did well in the aftermath of the crash?

Though there are lots of people affected in the aftermath of an airplane crash, from the plane manufacturer to the air traffic controllers, priority must be given to the relatives of those lost in the accident. Air France as done a pretty decent job of this, despite not knowing where the plane was and the cause of the crash.

1. Up-to date information was provided directly to the relatives, through dedicated phone lines, in French, Portugese and through international numbers. The media were advised not to call this number.
2. AirFrance.com was changed to a graphic-less look to mourn for the crash, and instead of seeing a normal booking engine, visitors saw links to getting more information about the crash.
3. Air France showed its empathetic side. About 100 professionally trained doctors and psychologists were made available to the relatives of those on the flight – over the phone, in France and in Rio. I’m sure this soothed some nerves and provided some comfort to the grieving.
   
4. These measures demonstrated that the Air France was well-prepared for such an eventuality, and wasn’t acting in a unprofessional manner. In fact, the pschologists and doctors are part of a team of 4,000 volunteers trained to help in crises situations!

What could Air France have done (and other airlines can do)?

There are two more things I feel Air France could have done to augment the rest of its efforts.

1. Use Twitter! I heard about the crash first on Twitter. I’m sure many others did as well. It’s a well-recognized medium of information transmission these days. Alaska Air recently updated its passengers of the disruptions caused by the volcanic eruptions recently using the tool. And given its real-time and viral nature, I’m sure releasing the latest information on Twitter would add wings to any airline’s efforts.
2. Add a personality to the brand – don’t be faceless. Taking a leaf out of Rohit Bhargava’s book, in difficult times, people want to hear from and be comforted by a person, not a company. Many large corporations today tend to be faceless, and adding a dash of personality to the brand can go a long way. What do I mean?Richard Branson is the personality of Virgin, Tony Fernandes is the face of AirAsia and The Singapore Girl represents Singapore Airlines. And people relate to these “personalities” much more than they can to an airline. And that can come to the airline’s rescue in tough times.

What do you think? Though it’s a sad incident, how many marks would you give Air France for dealing with the situation professionally? Have they left much to be desired? Let’s discuss.

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Everyday hundreds of thousands of travellers take to the internet to search for the lowest airfare for their travels. Eventually many of these travellers with find themselves at the website of a Low-Cost-Carrier (LCC) lured in by the promise of cheap fares…but really what the cost of flying with an LCC?

Irish carrier Ryanair is one of the most notable LCC’s in the world, with a network that operates from a staggering 32 ‘Hub’ airports. Ryanair is known for charging for everything…what exactly is ‘everything?’ well how about they charge you to check in for your flights…either online or at the airport…rates vary.

How do the rates vary? Well if you check in online, and you booked your ticket online your check in fee is €5 (US$6.75), but if you check in online but you booked your ticket via the telephone your check in fee is €10(US$13.50).

Can’t check in online? Well then if you booked your check-in online your fee is €10 (US$13.50), you didn’t book online your only the hood for €40 (US$54.25).

…oh yea, one last thing, these fees are EACH WAY!

You want to actually pay for your ticket? Ryanair requires a €5 fee for payment handling, per one-way flight, so round trip, no connections, you need to pay them €10 to process your payment.

Need to fly with one checked bag? €10each way if you book the baggage online and €20 if you pay at the airport. Sure everyone has baggage fees these days, however Ryanair is incredible strict with carry-on weight and does not allow ANYTHING to be external of the bag. Have a camera on your shoulder? Not allowed. Have a newspaper under your arm? Not allowed. Everything must be in the bag and under 10kg (22lbs). Should you not comply with the cabin baggage conditions, Ryanair reserves the right to cancel your reservations without refund and deny your boarding to the flight.

…so go ahead and purchase the checked baggage option.

So let’s see what Ryanair’s €2.99 & €4.99 each way fare actually costs for flyers travelling from Shannon, Ireland (SNN) to Paris, France (BVA), departing on the 22nd of May returning on the 25th of May.

22-May-2009
Flight FR132
Departing SNN: 2:40pm
Arriving BVA: 5:20pm
Fare €4.99
Taxes/Fees €22.79
TOTAL: €27.78

25-May-2009
Flight FR133
Departing BVA: 1:25pm
Arriving SNN: 2:05pm
Fare €2.99
Taxes/Fees €23.12
TOTAL: €26.11

TOTAL AIRFARE: €53.89

Check-In Online + 1 checked bag: €30.00
Receive Booking Confirmation : €1.00

Total Payment Amount EXCLUDING HANDLING FEE: €84.89
Total Payment Amount INCLUDING HANDLING FEE: €94.89

Check in-online for departure, check in at airport for return (because you have a printer at home to check-in, and on the road you stayed at small hotel with no access to a printer): €45

TOTAL AMOUNT PAID FOR €7.98 airfare? : €139.89

Also keep in mind that Paris-Beauvais (BVA) is 88km (55miles) from Paris, where as Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) is 25km (15miles) from Paris. Transportation from BVA to Paris requires a €13 (cash only) bus ride connecting to the train (RER), each way. A bus from CDG to Paris is €15 each way, dropping you at the Arch de Triumph. Alternately you can take the train (RER) from CDG to the center of Paris for €8 each way (my preferred option). So while BVA may seem cheaper up front, the convenience and cost of getting from BVA to Paris is more costly as well, especially when Ryanair suggests you arrive at BVA 3.5hrs ahead of your flight!

At what cost does one fly Ryanair? Well let’s compare an Air France flight
22-May-2009
Flight AF 5083
Depart SNN 2:50pm
Arrive CDG 6:00pm

25-May-2009
Flight AF 5080
Depart: CDG 11:10am
Arrive: SNN 12:15pm
TOTAL FARE (including all taxes & fees): €147.20

Lets break this down
Ryanair: Can of soda: €3.00
Air France: Can of soda: Free

Ryanair: Virtually no customer service presence at SNN or BVA to assist passengers
Air France: Staff at both airports to assist passengers

Ryanair: No window shades
Air France: Window shades to block the sunlight

Ryanair: Cabin crew hawking anything they can sell
Air France: The cabin crew won’t bother you at all

Ryanair: No seat recline
Air France: Seat reclines for your comfort (but not the person behind you)

Ryanair: One flight per day between SNN-BVA
Air France: Two flights per day between SNN-CDG & access to code share flights if problems arise.

Ryanair: Long multi-stop transit from 88km outside Paris
Air France: Easy simple transit from 25km outside Paris

So, overall looking at the break down of Ryanair as a “Low Cost Carrier” vs Air France which is an established “Network Carrier” what is more time and cost effective?

I know €2.99 & €4.99 sound like fantastic fares, but before booking with a Low Cost Carrier look at all the potential fees and hassles associated with fly them. Some LCCs are great, offer transparent fares and have fantastic service (Southwest Airlines in the US and Jet2 in the UK come to mind) others offer less than stellar service and fees that can significantly drive fees through the roof.

The choice is yours.

Happy Flying!

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But it’s important for airlines to differentiate their efforts so that they’re not creating yet another Dopplr (which I think is a great community for travelers). So, what are some of the things that airlines can do to ensure that their online forays help enhance the brand overall?

How to “control” the brand online?

Don’t even try! Since it’s the world of user generated content, user opinions often matter more than what the “corporate speak” is. As Michael D’Esopo from Lippincott shared in his interview, there is a need to allow free discourse to take place online. The airline should really just act as a moderator. This way, they will also discover and learn more about their customers’ changing tastes in these economic times.

The other dilemma airlines face is how tightly to couple the online community with the brand. I think there are two ways of doing this. If a community is being built around a specific airline, like Virgin Atlantic’s initiative, it should clearly project the brand promise and align its efforts with its real brand. It’s like a brand extension, just online.

Though, if an airline is targeting the general traveler, I think it’s important to de-couple the brand from the airline, and offer a platform for online interactions between travelers for it to bloom. Furthermore, this forum can be a treasure trove of insights for market research in the future!

Integrate and interact, but do not interrupt

Traditional marketing has sought to interrupt a target customer to seek his attention, for example through an advertisement during a TV show. But new technologies allow companies to interact with their customers without interrupting their lifestyle. Social networks are the “in-thing” at the moment, but it’s important for airlines to go where their target market is, rather than expecting them to come to them.

As Allen Adamson [watch interview] states in his book BrandDigital, it’s important to “identify where people are hanging out and what they’re doing”. A great example of this is Virgin Atlantic’s Facebook page, which has over 7000 “fans” and allows the airline to interact with its potential youth customers in a way they are comfortable with. Similarly, social networks like Bluenity and GenFly Lounge will do well by offering good integration with leading networks like Facebook and MySpace, as well as LinkedIn (and it’s not that difficult!). This way, the barrier to “sign-up” can be significantly reduced and usage is likely to increase too.

To sell or not to sell? Have a measure for ROI

Often, a return on investment (ROI) from marketing efforts is linked to revenues generated from those initiatives. But having an online social network for travelers from “all airlines” and then trying to sell them tickets on your own airline doesn’t sound right. Hence, it’s important to have a measure of success of the online initiative, other than just the revenue it brings in.

For example, I’m sure in addition to sale of special recommended fares on Virgin Atlantic, the creators of the page also probably had a target of 5000 “fans” in 2 months. Bluenity probably measures success monitoring the amount of “buzz” created by people sharing travel tips and connecting with other travelers. Such “ROI” measures are also likely to help sell the project internally in the airline.

What do you think? What are some of the other things airlines should consider when building online communities? Which other airlines are doing a good job with this? Let’s hear it in the comments section.

Up next…an exclusive interview with VP of Sales & Marketing at Jet Airways USA. Remember to watch it on Wed, 19 Nov.

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Time for pilots to hang their boots

If you haven’t already heard, all pilots in France are going on strike yet again this weekend. It almost seems like a futile attempt at getting a long weekend for themselves. That means, all air travel in France will shut down from 14-17 November, since no planes take off – not just for Air France, but all French airlines.

Poor KLM

The sad part is that it’s not Air France’s doing, yet, it’s going to have a significant impact on a brand that already has been tainted due to its history of striking staff. Moreover, now that KLM is tied up with Air France, its brand will be negatively as well, even though all Royal Dutch pilots are operating as usual. The fact that flights will be canceled and passengers stranded means that they will form a bad impression of the airline, which is likely to last long.

So, now that the strike is a certainty, what can AirFrance-KLM do now, and how can they deal with this better in the future, to minimize impact on the brand?

Prevention is better than cure

In France, workers (of all kind) always seem to go on a strike to show their strength and then after some time, negotiations and “talks” begin. Interestingly, more often than not, a compromise agreement is reached by the end of talks.

How about this… why not try talking first, and possibly resolve the matter before striking? I’m sure that’s been tried sometimes, but why not exhaust all options before actually going on a strike, and talking and then resolving. As it is, air travelers these days are a frustrated lot. Prevention is better than cure, isn’t it? But still, the strike is happening. So what’s a good cure?

Preparedness ensures trust

Air France must be familiar with striking staff now – it seems like a regular affair at the airline. Showing to their customers that they are well prepared for this crises is what will create some trust. Knowing first-hand that customers will often be full of rage and asking for unreasonable compensations, Air France officials must deal with them with empathy and compassion. They should be patient and be a little accommodating. Simply, they can appear in control if they smile more, as Patrick Hanlon recommends.

I know, this is easier said than done, but in tough times, the preparedness of an airline must be clearly visible to the customers, in order to prevent a complete depletion of trust. A brand that stands by their customers in tough times commands their loyalty.

Resilience can re-build confidence

The most important factor for building confidence in a brand is the ability of a company to bounce back from a shock. Once the strike is over, Air France will need to ensure that its operations are back on track as quickly as possible, and affected passengers are compensated in some manner. Again, all the preparedness and advance planning will be visible for all to see and will speak volumes about the management.

It is difficult situations like these, which if handled well, can turn into hidden opportunity for airlines. But I’m still not sure how KLM can de-couple itself from it’s twin Air France’s problems, so that it’s own brand stays intact. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. Do you think this situation can be leveraged in some way by KLM? May be by sending its own reserve pilots over to Air France? Is that even possible? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments section…

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The glory of Pan-Am

The decline and demise of Pan-American World Airways in 1991 marked the end of an era in United States. Pan-Am was, for many decades, the de-facto flag carrier of the United States with an extensive international work. It was arguably the creation of American politics in the pre-deregulated industry before the early 1980s, as the airline flew international routes while other airlines were largely restricted to domestic routes.

For over three decades after the Second World War, Pan-Am held the stature as the leading international airline in terms of innovative products, as well as opulence in luxury travel, ushering in the jet age by launching the Boeing 707 in 1959, the iconic Boeing 747 in 1969 and record-breaking non-stops between New York and Tokyo, and Los Angeles and Sydney with the Boeing 747SP in 1976. Pan-Am also pioneered business travel with the launch of its clipper class, a market that was to become today’s lucrative business class. Pan-Am was a brand that Americans flew with pride – hardly a case with US based airlines today.

After more than two decades of deregulation, US legacy carriers are entrenched in their respective markets. Continental, US Airways and Delta have built a strong European network. American and Delta are strong players in Latin America while Northwest and United share the huge Asia-Pacific market. A merger between Northwest and Delta could see the emergence of a US international airline with a global network unseen since the days of Pan American at its height.

Can Northwelta re-capture Pan-Am’s brand excellence?

US airlines have ventured deep into the low-cost, low-price business model to stay afloat in the brutal competition in the deregulated US market. Such a model has inevitably crept into the international travel market, where winners of international accolades and awards such as those announced by Skytrax and the eminent Travel and Leisure magazine are usually barren of American airlines. Both the rankings did not feature a US airline in the top 10 this year.

On the bright side, the fact that Delta recently launched its New York-Mumbai flight with its brand new 777-200LR equipped with a new herringbone-styled Business Class is an encouraging sign indeed. Improving in-flight service and amenities would be a first step to build a strong brand affinity.

Learning from those who did it well, across the Atlantic

Successful mergers between KLM and Air France, Lufthansa and Swiss International may give indication of the possible benefits to be reaped by the Northwest-Delta merger. Lufthansa and Swiss, for example, cross sell their seats on their websites to provide customers with more travel options to choose from. Commonality in fleet management also provides an avenue to achieve cost efficiency. Air France and KLM have a highly similar international fleet of Boeing 747-400, 777; Airbus A330 and A340.

On the other hand, US airline leader American Airlines remains deep in the red with a US$1.4 billion loss in the second quarter of 2008 , which further emphasise the tough challenges ahead for the new industry leader.

Time to ponder…

What do you think? Can Delta-Northwest can emerge as a stronger airline and re-establish the position of American commercial aviation on the international stage?

Will we ever get back the glory days of Pan-Am for US aviation? Or will we forever have to pay for a packet of peanuts and to check-in our bags?

This is a special commentary written by guest contributor Hansen Yeong. Hansen’s father had worked for Singapore Airlines for more than 35 years and Hansen believes that he was born an aviation geek. He is an enthusiast in all forms of commercial aviation – from aircraft technicalities to airline management and marketing. Hansen is an Economics lecturer in Singapore and he enjoys writing. He is currently a contributor to SimpliFlying.com and working on his first novel.

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Full Service airlines with specific all-business routes: Verdict – Here for now

Legacy airlines are becoming more enamored with all-business-class service. Four European airlines — Lufthansa, Swiss, KLM and Air France— are offering some all-business-class flights to the USA. The flights are operated by PrivatAir, based in Geneva. Lufthansa runs an all-business flight to Pune, India and Dubai, UAE as well. ANA runs one between Tokyo and Mumbai, India. Singapore Airlines began it’s much awaited Newark-Singapore all-business service last month. Lastly, British Airways subsidiary OpenSkies plans to start New York-Paris flights with a Boeing 757 jet configured with more than 60% of the seats for business-class fliers, on June 19.

Why the big rush? As we all know, airlines make a bulk of their profits from the business class passengers – they pay for those at the back of the plane too. Some of these routes have been carefully studied and started only because there is ample business-class demand to fill a whole wide-body. For example, Singapore Airlines’ previous flights on the same route, with a two-class configuration, were almost always over-booked up-front, but there was generally room in the economy section. Hence, the decision to do away with economy class completely. It is a similar case with ANA’s and Lufthansa’s all-business flights to India – the demand resulted in the product.

But not all routes are conceived the same way. A number of cross-Atlantic routes were started in response to competition from all-business airlines, or other airlines. It is these routes that may have a problem surviving in the long term, because the competition is no longer there, as a result of lower demand.

In the air, and beyond

The economically viable solution may be to offer services inside the airport to minimize inconvenience to the delayed business traveler. That means better lounges, with wireless internet and plenty of desks, restaurants suitable for meetings, gym facilities, and showers and so on.

Business travelers can then feel confident that delays won’t waste their time. This should be relatively easy for airlines to deliver, especially as they could probably charge a lot for them: market segmentation and price differentiation are easier to do on the ground than in the air.

Hence, to survive in the long run, not only should all-business flights by full- service carriers be based on demand, but they should offer complementary on-the-ground services catering to the business traveler. In the end, it is customer need, and the resulting customer satisfaction which will drive this industry segment.

Ponder that!

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Links

1. Lufthansa launches all-business flights to India
2. Costs of flying – how airlines make money
3. ANA’s all-business flight to Mumbai

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