The Impact OfSocial Media On TravelAirlines Confronted To Reality

The Impact OfSocial Media On TravelAirlines Confronted To Reality

Airlines confronted to social media as any other industry.

After 10 years of hard work to automate systems (Online bookings, call center policies,

Online servicing policies, Online check-in policies, …)

The interaction between the company and the passenger virtualized.

Less staff to handle customers

In many cases, the first facial/voice interaction happened at the gate or in the plane!

Social mediashuffled the cards.

The decision making

It's complicated...

The struggling Traveller Decision criteria multiplying & changing

(i.e.: Increasing price sensitivity & flying

becoming a commodity)

Variety of choice

Multiple biased contradicting sources

Longer research before purchasing

Multiple shops

• Online travel agencies

• Affiliate vendors

• Price comparison & 

• fare casting tools

• Airline sites

• Search engines

External influences

• Crisis

• Environmental awareness

New offer types

• Ryanair

• Easyjet

• Wizzair

• Vueling

• Seat saturation

Social media invest people's day to day lives

"People like meshare their unbiased experience""I TRUST PEOPLE LIKE ME”

Social networks, the Samaritan of travellers

30% of travellers who use social networks, among which Facebook, solicit

trip-planning advice from their networks. 

This figure is higher than influence of TV or even friends and family.

Facebook conversion rates are 6% in average higher than other referrals

Source: PhoCusWright, April 2010

What are the consequences for the travel industry?

The industry realized it had no other choice

than dipping its toes into social networks

Objective:Gain a positive e-reputation

and stay top of mind

The New Gold rush

To social media:

newly-created Facebook

fan pages

promotional and anecdotal

shareable information 

Activities, tools and events to entertain and create a positive relationship with the brand

AllYouCanJet

Popular "all you can jet"

Jetblue passes for sale

10,000th fan

Snowball effect: Pass

customers sharing their

Jetblue travel experience

Brussels Airlines

Brussels Airlines event Free flight organized on New

Year’s eve to Barcelona for fans

Positive Snowball effects:

- Winners sharing their experience

- Winners creating their own group

- TV, radio, newspaper coverage

- Losers buying tickets for the same night

Too little, too repetitive

Delta airlines

Sitting back after that rush,

some wanted to create

opportunities 

The disappointing way: The

Delta Facebook booking

engine

The smart way

The Easyjet holiday

planner

Group booking functionality

to help communication

when agreeing on a trip. 

Currently: Group trip

planner

What’s next? seal the deal

Understanding social media to help customers finalize their purchase

However!

Its not enough!

Among 30% travellers consulting

social networks, only 7% prospects

befriend or follow a travel

company on social networks. 

Ambassadors are needed

During travel

The minimum to do: Customer recovery

External factors

Bad luck

Snow

Strikes

Ash clouds

Bird strikes

Country

instability

Things can and do go wrong

And customers can voice their frustrations real-time

Multiple actors in play to fly people Bad luck

Central reservation systems

Global distribution systems

code sharing 

check-in systems

Catering

Departure/Arrival control

Other planes

Cleaning

security screening

Customs

Luggage handling

Loyalty program systems

cancellations

Plane maintenance

And so much more

"I'm angry""I SAY SO” 

.

Different recovery approaches per social network

FACEBOOK Private life

Expression of tastes, opinions.

Responsive customer recovery methods

TWITTER, BLOGS (Micro)blogging is public

brands are expected to respond. 

Proactive, although intrusive, customer recovery

methods

Crisis management

Facebook fans do not join to receive

operational updates. However not

communicating during crisis on

Facebook is unforgivable.

Twitter accounts: used by users for

real-time problem solutionning

The next step: go the extra mile to service your customer

The ultimate step: drive your business with customers as copilots

Polling Creates intimacy brand-customer

Less reluctance to change

Customers are smart and

resourceful!

Organizational changes

Learn To Be Off The Beaten Track

Social networks are often used to interact

with/about a brand because of flaws in the

following areas:

communication reach

product understanding

product availability

quality of the product/service

claims management

In those areas, bypass your processes, review

your communication. 

Internal networking & process flexibility are key!

Be Prepared For Organizational Changes

Product/service development Involve customer opinions as early as possible,

good ideas are out there. Build engagement!

Internal buy-in You need to go off the beaten tracks to resolve

customer issues. Colleagues' flexibility and support

saves time.

Job descriptions and KPIs Internal buy-in really works only when it gets

official. 

Build awareness & understanding Trainings, monitor and report results

Have a policy Potentially all staff can contribute and visibly impact

your brand's image. Clear policies, do's and don'ts

help to avoid issues.

Key takeaways

Social media is not a burden but an opportunity If your customers turn to social media often when

something went wrong. Learn from it.  

Re-introduce personal relationships with your customers

Understand your shareable material. Feed fans & followers,

create bonds. 

Understand, among your customers, who shares information

Reward and encourage sharing.

Don't nag because social media bypasses your usual working process, it happens

because your usual processes don’t work

Social media is not a one-(wo)man show. It is a company engagement.  

Thank you