Getting up, close and personal with the customer – three airline case studies

How would you feel if an airline starts following you on Twitter, and not only that, starts interacting with you as well? Wouldn’t it be great to be able to vote for the name of the next big thing in the airline industry in your country? Or how about feeling truly special on International Women’s Day?

These are all things airlines are doing these days to engage the customer. Advertisements can only create a certain level of awareness. But it is the active interaction with the customer, and the ability to surprise him or her like Virgin, which leads to true brand awareness, and ultimately trust and loyalty. A great example was how Singapore Airlines engaged their customers prior to launching their first A380 flights to London.
Here are three instances of how airlines around the world are delighting (or surprising) the customer by getting up, close and personal with them.

Popular blogger Jonathan Fields was recently “followed” by JetBlue on Twitter. He was initially surprised but soon was conversing with a real person from …