[Infographic] The first-ever insights into how airlines are using Google Plus

Marco Serusi — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:45:42 +0000

The new kid on the social block

In the world of social media Google Plus is currently the youngest and least understood (albeit, fast rising in popularity) kid on the block. Over its relatively short life it has earned its fair share of both lovers and haters, generating an interesting debate on what it will become when it grows up, and whether it is worth investing in it.

When Google Plus was finally opened to businesses with the launch of its business pages there was a rush from companies all over the world to get a G+ page, but as our CEO Shashank Nigam warned in an article about the potential pitfalls for airlines using Google Plus, few of these companies seemed to have a clear idea of what to do with this new platform.

Let’s get some hard data

To get some clarity and hard data SimpliFlying did what it does best: walk the talk! We got ourselves a brand page on Google Plus and sent one of our team-members on a data-finding mission. While signs of progress on this particular social network is admittedly slow, after a week of relentless searching, we have come up with the first ever snapshot of the airline industry on Google Plus.

The main finding were:

There are now 70 airlines with brand pages on G+.
The vast majority of the pages are in English – about 78.5%. But on average, pages in Spanish are “liked” more often.
The airline with the highest number of “likes” (known as “+1″s) was Mexican low cost carrier Volaris with almost 3000, double that of the second most popular page.
The most common type of content on G+ pages is brand-related.

If you are an airline executive eager to know more, please do contact us and we’ll offer you a customized consulting or training solution to suit your needs.

Download a larger version of this infographic here.

What are your thoughts about how airlines should use Google Plus? Where do you see Google Plus headed? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @simpliflying. Or, better still, join us on Google Plus.

Happy Crew = Happy Passengers = Great Brand!

Shashank Nigam — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:42:31 +0000

With airline mergers and takeovers happening around the world, and now looming in the US too, one of the biggest â€œobstaclesâ€ encountered by airlines is airline staff unions. I beg to differ.

Here are a couple of the latest news about crew unhappiness in the last few days:

Air France Agrees to Buy Alitalia for $1.2 Billion (but faces union troubles), March 17, 08 – Bloomberg
British Airways Pilots Protest Plan to Start New Airline, March 15, 08 – Bloomberg
Pilots have much to lose during mergers, March 9, 08 – USA Today

Internal branding as a strategic corporate communications tool

Airlines should ensure that they take good care of their employees in case of a merger, and not construe it as an obstacle. Having them in the fold and ensuring their happiness would help ensure that the passengers receive a superior brand experience. Some branding experts refer to this as internal branding, other claim this is integrated branding. Regardless of the terminology, it is an established fact that if the working conditions are good, the crew is happy, and that rubs off onto the passengers so that they too are happy.

The fact of life is if you treat a human with dignity and respect, most people will go an extra mile for you. JetBlue in the US, Virgin Atlantic in Europe and AirAsia are prime examples of airlines that are known to take good care of their staff, who in turn go the extra mile in keeping the brand Xperience top-notch.

So, how to keep the crew happy in a merger?

Consolidation in the airline industry seems inevitable, with costs shooting through the roof. Airlines till now have not come up with a good model to integrate seniority-based crew roles upon a merger. Most airlines let separate crew operate on their original routes, under separate unions – as that keeps them happy due to lack of disruption. However, a better way to do this may be to involve crews from both airlines in the merger talks right from the beginning, so that their concerns are addressed too. This way, costs can be cut effectively (the aim of the merger) and a majority of the crew will be happy, in turn ensuring happy customers.

Ponder that!