AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS ON TWITTER

Hockey stick growth in followers after the volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökul glacier on Iceland

Hans Kullin, April 22, 2010

Consumers connect to airlines and airports on Twitter

• During the eruption of the volcano at the Eyjafjallajökul glacier on Iceland, most of the airline traffic in Europe was stopped for a number of days. During this period, many airlines, airports and travel agencies communicated actively through social media channels like Twitter.

• In times of crisis, the demand for accurate and timely information is almost insatiable. Stranded travellers turned to social media for information on cancelled flights, alternative routes etc and Twitter was one of the channels that provided this type of information.

• Thanks to the professional and engaging way many corporate Twitter accounts approached the situation, they managed to gain a large number of new followers in a short period. Some, like Heathrow and Manchester airports, doubled the number of followers in just one week (April 15-22, 2010).

• According to Kampanje.com, both SAS and Norwegian gained about 7,000 fans each to their respective Facebook pages during this period. Other airlines, like Finnair, were active on Facebook but not on Twitter were it has only secured the username, but are not actively tweeting.

Arlanda Airport

Heathrow Airport

Manchester Airport

Oslo Airport

British Airways

Icelandair

KLM

Lufthansa

SAS Group

Swiss Airlines

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• Hans Kullin• www.twitter.com/kullin • www.kullin.net• www.socialamedier.com