If twenty years ago one had asked an airline marketing executive about the dangers that a bad experience, passed on through word of mouth, could represent for the company’s image and brand he/she would have probably laughed. And with some degree of reason too!

After all, those were the good old days when, if one passenger had a bad experience he would tell his friends and family who may or may not have told a slightly distorted version of the story to their friends and family members… and the story would pretty much have ended there.

However, in the age of Twitter, Facebook and instant 24/7 global communication, the story doesn’t quite end there anymore. Even one annoyed passenger out of a whole planeload has the power to share his experience not only with his friends and family but also with millions of complete strangers who may in turn share it with a million others.  And this time the story does NOT end there.

Moreover, according to recent research, 25% of social media users expect a response within an hour and 6% expect something within 10 mins!
Time to start thinking about social customer service!
Unfortunately, only a handful of airlines and airport seem …

Yes, you read that correctly. I did not write Web 2.0. Of course, that’s not because it’s not relevant – it’s terribly relevant – but because this newer term encompasses Web 2.0 and then some. So what exactly do I mean by Mobile 2.0 and why is it important? Cutting to the chase, here are some things we all know: first, ordinary feature phones are dying a fast death and smartphone shipments are rising as iOS and Android become increasingly popular with others, such as Windows Phone 7, hot in pursuit. Second, people are increasingly using their phones to do tasks they earlier used their laptops or desktops for: hotel search, ticket bookings, banking, emails, etc. Third, smartphones are creating an all new category of the always connected traveler – a web-savvy, social-networking geek who isn’t afraid to declare to his virtual networks what he’s thinking or doing.
The future is mobile
Given the rapidly changing interactional/behavioural habits of the traveler, it has become important for airlines to target them where they can be found. Close your eyes and think for a moment about what the word mobile phone means to you: I’m quite certain that most of the readers here …

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What a year it has been for the airline industry! It started out in high spirits, until oil prices reached $160 per barrel and claimed airlines globally in its wake. And now, oil prices are predicted to go down to $20! In the midst of all this, some airlines took extreme measures that eroded brand equity, for short-term gain, while some persisted. Only time will tell which will emerge stronger from the recession, though my bets are on the latter.

So, let’s close the year by sharing with you the ten most popular (=most read) SimpliFlying articles of 2008. These actually give a good overview of the year for the industry too. From the great branding practices of Virgin America and lessons for airline from Barack “Change” Obama, to the brilliant Emirates A380 show put up during the first flight to New York. To top it off, the year ended with Qantas and BA going into merger talks.  I’m sure you’ll enjoy revisiting these articles, as much as I enjoyed writing …