SimpliBook: Top 10 Airline Initiatives to Engage Customers in the Booking Phase

SimpliBook: Top 10 Airline Initiatives to Engage Customers in the Booking PhaseHelping airlines & airports engage travelers profitably http://www.SimpliFlying.com http://www.SimpliFlying.com

Case-study 1JetBlue Cheeps

Last MinuteDiscounts on “distress inventory”, also known as last minute deals, areone of the most common ways in which airlines try to boost ticket sales,as well as one of the most effective ones. In March 2008 JetBlue brokenew ground by exporting this model to social media. www.SimpliFlying.com

Remarkable InnovationIn keeping with its innovative spirit, the company created a dedicatedTwitter channel at a time when Twitter users amounted to a mere 1.3million users (compared to the estimated 500 million of today). www.SimpliFlying.com

DedicationThe idea of having a dedicated Twitter channel for offers and to onlytweet on a single day of the week (Tuesdays) proved to be a success. Itsimultaneously gave users a clear idea of what to expect from thechannel: a day on which to check it and avoided cluttering the mainairline Twitter page with offers that everyone may not be interested in. www.SimpliFlying.com

Case-study 2Alaska Airlines: Flying Social

Leveraging networksWhile Twitter-based initiatives can be limited by the “simplicity” of thesocial network, that is not the case on Facebook. And Alaska Airlinesdemonstrated this ably with its Flying Social app. www.SimpliFlying.com

A map of friendsAlaska Airlines was able toleverage on theinformation provided byusers on Facebook tocreate an app that, insteadof showing airportsprovided a mapped view ofwhere a user’s Facebookfriends are located, thusadding a “social”dimension to the bookingprocess. www.SimpliFlying.com

SharingHaving chosen the destination, the app re-directs users to thecompany’s website but, before that, it also offers them the option ofsharing the flight with their Facebook friends. www.SimpliFlying.com

Case-study 3Malaysia Airlines: MH Buddy

A truly disruptive appA more holistic approach to Facebook bookings was taken by MalaysiaAirlines with its MH Buddy app that not only allows booking, but alsocheck-ins and flight-management, all on Facebook. www.SimpliFlying.com

Social BookingWhile booking, theapp also showswhich friends areor will be at thedestination whenthe flight lands.This function canbe used both toarrange a catch-upor to even avoidcertain “friends”. www.SimpliFlying.com

Social SeatingFurthermore, at thecheck-in stage, theapp allows users tosit next to friendswho also bookedthe same flightusing the app. www.SimpliFlying.com

Case-study 4Delta Airlines: Living Social Deals

Group buyingGroup buying and deal sites are another recent trend that have got theattention of airlines. For its initiative, Delta choose Livingsocial as itspartner. www.SimpliFlying.com

IntegrationWhile most airlines use these sites just to post special offers, Deltateamed up with Livingsocial to add value to the booking process. Theyshowed users special deals relevant to the place and time of their visitto a Delta destination! www.SimpliFlying.com

Case-study 5Germanwings: Friend Flights

Facebooking flightsAnother airline that hasfollowed the lead of earlyinnovators like Delta andAlaska Airlines, has beenGermanwings with itsFriendflights Facebookapp that integrates thesocial graph into thebooking engine. www.SimpliFlying.com

An extra twistGermanwingshowever added anextra twist to themodel with aninteresting optionthat allows users tosort flights by price,geographical distanceand Facebook friends. www.SimpliFlying.com

Case-study 6AirAsia X - Optiontown

To Upgrade or not to Upgrade!In the sphere of partnerships that focus on the booking-stage, one ofthe most interesting ones is between Optiontown and AirAsia thatallows customers to purchase upgrade options. www.SimpliFlying.com

A Unique PropositionThis system allows users to pay a fee for the option of being upgraded toa higher class of service but does not guarantee the upgrade. The ideais that users who would not have bought the upgrade under normalconditions would be tempted to purchase an option at a considerablyreduced rate. www.SimpliFlying.com

Case-study 7Estonian Air: Let Me Think

Take your time to bookEstonian Air recently implemented an additional feature in its bookingengine that allows users to temporarily lock a fare they found (for asmall fee) and gives them the option to share it with their Facebookfriends to arrange a trip. www.SimpliFlying.com

Social SeatingTo facilitate this process, the airline also launched a “discrete” socialseating program that allows users to opt-in via a “use Facebook” buttonand shows them which of their Facebook friends might be on the sameflight. www.SimpliFlying.com

Case-study 8Qantas: Hooroo

A small exceptionIn keeping with its Australian focus, Qantas recently launched a newaccommodation site that, even though independent from the airlinebusiness constitutes an interesting initiative for the SimpliBook stage. www.SimpliFlying.com

Visually SocialThe interesting thing about this spin-off is the way in which it hascombined social media and hotel booking in one highly visual platformthat echoes the layout of “inspiration networks” like Pinterest. www.SimpliFlying.com

Presentation that InspiresThe tiles on the front page act as inspiring elements to lure users intofinding out more and offer the chance to learn more about the places tovisit and share the content via Facebook, while also featuring usersreviews from Trip Advisor. www.SimpliFlying.com

Case-study 9Pluna: Flip.to

Easy SharingThe endorsement effect produced when a friend or contact sharessomething he buys with us is one of marketing’s strongest forces. TheUruguayan airline Pluna was able to leverage this effect by partneringwith Flip.to www.SimpliFlying.com

Post bookingFlip.to was used to engage users right after booking by incentivizingthem to share their trips on social media with an offer of 5 “flydollars”. www.SimpliFlying.com

Engaging FriendsWhen a friend or contact clicks on the notification, he is also invited tojoin the Flip.to initiative with an offer of Flydollars to spend on Flip.to. www.SimpliFlying.com

Case-study 10CAK: Facebook booking engine

Not Just AirlinesAirlines are not the only ones to realize the potential for social booking.Akron-Canton Airport (CAK) has also installed a Facebook bookingengine on its page. www.SimpliFlying.com

Customer InformationIn this case the system is much simpler than those we have seen inprevious cases, as it links back to the airport’s website. But it isnevertheless interesting because having a booking engine allows theairport to gain more information and direct contact with its users. www.SimpliFlying.com

For more case-studies:www.SimpliFlying.com Helping airlines & airports engage travelers profitably http://www.SimpliFlying.com www.SimpliFlying.com

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SimpliBook: Top 10 Airline Initiatives to Engage Customers in the Booking Phase

by SimpliFlying on Jul 26, 2012

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SimpliBook: Top 10 Airline Initiatives to Engage Customers in the Booking Phase Presentation Transcript