Airlines Using Social Media to Win Over Frequent Fliers

Guest Post by Franklyn Miller...

Hello!  All of you are familiar with my colleague Jamie Reese and her experiences on Delta.  Jamie had asked me to share a story with you about my recent experience with Delta, with the difference being that I have no status with Delta. 

So, a little about myself.  I’m a fierce Continental/United/Star Alliance flyer.  No matter where I go, even if it requires more flights (those Elite Qualifying Points add up you know!) or a longer layover if it’s a Star Alliance flight I’m on it.  With that being said, I avoid US Airways as much as possible.  Unfortunately that was not the case for a business trip that sent me from LaGuardia to Atlanta via Charlotte.  While that part of the trip didn’t involve Delta, the return part did.

Tuesday night I was booked on US Airways 1458 ATL-CLT that was supposed to leave at 7:55PM and arrive in CLT at 9:20PM.  Then I had a 47 minute connection to US 1632 to take me from CLT-LGA.  Apparently all of this was wishful thinking.   While I did my part to arrive at the airport and check in on-time (mainly so I could enjoy a wonderful beverage at Houlihan’s and the awesome potato soup), US did not.  While enjoying both of those I receive a call from US Airways that 1458 is now running with a one hour delay due to maintenance.  Seeing as how there is nothing to do in Charlotte near the airport at night I went over to the US ticket counter to see what my options are for not getting stuck in ATL or CLT.  US quickly rebooked me on DL 456 non-stop ATL-LGA.  I walk over to the Delta check-in desks to get my boarding pass. 

Now I don’t know about anybody else but I don’t know what Zone 4 is but it doesn’t sound like I’m getting on the plane quickly. After seeing this I wanted to cry.  I imagined no overhead bin space, checking luggage at the gate, fighting with families to get to my seat, just pure chaos…Not the quick efficient boarding that elites are known for.  So, what does any elite who feels like the Geneva Convention is about to be broken? They go to twitter.

Now, I have no experience with Delta.  The last time I flew Delta was at least two years before Continental left Delta and before I really got involved with twitter.  Naturally I was not expecting a response so I boarded my flight without thinking about a response.  When I landed and checked twitter I saw this response from @DeltaAssist.

Wow!  Now I know I clearly stated in my previous tweet that I don’t have status with Delta but I was not expecting this type of response.  Luckily my flight was very light and I had a middle seat next to me empty and had space for my roller board and book bag to stow in the overhead bins (my major concern about boarding in Zone 4).  Now, since Delta was kind to offer me a “good seat” I figured they deserved a response as to what ended up happening with my seat.

Now I figured this would be the end of it.  But Delta, as a southern company, decided to show this Yankee some southern hospitality for my future travel plans (or they want me to move over to Delta and SkyTeam)

Yeah I wasn’t expecting that either!  Looks like Delta is in it for the long hall in NYC and wants to win business away.

Maybe I chose the wrong alliance?

Follow me on Twitter @reese305