An interesting study was just posted regarding how long airlines take to respond on Twitter. With the new tech savvy breed of travelers, airlines not only have to provide good customer service at the airport kiosks, but also online through social media. It comes as no surprise that the bigger the airline, the less they care about the individual. Both United and Delta clock in at well over the average:
This is not to say that American Airlines, is doing any better, but at least they are around the average. If we discount how large of an operation the “Big 3” or “Legacy” carriers have and the amount of people they have to deal with, it comes as no surprise that United comes up at the bottom of the pack. Maybe they are proofreading their tweets before posting them? After all they did get themselves into a ‘pickle’ with the Dao mess. With that being said, I don’t find it surprising that Jet Blue is the fastest responder given that they are the smallest of the bunch (outside of Spirit).
What is astounding is that Spirit Airlines ranks higher than all Big 3 airlines in both response rate and average speed of response. Now that’s something you wouldn’t put together in your head.
Personally, I’ve had great experiences with @AmericanAir on Twitter with them even holding a seat on a different flight on my behalf and even holding the aircraft for me as I ran over to the next flight at DFW. I’ve heard similarly good things about Delta. So I’m guessing they have longer wait times because of volume and/or they want to be more effective with their responses.
Bottom Line: Shame on United?
What has your experience been like with airlines on Twitter and other types of social media? Please share them below!
Goes without saying, a comprehensive study needs to be done on the efficacy of these communications. I’ve had a few times where United responded, but did nothing afterwards!
