The document discusses how airlines are leveraging social media for competitive advantage, highlighting successful examples such as WestJet and KLM. It emphasizes that airlines can attract corporate sponsorships and improve customer service through platforms like WhatsApp. The need for airlines to innovate in their marketing strategies to engage modern travelers effectively is also addressed.

1. flightglobal.com/airlines | Airline Business | 25
jerking video garnered over half a mil-
lion views within days of launch.
While it might seem like the only
purpose of videos such as this is to
drive brand awareness, a quick look at
the closing credits of each video reveals
a different story. The Valentine’s Day
video was supported by the Barbados
Tourism Authority and a number of
local establishments, and the Christmas
gifts given to passengers were spon-
sored by the likes of BestBuy, giving the
brand exposure on a global scale.
If an airline such as WestJet can
show a track record of producing hit
videos, they will not only get other cor-
porates to cover the costs of the cam-
paign, but even be able to charge them
for brand placement.
The Middle East airlines have built
some of the biggest followings on social
media channels. Qatar Airways is the
largest in the world on Facebook, Emir-
ates is top on Instagram and Etihad gar-
nered over 70 million impressions for
their recent A380 and 787 videos.
These airlines also sponsor some of
the most popular sports teams in the
world:QatarsupportsFCBarcelona,Eti-
had sponsors Manchester City FC and
Emirates is a sponsor of the cricket and
rugby world cups. What if the airlines
told their respective sports teams that a
significant effort would be made to di-
rect marketing messages towards air-
lines’ targeted fan communities? Surely
theywouldgetbetterdeals.
Social media marketing today has
matured enough that it is no longer suf-
ficient for an airline to maintain a pres-
ence, run contests and engage passen-
gers. They need to think of leveraging
socialmediatobuildasustainablecom-
petitive advantage –
both on the consumer
end and on the busi-
ness end. ■
Social media is no
longer about passenger
engagement; nowadays
it can be used to build a
competitive advantage by airlines. As
the aircraft touched down in Geneva
on my first business trip of the year,
and the business class passengers
around me turned on their mobile
phones, the cabin filled with the un-
mistakable tone of new WhatsApp
messages streaming into their devices.
Almost everyone in the cabin had
their eyes glued to their gadgets. This
got me thinking: if the first thing most
passengers do upon landing is to check
their WhatsApp messages, rather than
emails, why is it that airlines are not
on what is one of the most popular mo-
bile messaging platforms yet? I did not
have to wait long to discover this
might be starting to change.
Low-cost airline Transavia recently
became the first in the world to offer
customer service via WhatsApp. It was
a matter of time before an airline
jumped on the platform to get in touch
with travellers, given that there are
more messages sent on WhatsApp
today than on Twitter.
AWARD WINNER
Transavia is not the only Dutch airline
on the bleeding edge of social media
innovations. KLM, which has won
Best Airline on Social Media at the
SimpliFlying Awards for the last three
years, answers over 35,000 questions
per week in 10 languages, within
20min on average. The service is pro-
vided by over 150 dedicated agents,
making the airline a force to reckon
with in the social media space.
While there are over 250 airlines on
Twitter, many of whom answer ques-
tions, KLM and Transavia have built
real-time customer service as a com-
petitive advantage. They understand
that a large majority of travellers just
want timely answers to their queries
from airlines, using platforms with
SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS
MARKETING & SERVICES FEEDBACK
Embracing mobile media can increase customer loyalty and, with deeper thinking,
bring about a sustainable advantage, says Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying
“KLM and Transavia
have built real-time
customer service
as a competitive
advantage”
SHASHANK NIGAM
CEO, SimpliFlying
March 2015
flightglobal.com/
AirlineBusiness
Download your
digital edition of
Airline Business
for free at:
which they are familiar. While sitting
at a boarding gate, the connected trav-
ellers of today would rather type into
WhatsApp or Twitter than walk up to a
gate agent to check on the flight status.
This is where the likes of KLM and
Transavia win. They are not just on so-
cial media because they have to be:
they are truly adding value to the cus-
tomer experience. And that builds
customer preference over time.
While building competitive advan-
tage by providing real-time customer
service may seem the obvious way to go
for airlines, ensuring a sustainable
advantage requires deeper thinking.
WestJet recently celebrated Valen-
tine’s Day by launching a new video,
which went viral. The heroes for West-
Jet’s latest video were two unassuming
Canadian men, who were selected by
the airline, as they shopped for a wed-
ding ring for their upcoming proposal.
The airline whisked them to Barbados,
got them to experience the island to
the fullest, and propose to their girl-
friends at an opportune time. The tear-
Shashank Nigam is the CEO of SimpliFlying,
one of the largest airline marketing strategy
firms, which has worked with over 60 airlines
and airports: shashank@simpliflying.com