SimpliFlying is back with the Monthly Twitter Report (in partnership with Eezeer) for July 2011 in continuation with our coverage and analysis of the dynamic social media landscape for airlines.

A number of facts are immediately clear from this report:

1. Airlines are using Twitter more than ever before. The number of tweets increased by 51% from March 2011 to July 2011.
2. However, most of the tweets are being sent out by a small number of the airlines on Twitter. To be precise, 30 airlines account for 84% of the tweets, which is up from 26 providing 80% of the tweets in the May report.
3. Delta Air Lines still sends and receives the most number of tweets, which has been the trend since the first report. However, while the response rate to public tweets may seem like a paltry 20% of the tweets, we’ve confirmation from Delta Air Lines that when we include Direct Messages, the airline responds to over 50% of the messages!
4. Over a hundred airlines still don’t seem to have a strategy for Twitter, as only 82 out of the 191 airlines tweet actively
5. In South America, TAM Brazil is the most followed airline, with over 225,000 people following the airline’s tweets.

For more insights, check out the infographic and let us know what you thought about it. Is there something you agree with? Disagree? Are there any figures that you’d like to see in next month’s infographic? Tweet us @simpliflying and let us know. You can also view our previous Monthly Reports for June ’11 here and May ’11 here.

The airlines on Twitter report is produced by eezeerdatalab in association with SimpliFlying.

• Airlines on Twitter Monthly Report for August 2011: Cebu Pacific joins the big league and scores high!
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• Eezeer and SimpliFlying launch airline monthly twitter report – Delta leads Twitter use, and customer service is in!
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1. Airlines are using Twitter more than ever before. The number of tweets increased by 39% from March 2011 to June 2011. That’s a rather impressive jump!
2. However, most of the tweets are being sent out by a small number of the airlines on Twitter. To be precise, 26 airlines account for 80% of the tweets.
3. Delta Airlines is the breakaway champion in terms of receiving tweets addressed to them. They received almost twice as many tweets as the airline with the second-highest inbound tweets.
4. Airlines are listening to travellers more than ever. They follow almost 600,000 people on Twitter as compared to the nearly 7 million people following airline Twitter accounts.
5. Airlines receive almost 6x as many tweets as they send out. Why do you think is there such a disparity? Are airline having difficulty managing their resources or do most inbound tweets not merit a response (eg irrelevant rants, indirect conversations etc)?

For more insights, check out the infographic below and let us know what you thought about it. Is there something you agree with? Disagree? Are there any figures that you’d like to see in next month’s infographic? Tweet us @simpliflying and let us know. You can also view our previous Monthly Reports for April ’11 here and May ’11 here.

• Airlines on Twitter Monthly Report for July 2011 reveals that more airlines have Twitter accounts than loyalty programs
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• Airlines on Twitter Monthly Report for August 2011: Cebu Pacific joins the big league and scores high!
• Airlines on Twitter Monthly Report for November 2011: increasing engagement but 30 airlines produce over 80% of tweets
• Eezeer and SimpliFlying launch airline monthly twitter report – Delta leads Twitter use, and customer service is in!

While the soldiers would have been re-imbursed the amount, the charges obviously upset them and they posted a video on Youtube shot in-flight, which hit 200,000 views in a few hours. The issue was covered on mainstream media, and received an angry emotional outburst from thousands over Twitter and community forums.
In the end, Delta Airlines relented by posting on their blog that the charges will be refunded and policy changed. They still kept getting angry comments on their blog.

So we’ve now done an independent analysis of the situation, mentioning the key facts, analyzing the tweets (using a cool sentiment analysis tool). We also assessed Delta’s response to the crises management framework we released after the ashcloud last year. And we’ve shared it all in the slide deck below for your benefit.

• Airline Baggage Fees : The Airline Industry’s Financial Salvation?
• Crises Management for airlines and airports in the age of social media- Presentation from ACI Europe
• Angry Birds to fly Finnair from Helsinki to Singapore – innovative route launch marketing!
• Must-have elements for your airline’s or airport’s social media policy
• Delta Assist brings airline customer service to Facebook

I answered these questions and more during my Live interview with CNBC’s Worldwide Exchange today. I’m sharing the 5 min interview video below and would love to hear your thoughts on my take. (Click here if you cannot view the video)

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• Mexicana must understand that traditional rules of airline branding do not work any longer
• Presentation on airlines and social media from FTMA & Freddies 2009, now available
• Delta airlines excess baggage policy for US soldiers. Did they do a good job managing the crisis?

Reading through my airline branding lense I could tell the confusion the event was causing among travelers, especially in this peak travel season. And this went through the roof when FAA/TSA came up with knee-jerk measures to beef-up security on US-bound flights.

It’s difficult for most passengers to distinguish whether the inconvenience they’re being put through is something the airline has initiated or is it something beyond their control. These are what I called Brand eXternalities in my 6X model – where the customer has the tendency of forming an impression about the brand, even when the events are beyond the airline’s jurisdiction. At this time, the airline needs to ensure that it nullifies any adverse impact on the brand. Here’s how.

Prepare for the confusion – It will arise, even for Finnair!

I was browsing through Airliners.net the day after the incident and chanced upon an interesting comment. Take a look:

When Finnaviation shared what FAA sent to Finnair, someone else thought that it was Finnair that was coming up with these measures and condemned the airline. This sort of confusion is very common – especially since the traveler is already anxious.

Airlines should be prepared for such happenings even if they’ve not been directly related to the incident. In this case, Finnair passengers flying to the US are just as much affected as those traveling on China Southern from Singapore to Los Angeles via Shanghai. The least the airline can do is to provide clarification.

Clarify, Clarify, Clarify

Following the news of the Northwest incident, KLM’s UK Twitter account was repeatedly calming nerves and clarifying that even though the Northwest flight was code-shared with KLM, it wasn’t a KLM plane that was involved in the incident.

When Delta, KLM, AirFrance and Northwest are all somehow involved, it is bound to cause confusion. And instead of just issuing press releases, it makes a lot of sense for airlines to update the customers through a medium they use!

KLM’s Twitter account is a great example. Similarly, such updates could have been sent out as an SMS to frequent fliers on the Amsterdam-Detroit route. If the airline has a Facebook page or YouTube presence, then similar messages can be released there too. The point is the ensure that there is as little confusion as possible, and the airline brand will not suffer as dramatically.

Don’t just impose – explain measures too

Recently, my Twitter friend Oussama Salah traveled to Detriot and was picked out for a thorough search, once again.  This is what Oussama shared in a recent blog post:

The TSA agent explained to that it was the airline that imposed this procedure on him, and in London, the security agent even joked about it. Similarly, the airline can also explain that some of the stringent security measures are beyond their control. And it’s not so difficult to do!

When I was once flying Singapore Airlines, I was requested not to use my headphones while landing because if there’s an emergency, I wouldn’t be able to hear the instructions. I could reason with that explanation and cooperated willingly. This is different from imposing orders on to passengers. Which brings me on to my last point.

Don’t lose the human in you

As opposed to being professional and aloof, the airline staff can also be trained to deal with passengers with warmth. What that means is to have a conversation, and treat the customer humanly, both in-person and through the media. For example, online, it is not just about just broadcast a message and issuing a press release. It is important to listen to customers’ concerns, and then respond.

After the Northwest incident, there were lots of myths flying around the media – security in Europe is lax, why was the person allowed on-board, why couldn’t the security system detect the explosive, and many others. And it wasn’t an airline, but a good friend of mine, Steve Frishling who came up with an article that aimed to distinguish the myths from the facts. This is an article that should be placed prominently on the websites of Delta Airlines, Northwest Airlines and KLM-AirFrance, since they all had an active flight number relating to the incident. And it addresses the concerns of a lot of their passengers.

These are just some of the steps airlines can take to ensure that externalities like heightened security measures do not deteriorate the brand itself. What else do you think an airline can do in times like these to calm nerves? Have you had an experience where an airline dealt with this brilliantly? Please do share with us in the comments and on Twitter.

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Singapore Airlines – there’s a reason why they are the best

As I boarded the A380, the first words in my head were, “Recession? What recession?!” It was a full-load double-decker aircraft from Singapore to London I was getting on, with more than 450 passengers on-board. Yet, I was personally led to my seat by an Singapore Girl. My coat was neatly hung in the cabinet, and she helped me with my hand-luggage too. The in-flight service was impeccable as ever, and the quite, new aircraft was like an icing on the cake.

Just a day earlier, my colleague had flown on an earlier flight to London, but presented the wrong passport at check-in. The staff still managed to check him in, using another ID for verification, while his brother rushed to the airport to deliver the passport. The gate closes 10 mins before departure for Singapore Airlines flights and the passport finally arrived 12 mins prior. The Singapore Airlines ground-staff had a buggy ready and my colleague was rushed across the terminal to make his flight. He was the last to board. A scene right out of a thriller isn’t it? Well, if it wasn’t for Singapore Airlines, it could have been worse.

This is why Singapore Airlines is the best – impeccable and consistent brand execution. Be it dealing with a full load A380 or dealing with unforeseen circumstances – the customer always feels like a VIP. And that’s why they have my loyalty, even though I have to pay a little more.

Virgin Atlantic – Still red-hot

Remember the recent 25th anniversary Virgin Atlantic advertisements? They proclaimed to be “Still Red Hot”. I couldn’t agree more. This was the my first time with Virgin Atlantic and I must say it’s one of the best flights on the B747 I’ve had. It wasn’t just the product – the spacious feel you get as you enter through Upper Class and see the bar at the entrance – to the headrests and IFE in the Economy cabin. Even though it’s been some time since the new product was introduced, it’s still fresh. Ironically, better than some of the “new” 747 cabins I’ve been on!

What makes Virgin Atlantic stand out though is the software – the service. The flight attendants are perky, love to joke around and have fun with the passengers. I had some very interesting conversations with them. Oh, and you see cheekiness (and Richard Branson) everywhere. Be it in the safety “cartoon” video or on the socks cover. Virgin Atlantic makes a conscious effort to stand out, and it adds an X-factor to the brand that is difficult to duplicate. Very different from Singapore Airlines, just as successful.

Delta Airlines -  just being the world’s largest doesn’t help

Delta Airlines use “we’re the world’s largest airline” in a lot of their brand messaging. However, I frankly feel that’s not a strong point of distinction, simply because tomorrow United Airlines may buy US Airways and a couple more to become the world’s largest. Moreover, being the world’s largest can result in inconveniences too, if things are not handled well.

As someone who travels a lot, unforeseen circumstances inevitably happen. When I landed in the US, there was a very long queue at Immigration, so it took me a couple of hours to come out to collect my bags. My Delta flight to Atlanta was at 7.10pm, and I reached the check-in desk at 6.11pm. But the agent wasn’t able to tag my bags, since the “system” shuts down an hour before the flight. Mind you, we-the-people could still be checked in, but our bags couldn’t be tagged. Fair enough, not their fault.

I requested the agent to put me and my colleague on the next flight, which was the next morning – an agonizing 11 hour overnight transit at JFK is something I don’t fancy much. But here’s where things got interesting. The lady refused to give us a confirmed seat on that flight even though it wasn’t full. Not keen on arguing, I just took the re-validated tickets and went over to another Delta agent. Surprise! Surprise! We got our confirmed seats. Exit row too.

The flight itself was comfortable, equipped with wi-fi and had a very interesting in-flight magazine. But coming back to my original point – being the world’s largest is of no use if the staff do not go all the way to help the customer. If the second agent could help me with a confirmed seat, I wonder why the first one couldn’t. And this makes me wonder if I’d have missed my original flight in the first place, if I had gone to the second agent….

As I’ve mentioned in my keynotes before, an airline brand is what it does, not what it says it does. Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic execute well. Delta does it better than most American carriers, but there’s some distance to go.

So, what do you think? Isn’t brand execution and delivery very important? Then why do some airlines ignore it? Let’s discuss in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

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• Why Virgin Atlantic Airways is not “on the brink of collapse”

1. Legacy airline brands come with legacy baggage

Unions, legacy systems, government bureaucracy, old planes, old workforce, high costs, bankruptcy… these are all words that can be easily associated with Air India, Alitalia, Japan Airlines, Air Canada and many more legacy airlines. And these are all aspects that do not allow these airlines to function efficiently in the current climate.

The airline industry has evolved drastically in the past decade. With each new shock (9/11, SARS, H1N1…) we see new stars emerging, which have streamlined costs, efficient operations and specifically targeted markets they go after. And they beat the hell out of monolithic airlines that legacy carriers have become. Just read CAPA’s report on Japan Airlines vs Air Arabia to get a glimpse into what I’m talking about.

2. Legacy airline brands are not agile enough

Like an elephant trying to shake off bees attacking it, legacy airlines look clumsy trying to shake off what they call threats – low cost carriers, low premium demand, fluctuating oil prices, consumers’ reactions on social media etc. In fact, these should be looked upon as opportunties. Let’s look at airlines’ approach to social media, for example.

United Airlines is still struggling with responding to “new media” sensations like Dave Carroll’s “United Breaks Guitars”, as Southwest Airlines interacts with its fans on Facebook and JetBlue helps over a million of its customers on Twitter.

Singapore Airlines is still not on social media, just as AirAsia is making merry in its backyard. And there’s no point arguing about different market segments. I’ve flown AirAsia this summer with folks in a suit with a laptop, mostly heading to Kuala Lumpur in the morning and returning to Singapore in the evening. No wonder the 777s Singapore Airlines fly on this route are flying half-full.

A lack of agility among legacy airlines results in lost opportunities. And this is proving deadly.

3. Legacy airline brands are “stuck on stupid”

At the aviation summit in Sydney, the CEO of AirAsia X caused a bit of murmur in the audience with his opening slide entitled, “Bastardising the Low Cost Model”. You want to know why? Because most airline executives are “stuck on stupid” (a term coined by Seth Godin in Tribes). They want to carry on the practices of yester-years in today’s changed environment. And that makes them look stupid. Nothing against them personally, but why can’t airlines have multiple business models? In fact, it’s the airlines which are questioning the traditional legacy model, or even the traditional LCC model, who stand to succeed. The rest will perish.

Who to look out for?

Who’s doing it right? In my opinion, airline brands to look out for are Lufthansa (and family), Qantas & JetStar, LAN Airlines (kings of Latin America), Southwest (which continues to innovate) and AirAsiaX. Airlines that have great potential, but need to wake up and smell the coffee to lead in the future too – Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways and Delta Airlines.

So, what do you think? Is there a future for legacy airlines? What do airlines need to do to serve the customers better, and turn a profit consistently? Let’s discuss in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

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