Airlines Look to Twitter for New Ways to Reach Travelers

By Linda Ripoll

Twitter is a social media phenomenon that has changed the way businesses interact with their customers and consumer base. In the past, many airlines were reluctant to ride the social media networking craze as they felt it was not a reliable form of communication. Fast forward a few years and these very same airlines have fully functioning Twitter and Facebook accounts where they provide up-to-the-minute news, headlines and flight information to their followers.

Delta Airlines is a great example of how an airline embraced the culture of Twitter and has benefitted greatly. @DeltaAssist offers followers the opportunity to direct message Delta associates who will give them specific information and customer service solutions to all issues, problems or questions pertaining to Delta Airlines.

According to a recent article on CNN.com, many airlines are embracing the Twitter craze.

Here are the twitter accounts of several major airlines:

Alaska Airlines: @AlaskaAir
American Airlines: @AmericanAir
Frontier: @flyfrontier
JetBlue: @JetBlue
Southwest:@SouthwestAir
United: @United
US Airways: @USAirways
Virgin America: @VirginAmerica

According to recent polls, Southwest, JetBlue and Delta make the top of the list for best Twitter interaction while Frontier and US Airways are at the bottom of the heap.