Media Monitoring (June 4)

“This Airline Is Saying Goodbye To Reclining Seats“

Huffington Post

By LISA MILLER

June 2, 2014

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/02/monarch-airlines-reclining-seat-ban_n_5418074.html

Summary: Monarch Airlines has announced that its new fleet of aircraft will not feature reclining seats, as most fliers say they wish they would be banned on short-haul flights. The trade off for fliers is increased leg room and better tray tables.

Relevance: We should consider adopting similar aircraft for shorter domestic flights and issuing a press release about how we want our fliers to be as comfortable as possible on shorter flights by giving them greater leg room.

Media Monitoring (May 30)

“Hopper creates new airline fee calculator for consumers”

Dallas News

By SHERYL JEAN

May 27, 2014

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/05/hopper-creates-new-airline-fee-calculator-for-consumers.html/

Summary: Hopper, a travel-planning website, has created a new fee calculator to help consumers choose the cheapest flight when factoring in the fees that have become so common in the airline industry

Relevance: We should consider adding a fee calculator to our own website, so that consumers can see that our flights really are the best value in business travel.

Media Monitoring (May 21)

“DOT rule to require airlines to better disclose fees”

USA Today

By BART JANSEN

May 21, 2014

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/21/dot-airlines-consumer-rules-checked-bag-fees-carry-on-mishandled-late/9367469/

Summary: The Department of Transportation has just ruled the airlines need to be better about fee transparency. Consumers may not always be clear of the full price of the ticket they are buying when they have to go online to check if they will be charged for seat assignment, carry-ons, etc.

Relevance: We should adjust our web presences accordingly to make sure it is obvious what we are charging for along with the ticket. We should also probably have someone in Washington to monitor this further.

Media Monitoring (May 14)

“Alaska Airlines, Jet Blue top JD Power airline survey”

USA Today

By GARY STOLLER

May 14, 2014

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/05/14/airlines-rewards-programs-jd-power/9051849/

Summary: Alaska Airlines was ranked highest in customer satisfaction and for its mileage program according to a new JD Power airline survey. Jet Blue ranked highest in customer satisfaction among “non traditional” airlines.

Relevance: Alaska’s mileage program ranked highest because of its “network” of other airlines and hotels, meaning that customers can earn points in many ways. We may want to consider modeling our mileage program after theirs once we can establish partnerships.

Media Monitoring (May 7)

“More travelers are fighting back to avoid airline baggage fees”

Time

By BRAD TUTTLE

May 6, 2014

http://time.com/89509/more-travelers-are-fighting-back-to-avoid-airline-baggage-fees/

Summary: Airline travelers are trying to avoid airline baggage fees by either packing lighter and only taking a carry-on, or by signing up for airline credit cards and mileage programs which provide members with free checked bags. Despite the fee avoidance, the airline industry has reported record profits.

Relevance: Airlines are making a lot of money off baggage fees, though flyers are obviously unhappy. We should decide if we want better customer relations or increased profits and try to convey key messages accordingly.

Media Monitoring (April 30)

“Clueless Airline Provides Accidental Customer Service Training In Rainy Seattle”

Forbes

By MICAH SOLOMON

April 28, 2014

http://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2014/04/28/we-didnt-expect-rain-in-seattle-airline-x-provides-a-cautionary-customer-service-lesson

Summary: Solomon was recently on a flight to Seattle in which the airline workers didn’t think to cover the bags when they moved them across the tarmac; many were people were unhappy to claim soggy luggage. He goes on to point out that most of the flight workers do not have the same circumstances (they have their luggage with them) much like a restaurant will blast the AC because the servershttps://kellmocomm.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php are moving around and working.

Relevance: This is a good anecdote about customer service. We have to always be thinking about our guests and what we can do for them, even if it is outside of our experience. We could mention something about this in an employee newsletter.

Media Monitoring (April 23)

“Which airline has the rudest flight attendants?”

USA Today

By JAYNE CLARK

April 23, 2014

http://www.usatoday.com/story/dispatches/2014/04/23/rude-flight-attendants-airlines/8055387/

Summary: Spirit airlines has the rudest flight attendants, according to a new poll, followed by Air Canada. Our other west coast competitors, Jet Blue, Southwest, Alaska, and Delta have the least rude flight attendants.

Relevance: As a new airline, we cannot afford to have anyone think that our flight attendants are rude. Also, we could pitch a story about how we make sure our flight attendants treat our fliers well.

Media Monitoring (April 16)

“US Airways tweet: Pornographic photo posted on Twitter was human error, airline says”

Syracuse

By GEOFF HERBERT

April 15, 2014

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/04/us_airways_tweet_pornographic_photo_twitter_human_error.html

Summary: When a disgruntled flier took to Twitter to complain about her US Airways experience, the company accidentally sent her a link to an airplane-themed pornographic image instead of a customer service survey.

Relevance: We could use this to draw some attention to ourselves by posting a joke on our Twitter feed such as “although we never want our customers to be unhappy, we promise that if you are we won’t send you porn.” Air Pacific could use this event to contrast professionalism.

Media Monitoring (April 9)

“From on-time flights to lost bags, new airline quality survey shows who’s hot and who’s not”

Culture Map Dallas

By CLAIRE ST. AMANT

April 8, 2014

http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/travel/04-08-14-best-airlines-on-time-flights-lost-bags-overbooked-virgin-jet-blue/

Summary: A new survey named Virgin America the best airline in the United States, with Jet Blue coming in second.

Relevance: Virgin America and Jet Blue are both low-cost, low-frill airlines, so they will be our biggest competition moving forward. Virgin has a high complaint rate and Jet Blue has a low rate of on-time flights, so these could be potential marketing angles.

Media Monitoring (April 2)

“Airlines Adding Craft Beers To In-Flight Offerings”

CBS Boston/Associated Press

By MICHAEL FELBERBAUM

April 1, 2014

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/04/01/airlines-adding-craft-beers-to-in-flight-offerings/

Summary: Airlines now offer craft beers, and while it is still not as popular as wine or liquor (except on Southwest where all liquor is priced the same), airlines are running out which is indicative of significant demand.

Relevance: This is a new trend in alcohol service on airlines, and since the demand is there, we should consider offering craft beers on our flights. Craft beers are very popular and on-trend in L.A., so we could perhaps do local brews that flyers would be more likely to purchase.