Sparsely populated

It’s a world populated by an endless number of small companies and a handful of large ones. In fact according to Eurocontrol in one of its main areas – European business aviation – over 85% of firms have less than 5 aircraft, and an alarming 39% have only one aircraft.

With these numbers, it is easy to understand why a handful of intermediaries (known as brokers) are able to dominate the market and eclipse the brands of the operators. For the, mostly corporate customers, it is easier to have a handful of familiar looking doors to knock on, rather than venturing out in search of an aircraft operator that could fulfil their needs.

A parallel universe: GDSs and the Airline industry

To make an easy to understand parallelism, it can be said that this world is similar to the one in which airlines lived until not so long ago, where they had to subscribe to a Global Distribution Systems (GDS) in order to sell their product to an end customer who did not have the means to reach the airline directly.

However, in the case of airlines, when the internet came along, they were able to reach their end customers at a relatively low cost, and their customers were more than happy to go online and get cheaper tickets. In the private air charter world this never happened.

Reverse auction

From the point of view of the aircraft’s operators the perverse mechanism of securing a charter flight looks a lot like a reverse auction, where the lowest bidder “wins” the right to operate the requested service. And while this was understandable in the Web 1.0 days because the aircraft operators did not have the means to attract a sufficient number of potential customers to their websites, in a social Web 2.0 context this is no longer true.

In an ever-connected social environment these small operators could easily get through to the end customers, bypassing the intermediaries, flaunting their brands to their customers, and not being seen as an undifferentiated product.

No Excuses

Some operators may say that they do not use social media simply because, even after removing the intermediaries, most of their transactions would still be B2B because the end clients are often corporates.

But wait a minute! While these operators might be from a different planet, their end customers are still organizations run by humans, and these humans are the ones who make decisions, the same ones who want to look good to their superiors by taking smart decisions and choosing a better product.

So why not simply use social media to connect with these fellow humans? Why not use social networks such as Linkedin to build professional relationships with these people? Why not discover a world that promises much more than the one you’re currently stuck in?

Do you agree that there’s potential in social media for private air charter? Disagree? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @simpliflying.

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Story 1, Los Angeles, early March 2010: Early last month, after a 22 hour flight from Singapore to Los Angeles, I was picked up by someone who works at Boeing, has a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering from Stanford, and an MBA from UC Irvine. In the six hours I had in LA, he introduced me to another very talented friend of his, who drove us to a vantage point from where we could see all of the LAX runways. We ended up spotting planes for over an hour.

Then we drove to the famous “In & Out” to spot more planes, before heading to a restaurant under the flight path of landing planes, for dinner. For a plane freak like me, this was like putting a kid in a candy store – all day long!

Story 2, Santiago de Chile, late March 2010: I had spent my first day in Santiago mostly sleeping in the hotel, as opposed to checking out the city. In the evening, I met with an airline industry veteran, who not only met me for dinner, but also for breakfast the next day, and we actually went hiking early in the morning to a hill nearby. All the while, sharing airline stores, start-up challenges and just learning about each others’ cultures.

Story 3, Kolkota, late December 2009: As my delayed train pulled in to the crowded Howrah railway station, this gentlemen who reminded me of a Harley Davidson fan, picked me up after waiting for over two hours, from 6am! For the rest of the day, he took me for a walking tour of the city I had never been to, then we tried local seafood with a Canadian lady, before more sightseeing. Finally he dropped me off at the airport after dinner!

So, what’s common about these stories? I met them on Twitter first.

All of the people mentioned above, I first “met” on Twitter, and these were the first meetings with them, in their respective cities. In Los Angeles, Zsolt Kiraly (@zkiraly) met me; in Santiago, it was Andro Lindsay (@androlindsay) who hiked with me, and in Kolkota, it was Sumit Roy (@univbrands).

To an outsider, these were strangers I was meeting. But due to our previous interaction on Twitter, followed by LinkedIn and emails, we already knew so much about one another that we could totally hit it off.

And these are just three of the many encounters I’ve had around the world. In Dubai, two techies came to see me off at the airport, and one showed me around the Emirates/FlyDubai HQ (@fahadosman). In Greece, one drove me up to Delphi, for a weekend, to check out the ancient city. In Melbourne, I almost got a balloon ride thanks to @falcon124 and in London, I was shown around by @StuartBarwood for a whole day! In Bangalore, Devesh (@blraviation) took me for the best kebabs I’ve ever had! And the list doesn’t stop there…

So what am I getting at?

Social media “we”b is about the real world, as much as it is about online relationships

If you think about it, almost all of our online interactions are rooted in the real-world. Personally, most of the over 1000 people I’m connected to on Facebook – I’ve met at least once in my life. And on Twitter, the over 4,000 followers I have today – I aim to meet at least once in my life.

I think Twitter, specifically, has allowed me to connect with like-minded people, with similar passions, who respect me for my ideas even before I’ve met them. And then when we meet, the interactions are at a different level altogether.

Just yesterday, I was hanging out in Toronto with Yash (@airceo) and learnt that we have very similar backgrounds – both have a tech education, and have a passion for aviation, and are born 15 days apart! Our conversations were so much richer due to our previous interactions on Twitter. I can’t imagine talking to someone like that at a cocktail party, especially the first time I meet him or her.

Twitter and other social media tools have helped me be inspired by people whom I’ve met over the last couple of years in my travel. And I probably wouldn’t have met them if it wasn’t for our online interactions, first.

So, keep the #FollowFriday tradition going!

For the unaware, every Friday, on Twitter, people recommend others whom they think their followers will benefit by following as well. It’s a simple way of expressing gratitude, as well as adding value to your followers. It’s through this practice a lot of people have followed me, and I’ve met them in the real world. And I cherish these relationships. So, let’s keep these going.

And thank you, to all those who’ve met me around the world (even those I missed above). And I look forward to meeting a lot more of you!

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Popular Location Based Services

If you’re unfamiliar with LBS, here are a few that are popular, including a couple of travel specific ones:

Foursquare - Foursquare is a location based game/application, where users “check-in” at places around the city.  They get points for check-ins, adding new locations, and extra points for multiple check-ins in one day.  Check-ins can be automatically shared on Twitter and Facebook.  They can also become “Mayor” of a location if they have been there the most out of all Foursquare users.  Friends have access to see where you are, and where you’ve been, which can facilitate social gatherings that might have not otherwise happened.

Some companies are starting to use this application to target users by location.  For example, something like this may pop up on your screen: “Since you’re right around the corner from CVS, stop by and get 10% off”.  It’s  a great way for companies to get a relevant message out.  In general, it’s also a great way to increase awareness… the  more people check-in to the location, the more other people see it. Other similar sites include GoWalla and MyTown.

TripIt - TripIt gives users a way to track their travel itineraries  — including hotels, airlines, and more — and share them with their friends.  The application allows you to check-in online, and share detail on social networking sites, such as LinkedIn.  Users also see a history of their activity and statistics about their travel.  You can also add a trip that you are planning, but you haven’t booked yet.

Dopplr - Dopplr is similar to TripIt, in that it allows you to share your travel plans with other people. You can also find travel tips and advice from other travelers.

Leverage LBS as an Airline or Airport

Encourage Check-Ins

One way for airlines and airports to be “active” with services such as Foursquare, is to encourage travelers to check-in at their airline, airport, or even gate.  The benefit of this is that travelers can connect with each other, and you stay more top of mind, and get a free awareness boost, when they post their check-ins using social networking sites.  Or, if a flight is delayed, it will go much faster, if they find a friend to meet up with at the airport.

You could also tie this in with your frequent flyer program. If they check-in and publicize on Twitter or Facebook, they get 5,000 additional frequent flyer miles.

Reward Travelers

You could also run promotions to encourage check ins, with a giveaway for those who have checked in or for the first to check in.  Mayors are also a great source of loyal customers.  Why not make these people feel special by upgrading them to first class, giving them priority boarding, or announcing their name on the flight? For example, “We are proud to have with us today, the mayor of American Airlines.  That means he has checking-in using Foursquare more than any other traveler.  He was upgraded to first class for being such a special customer.”

Unmet Need

When travelers add trips to TripIt and Dopplr without flight information, what a great way to target them at their point of need, and offer them a flight that may fit what they are looking for.  In addition, if they have a flight booked, but no hotel or rental car, you can suggest your travel partners to them.  You can form a partnership with TripIt or Doppler, to be able to communicate with customers, so you can say something like “We see you are planning a trip from Paris to Istanbul.  We have many flights between those two cities.  Click here to search for a flight.”

Leverage  Frequent Flyer Program

A month ago, Tasti D-Lite began a program that tied their frequent buyer car in with social networking.  Whenever points are earned or redeemed, their system automatically sends out an update to social networking sites, including Twitter and Foursquare.  Why not add this to your frequent flyer program, including their frequent flyer balance?  Imagine, if every time someone uses his SAS Eurobonus card, a tweet or a Facebook status update goes out to his friends that “I just earned 5,000 miles flying from Oslo to Bangkok” or “I just got free petrol for 3,000 miles through EuroBonus”. This action will drive awareness, keep you top of mind, and get people talking.

Advertising

Some of these LBS applications, also allow advertising. It could be a very targeted ad, on TripIt or Dopplr.

What do you think?  Can  you see yourself implementing any of these ideas?  Do you have any other ideas? Let’s hear it in comments and over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

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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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