Airlines leverage on social media sites

As travellers become more Internet and social media-savvy, airlines have started to leverage on social media sites for branding, promotion and marketing.

Airlines including Malaysia Airlines (MAS), AirAsia Bhd, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Delta Air Lines are using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and even blogs to market themselves and engage with the public. Some airlines turn their Facebook page into a fan page whereby they can connect with their fans on the Internet. Some promote their business, products, and new offerings on Twitter to reach out to more people.

MAS senior general manager, commercial strategy, Dr Amin Khan said the carrier had a two-pronged approach for its Facebook and Twitter accounts. “For Malaysia Airlines Travel on Facebook, @MAS Twitter account and blogger engagements, our primary objective is to inspire travel by engaging and building a connection with our fans and followers.

Our efforts here are focused on engaging our younger audience and customers, around 20 to 35 years old. This includes promoting our fares and deals, destinations, travel stories and competitions,” he told StarBiz.

Amin said MAS started its social media outreach including the Malaysia Airlines Travel on Facebook in March 2009. “To date, we have more than 125,000 fans on Malaysia Airlines Travel on Facebook and some 16,500 followers on @MAS Twitter account.”

He added that the MH Deals by Malaysia Airlines on Facebook, which started in January, had 37,000 fans and it had 3,500 followers on @MHdeals Twitter account. “We also have 11,500 fans on MH Students Facebook pages. A majority of them are students who are currently studying in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and India.”

MAS has managed to generate great interest with its lunch hour sales on Facebook. “The idea for the lunch hour sale came from our Facebook fans. We are constantly engaging with them to get their feedback on what they would like to see. We are also planning other promotions according to ticket availability and seasonality,” Amin said.

A quick search on Twitter revealed that AirAsia has one of the most followers on its Twitter account with some 50,086 followers. The budget carrier had previously operated under AirAsiaDotCom on Twitter. However, last Friday it announced to its followers that it had managed to secure back its @AirAsia twitter handler.

AirAsia has 478,708 fans on its main Facebook site. On top of the country specific sites that AirAsia has on Facebook and Twitter, it has a dedicated AirAsia YouTube channel, AirAsia Blog: Just Plane Thoughts and Flickr account as its official gallery of AirAsia pictures.

Media specialists see social media as a great platform to get the online community involved, to motivate them to travel, get them to spread the word on which airline to use.

“Most of these airlines make use of Twitter to introduce new events, offer a limited number of air tickets at discounted prices, etc,” a media specialist said. She added that airlines were beginning to use social media productively. “Facebook is an excellent way to engage customers. And both MAS and AirAsia are doing it well.”

She said both carriers managed to encourage their customers to engage with one another. “They made it easy to access the airlines and build relationships. Potential customers can also ask questions and get help. If their customers are happy, it means returning customers to the carrier.”

She said it was good to note that AirAsia had managed to put links on its websites to generate interest on its Twitter and Facebook pages and vice-versa. “It (AirAsia) manages to interact well on Facebook. Every news item it posts seems to get feedbacks and there are heaps of praises from fans.”

Last month, US-based Delta Air Lines had introduced the Delta Ticket Window, a Facebook application that allows its fans to find, book and share flights via the “Book a Trip” tab on its Facebook Page. The carrier believes it can capitalise on a captive audience given that Facebook is the most trafficked website on its inflight WiFi service. It is a cutting edge offering for the airline which is unparallelled by other airlines.

Asked if MAS would start offering such service, Amin said its offerings would tie in closely with its digital strategy. “For example, we are revamping our MASTraveller portal as part of our strategy to inspire travel. In line with this, our Facebook and Twitter accounts will be promoting destinations and encouraging user-generated content.”

“We also have a social media feature on MHmobile. After a customer books his ticket on flymas.mobi, he will be able to share his itinerary on his own Facebook page, Tripit or Dopplr. This ensures that all his friends are aware of his travel plans, and he is also able to make other travel arrangements such as hotel bookings and car rentals via Tripit or Dopplr,” Amin said.

Amin said all its channels were focused on attracting consumers to its main website, www.malaysiaairlines.com. MAS employee bloggers also share their experiences on its official blog. The carrier has a team managing the Facebook pages and Twitter accounts beside traditional media and other digital initiatives such as the website, applications for our mobile site, flymas.mobi, mobile gadgets and others.

Source : STAR

[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Frills bring in Big Bucks for Airlines

AIRLINES are making good money from selling frills - items and services aside from tickets for their flights.

They earned an estimated US$10.25 billion (S$14.5 billion) last year by charging travellers for preferred seats, checked baggage, food and drinks and even blankets, or from commissions from selling extras like hotel rooms and insurance.

A steadily bigger chunk of airlines' revenues are coming from such items: The amount for last year was a more-than-threefold jump from the US$2.9 billion earned in 2006.

IdeaWorks, a United States-based research company which tracks airlines' ancillary revenues, released its 2008 findings recently.

It had surveyed more than 90 carriers including Emirates, Qantas, Delta, AirAsia and Ryanair, and extrapolated the industry's figures from there.

Among the airlines it polled, ancillary earnings made up 5.5 per cent of the total revenue, up from 3.5 per cent in 2006.

Leaning on ancillary revenues used to be a practice among low-cost carriers, but more and more full-service airlines - especially in the United States - are doing it too.

Many US carriers now charge for a second checked bag on selected routes, for example.

The growth in ancillary revenues grew largely out of last year's increase in fuel prices and the global economic meltdown, which sent demand for air travel into a tailspin.

IdeaWorks founder Jay Sorensen said: 'The sickly patient known as the world's airline industry suffered through 2008 and only survived due to dramatic schedule cutbacks, the slow reversal of fuel prices and an 'intravenous injection' of ancillary revenue.'

Mr John Devins, the regional director for Asia-Pacific at GuestLogix, which provides on-board retail systems to the airline industry, is betting that ancillary revenues will make up a bigger portion of airlines' earnings, going forward.

Such non-traditional revenue sources have growth potential in the industry, he said.

'For example, what if you could sell tickets to Disneyland on board a Hong Kong-bound flight, or a train ticket to the middle of the city?'

Mr John Chapman, a vice-president of Amadeus-Asia Pacific, which provides travel-related technology solutions, agreed that there were growth prospects.

But he said he did not foresee premium carriers, especially those in Asia, rushing into this just yet, for fear of being seen as going down the same path as budget carriers.

He said: 'In Asia, flag carriers are a lot more proud of their brands and quality of service.'

Still, if the current downturn continues to hit yields, elite airlines may have little choice but to relook their existing business models, he said.

When Singapore Airlines announced last November that it would levy a one-way fee of US$50 for a guaranteed 'preferred seat' in economy class, the airline pitched it as a customer service, not a revenue-generating move.

These seats near the exits offer more uncluttered legroom and had typically been given to frequent fliers on request.

Charging for such seats has been about as far as SIA has gone, but other carriers now charge even for lounge access and priority boarding.

For low-cost carriers, the message to the consumer is simple: 'If you want the extras, you pay for them.'

So if you fly Tiger Airways or Jetstar Asia and all you want is a seat - any seat - you pay the base fare. Any request beyond that, such as for a guaranteed aisle seat, comes at extra cost.

Tiger and Jetstar declined to reveal how much they made in ancillary revenue.

SIA spokesman Nicholas Ionides said it was impossible for the airline to provide a 'meaningful number' because many items for which other airlines levy a charge, such as in-flight meals, beverages and checked baggage, are included in the cost of an SIA ticket.

Source : AsiaOne
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Silk Air to market Penang

SILK Air, Singapore Airline's (SIA) regional carrier, is set to promote Penang as a favourite travel destination, following the commencement of its flights between Singapore and Penang yesterday.

Apart from Penang, it also flies to Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

Silk Air chief executive officer Chin Yau Seng said that Penang will be marketed to all destinations that SIA and Silk Air currently serve.

"We are working with Penang Global Tourism Sdn Bhd to offer either travel packages or just air tickets to Penang," he told reporters after welcoming passengers on the inaugural Singapore-Penang flight in Penang yesterday.

Penang Global Tourism is the state government tourism promotion agency.

Chin said about 60 per cent of Silk Air's passengers are made up of the business and leisure segments, and the remaining 40 per cent are from long-haul travellers of SIA.

In joining its parent SIA to fly a total of 21 times per week between Singapore and Penang, Silk Air will also join code-share partner Malaysia Airlines to increase flight frequencies to 28 times per week.

"We intend to leverage on our Singapore-Kuala Lumpur model. When we first started flying last October, it was twice weekly," said Chin.

"By December it was increased to 30 times weekly," he said, adding that Silk Air's plan now is not to add new destinations in Malaysia but to work on increasing the frequency of flights from existing destinations.

Chin said Silk Air's entry into Penang emphasises the value and importance of tourism, trade and business links between Penang and Singapore.

Source : Business Times
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel tourism news]

Asian airlines brace for more rough weather

Asia's leading airlines are bracing themselves for more rough weather after earnings nosedived in the first quarter with no signs of a global economic recovery in sight, industry analysts said.

Compounding the airlines' woes are the outbreak of Influenza A (H1N1) flu and growing popularity and longer reach of budget airlines in the region, they said.

Singapore Airlines (SIA), the latest Asian carrier to release its results, said net profit in its fourth quarter ending March tumbled 92 per cent on the year to S$41.9 million (S$1 = RM2.42).

During the quarter, revenues sank an annual 19.1 per cent to US$3.32 billion (US$1 = RM3.54) while in the fiscal year to March, net profit fell 48.20 per cent to US$1.06 billion, SIA said.

SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng said the air travel slump appeared to have levelled off but there was still no evidence to suggest that the situation was starting to improve.

"So we are seeing a flattening out," he said, but added that while the situation was more encouraging, a real recovery "is still not visible yet".

SIA earns about 40 per cent of its revenues from premium traffic, or business and first-class travel, and it has been hit hard by the drop in corporate travel, along with Cathay Pacific of Hong Kong and Australia's Qantas.

All three airlines have announced measures to contain costs such as unpaid leave and reducing capacity but there is only so much that they can do on the expenditure front, analysts said.

"I don't see anything at the moment that can help the airlines... They are doing everything they can to cut their costs," said Jim Eckes, managing director of the Hong Kong-based consultancy Indoswiss Aviation. "They will need an economic recovery which so far we just don't see."

Premium traffic has declined on average 30-40 per cent from a year ago, said Eckes.

"Nobody is flying these days in first class or business class... The high-yield business has disappeared," he said.

Eckes said the H1N1 flu outbreak, which has infected over 8,000 people and claimed 72 lives, only adds to the airline sector's woes.

"It's hard to tell how the virus is affecting travel but it certainly isn't helping the airlines when they are down and they are really down right now," he said.

Derek Sadubin, chief operating officer of the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa), said the region's leading full-service carriers were facing additional pressure from discount airlines.

"We are seeing a squeeze from both ends," Sadubin said. "The only hope is that the US economy can start to regain some traction and stimulate the world economy back into gear."

Cathay Pacific said in April that revenues plunged 22 per cent in the quarter to March, just weeks after announcing it lost more than a US$1 billion (RM3.54 billion) last year. It was the company's first full-year loss in a decade.

Australia's Qantas announced last month plans to further cut jobs to cope with the slump and more than halved its profit forecast for the financial year to June while deferring plane orders.

Asia's biggest carrier, Japan Airlines, reported in May a net loss of 63.2 billion yen (100 yen = RM3.69) for the 12 months to March, against a profit of 16.9 billion yen the previous year.

It predicted a similar loss for the year to March 2010 and announced 1,200 job cuts to weather the air travel downturn.

Despite the crisis, SIA said it would still go ahead with plans to take delivery of five Airbus A380 super jumbo jets this year but analysts are sceptical if this is the right move amid the global slump.

"They have to seriously review whether they should take the additional A380s," analyst Shukor Yusof of Standard and Poor's Asian Equity Research said. "This is quite severe," he said of the 92 per cent plunge in fourth quarter net profit.

SIA currently has six A380s in operation.-


Source : BusinessTimesOnline
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Singapore Airlines to e-ticket with Malaysian Airlines

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) rolled out interline e-ticketing with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) on May 8.

The move will enable SIA ticket offices to issue e-tickets to all the destinations it serves to passengers of both airlines. The next phase will cover ticketing by MAS agents in Malaysia and Singapore as well as SIA agents worldwide. Subsequently, this initiative will cover all distribution channels of both airlines.

A significant aspect of this initiative is both airlines will not consult to set fares together but each airline will determine its own fares.

MAS commercial director, Dato' Rashid Khan, said: "We are delighted with the completion of this milestone, interline e-ticketing, which sets us firmly on track to be e-ticketing capable by September 21."

SIA executive vice-president marketing and the regions, Mr Huang Cheng Eng, said: "I am delighted that MAS chose SIA as its first interline e-ticketing partner, thus further strenghtening the already close ties we enjoy."

Plans are also underway to implement e-ticketing for the shuttle service arrangement on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route.


Source : TTG
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Privileges of having SIA Boarding Passes

Singapore-Airlines (SIA)passengers flying into Penang will now enjoy special discounts at 26 outlets in Penang under its Boarding Pass Privileges (BPP)programme.

SIA Penang district sales manager Lee Hock Siew said passengers just had to present their boarding passes within seven days of their flight at participating hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions to be entitled for the discounts.

“We started the programme in Singapore in 2004. Since then, we have extended it to Australia, Bali, Bangkok, New York, the Philippines and now Penang,” he told newsmen at the launching of the programme in Penang yesterday.

He said this was in line with the Visit Malaysia 2007, adding that the programme would also be launched in Kuala Lumpur soon.

“In a joint effort with Tourism Malaysia, more than 100,000 BPP Malaysian edition flyers are being distributed at SIA’s overseas offices, Tourism Malaysia overseas offices, Penang International Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport,” he said.

Lee also said a list of the participating outlets was available on the flyers and in its website (singaporeair.com/boardingpass_malaysia).

State Tourism Development and Environ-ment Committee chairman Teng Chang Yeow described the programme as a good partnership between SIA and the travel trade industry.

“Apart from attracting more visitors to Penang, it will also help promote our tourist products to the world.

“After reaching our destination, many of us will either throw away our boarding pass or use it as a bookmark like I do. But now, we can use it like a privilege discount card,” he added.

Earlier, the VIPs presented the flyers and souvenirs to 285 SIA passengers of flight SQ 192 who arrived at the Penang airport at 9.30am from Singapore.

Island Plaza Shopping Mall Enjoy up to 50% off at participating outlets.

Website : http://www.singaporeair.com/boardingpass_malaysia


Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]