Air Travel, Socially Speaking with @BLBoitson

Introducing the 5th guest post in this new fly HIA blog mini-series, a discussion on how social media has altered the way we travel. Today's guest blogger is Brenda Boitson a local writer from right in MDT's backyard! Brenda's writing which covers a wide range of topics, including travel, can be located at Associated Content.

A few years ago, I stumbled upon the site http://www.airfarewatchdog.com. I was thrilled to be able to use it to find cheap tickets for a 2 stop, two week trip to San Francisco and Seattle. Now, I can access Airfare Watchdog’s latest and greatest rates just by reading my Twitter stream. While I have not had much time to travel by air in the past year, it has been a great resource to find cheap flights on trips I may want to take in the future.

This is just one of the ways that social media has brought air travel to the forefront of my mind when booking a trip. I have thoroughly enjoyed following two heavy tweeters, @HIAairport and @Runwaygirl to name a few, to see what is happening in the air travel industry, and at my favorite local airport. I can find out about the latest improvements, new non-stop flights, the greatest new planes on which to travel, and better yet, I have been able to win a few goodies too!

In the past year, I have enjoyed three writing travel weekends, all within the state of Pennsylvania. In the near future, however, I am working to book more writing weekends in Vermont, Harper's Ferry, and Montreal. While some I can access just as easy by car, I am looking forward to using my social media resources to book the Montreal trip in particular. With just a click to HIA’s Facebook page, Airfare Watchdog’s twitter stream, or connecting with sites that offer promotional flight deals, I should be able to find a great fare at the right time to complete my journeys.

Traveling via air has often left me feeling alone. When I did my multi-leg journey to San Francisco and Seattle, I traveled alone and did not get a deep sense of appreciation for being a customer of those airlines. With social media access, I can tweet directly to the airline representatives and get a near-instant response on questions I have about flights, baggage, meals, and extra fees I want to be aware of before takeoff. Even if I’m sitting in the waiting area outside of my gate, I can tweet or comment on the carrier’s social media pages, and take care of any concerns I may have.

I spend countless hours on the phone at work, so to be able to use social media to eliminate that extra phone call, means less stress for me. It is often easier for me to type up a question for a company, and check back for a response when I have the next opportunity to check my replies via Twitter, or my wall on Facebook. It saves me lots of time, energy, and makes me feel much more connected than being put on hold.

Social Media is the new wave of customer service. If done right, air travel questions and concerns can and have become exponentially easier to handle for everyday travelers. It is a great way to connect with your customers on the good and bad things about traveling, to resolve issues immediately, and also to receive feedback on things that may be improved. Carriers and airports can continue to learn much by connecting with their clients through social media sources, and I believe customers will feel a greater sense of appreciation for giving them their business.

Brenda mentions that she can get customer service issues resolved quickly with the advent of social media. Have you an experience of getting an question, complaint or issue resolved by a company employing social media?