Airlines and social media: dialogue waiting to happen

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Social media means that airlines just have another place where they can be raked over the coals. We complain to ticket agents. We complain to gate agents. We complain to customer service reps. And now, we can complain to the world, thanks to the likes of Twitter. I, for example, follow @DeltaSucks, though there hasn’t been any action on it in several months. I don’t just listen, though. When I’m stuck in an airport, I tweet relentlessly, and I know I’m not alone.

So, what’s an airline to do about this? And Facebook? And YouTube?

The attack is coming on all fronts, and an industry that’s been beaten up so severely and so often has few options. For now, the response is limited to tweeting fare deals, but obviously, that does little to address the continued stream of negative exposure to which the airlines are subjected.

When in doubt, the philosophy on social media complaints appears to be silence. Continental and American Airlines wouldn’t comment on recent tweets from disgruntled fliers, according to a Reuters report. They are monitoring and claim to be responding, but that’s about all. Billy Sanez, who manages social media for American’s parent, AMR, believes that these platforms make it easier to open a dialogue with passengers … but where is that dialogue?

When I got pissed off at JetBlue a year ago, I wrote about it on my personal blog and heard nothing from JetBlue. But, I did hear from other passengers … one of whom was afraid to say too much because he was still in transit and didn’t want to risk angering the airline. This level of paranoia may be extreme, but the implication is clear: passengers could find even a small blog, but airlines are squandering a chance to really engage the people who pay their bills.

Christi Day, who takes care of Twitter and Facebook for Southwest Airlines, told Reuters, “The main thing that our customers need to know is that we hear them.” But, again, there is no discussion of what the airline is doing about it.

Customers finally have a voice, and as we saw with “United Breaks Guitars,” it can get pretty loud. While the airlines may be listening, we’re still waiting for the second half of “dialogue” to happen.

Could Southwest Airlines buy Frontier?

by Grant Martin on

Southwest Airlines (WN) announced that it was putting a bid in for Frontier Airlines (F9) last week, a move that could significantly increase the airline’s market share in the west of the Mississippi. Frontier, the struggling Denver-based low-cost carrier that filed for bankruptcy last year, will be taking bids for the remainder of its company until Monday.

With the $114 million bid filed, Frontier will start sorting through contenders this week.

So what if it works out? Frontier would become part of Southwest airlines, Denver would lose one more competitor and hopefull the airlines and employees would merge from the bankrupt carrier to the most profitable carrier in the country.

Routes that Southwest takes over would suddenly be governed by the low-cost-carrier’s agressive pricing schema, meaning that cities currently covered by Frontier may see some more competitive prices to Southwest destinations. As for Denver, however, without WN competing with F9, prices could go up. At least they’ll still have plenty of non-stop routes available.

We should know more about whether Frontier accepts Southwest’s bid in the next few weeks.

Check out the well-made video from Denver NBC station 9NEWS after the jump.

Passenger on Southwest flight stung by scorpion

by Katie Hammel on

First snakes on a plane, now scorpions.

Doug Herbstommer was traveling from Phoenix to Indianapolis on Southwest Airlines and was apparently carrying some non-TSA approved items in his carry-on. As he was rummaging through his bag, he was stung by a scorpion, identified as an Arizona bark scorpion, which had presumably gotten into his bag in Phoenix and come along for the ride. The sting of this kind of scorpion is rarely fatal and Herbstommer was treated when the plane landed in Indianapolis.

Several more baby scorpions were found in Herbstommer’s luggage and in the overhead bin of the plane. They were removed and the jet was fumigated as a precaution.

[via USA Today]

Hole breaks in fuselage, Southwest plane lands safely

by Tom Johansmeyer on

A Southwest Airlines 737 landed safely in West Virginia last night after a 1 foot by 1 foot hole opened in the fuselage. Passengers could actually see the sky through the gape. Cabin pressure dropped, and passengers put on their masks quickly. Nobody was injured.

The plane was flying from Nashville to Baltimore but diverted as a result of the hole. The pilot landed the plane, to the thanks, applause and hugs of the passengers. As a precaution, Southwest is now inspecting all its 737s, the company announced. So far, the cause of the problem remains unknown.

Southwest launches massive fare sale

by Grant Martin on

Usually, we at Gadling don’t raise much fuss when an airline puts a few routes on sale. But Southwest really isn’t an airline when it comes to fare pricing. They’re a paradigm. When they drop fares, other airlines usually drop fares. As a result, shockwaves surge through the entire pricing network, travelers like you and I jump on tickets from any variety of carriers and everyone goes home happy. Doesn’t that sound nice?

So here’s the skinny. Southwest’s promotion puts fares on sale from $30 to $60 to $90, depending on distance. Travel is good from September 9th to November 18th for any day of the week except for Friday and Sunday.

Keep an eye out for price matching as well. For example, tickets from Detroit – Boston for $60 one way that may require a layover on Southwest may be the same price on a direct carrier.

The promotion runs through 11:59 tonight, so you’ve got some time to lock your tickets in, call your significant other and pull the trigger. Just don’t wait too long or availability might dry up.

Book your tickets at southwest.com, where the sale is prominently featured.