#MDT324 from @User47

MDT hosted our second annual fly in tweet-up, #MDT324 and over the course of the next week or two will be sharing the blog posts from the attendees.   Attendee JLJ was a first time attendee.  JLJ astutely self-describes as a Biz Analyst. INTJ. Pescatarian. Info sponge, #avgeek. I love: @JLJ_2, NPR, documentaries, #planespotting, travel, wildlife, sci, tech, #photog and root beer.

JLJ shares, today, about his experience at #MDT324:

My friends tell me I’m a nut. You see, at least twice a year I take a three to four-day weekend for the sole purpose of planespotting, trying out a new airline, adding lines to my flightmemory, flying just to fly, or in most cases, some amazing combination of these. It turns out there are lots of folks out there like me, avgeeks, propheads, milerunners, aerophiles, really, it’s all the same. We are folks who love everything about aviation. Planes, airports, runways, airlines—We love ‘em all.

My most recent aviation-themed weekend involved a multi-legged trip to and from Harrisburg International Airport for a small tweet-up, that is, a meet up of tweeters/twitter-ers hosted by the airport. The second annual MDT tweet-up, affectionately dubbed #MDT324 as a throw-back to the first event’s date, involved a tour of the airport’s secured and non-secured facilities to include the administrative offices, baggage handling operations, common areas, and my personal favorite, the tarmac apron where commercial, private and military traffic could be seen just yards away.

The tour ended with awards of swag-bags, containing an assortment of goodies and an incredibly complex (designed for ages 6-12) LEGO aviation set. We spent a good 45 minutes or so racing to build our airplanes, but we all basically ended up with duds. I’m sad to report that my blatant disregard for the instructions coupled with my terrible design skills “won” me the least defined, least likely to fly hodge-podge of plane parts. All I really needed to complete my hybrid plane to nowhere was some speed tape, the aviation industry’s answer to duct tape.

My visit to MDT was delightful and exceeded expectations. It's clear that the airport leadership wants to build a facility with passenger experience and comfort in mind. As a matter of fact, I can honestly say that all but one of the people I met who were employed directly or indirectly by the airport, its vendors or airlines were genuinely happy, an odd and terribly uncommon phenomenon. The exception? A single TSA agent, there's always one, isn't there? I don't see this as a negative, though. Because of all the TSA staff I encountered, all but this one were, like the others, genuinely happy.

As a Business Analyst by trade, I'm always considering how organizations can build upon what works and address what doesn't. Comparing the strategy and operations of one company to its industry-peers, and finding pros and cons is what I do for a living. And, while I'm not in any way involved in the aviation business, I cannot seem take off my continuous improvement hat while traveling or on holiday.  Strolling through the airport terminal prior to our meet-up I was able to check everything off of my list of need-to-haves and nice-to-haves for the perfect airport, this was a fist for me. I won't share my list, because the contents aren't important. What I will share is that I generally add one or two things to my list when I visit a new airport, with this visit not only did I check everything off, I added three.

We concluded the evening with dinner at a restaurant just off of the Lancaster Airport’s tarmac. I could write an entire blog just on that experience, but suffice it to say, it was an excellent way to end a busy and exciting day. Planespotting at sunset over great food and excellent conversation, it doesn’t get much better than that.

#MDT324 is an event designed to cater to the most extreme and dedicated aviation enthusiasts, or "avgeeks."   We look forward to meeting some newbies and seeing the old crew at next year's event!

The Power of Curiosity

MDT hosted our second annual fly in tweet-up, #MDT324 and over the course of the next week or two will be sharing the blog posts from the attendees.   Attendee Mike Morgan visited us for the event for a 2nd year in a row.  A little about Mike: He loves to fly.  He became a passionate #avgeek when he lived in Orlando and watched planes for hours at ORL.  He self-describes as being obsessed with Boeing, Marriott, United, and Taco Bueno. He is working towards a private pilot certificate and mostly flies in a C172.  He hopes one day to own his own airline, and proudly fly an all Boeing fleet.

Mike shares, today, about his experience at #MDT324:

Friday, April 20th started just like any other normal Friday for me.  Wake up early. Take a shower.  Fumble out of my Marriott hotel room.  Find my rental car.  Drive to some airport.  TSA.  Board.  Fly.  

But, my destination would not be home on this Friday.  After a two hour layover at EWR (Newark, NJ), I hopped on a Bombardier Q200 and flew at 8,000 feet to MDT.  It was time for the second annual #MDT324 tweetup! 

At 3:24pm we all met up to spend some serious time in #avgeekery.  @airport_girl, Stephanie Gehman, Harrisburg's Marketing Manager, treated us to a behind the scenes look at the airport.  Stephanie had lego airplanes for us to build (needless to say, Boeing won't be hiring us as engineers any time soon).  We also took an airport quiz (Did you know that there are 4,200 window panes in the airport?  Also, the apron takes up 45.1 acres.). Then we headed to dinner.  Among us were @airport_girl, @BruceBere, @user47, @GehmanAndCo, and myself.  I have met each of these great people at other airports around the country.  

Here's what made this year's #MDT324 so amazing.  We had a real conversation about the good that plane spotting offers.  @user47 is an avid plane spotter, and he works hard educate others that plane spotting isn't doing any harm.  We ate dinner at a restaurant that sat next to the ramp at another airport.  While we were talking a little girl ran up to the fence to take a picture of a plane passing by.  @user47 said, "That's why plane spotting is good."  And he was right.  Plane spotting encourages people to learn about engineering, physics, and it's even pushed me to learn more about business!  

How many of you first watched a plane fly over head and thought, "I wonder how that giant hunk of metal stays in the air?"  Maybe you watch planes at a hub and ponder what it takes to manage all of that.  Plane spotting encourages curiosity.  It causes people to learn and grow.  The airline industry is treated like a bus service for potential terrorists, but should be regarded as an industry that makes the impossible possible.   

Plane spotting builds community.  Look at the folks who spot together with NYC Aviation, and other like groups.  MDT offers an observation deck at the airport, and with visitors like Air Force Two it's well worth the trip (so book a round trip to MDT, you need the miles anyway!).  My hope is that other airports will catch on and start to encourage the love of aviation, and stop trying to ban those of us who are passionate about it.  

This was my second year to #MDT324, and once again I am very thankful for the opportunity to join my #avgeek friends.  I am already planning next year's trip!  I would really like to thank Stephanie and the Harrisburg International Airport for their hospitable spirit towards #avgeeks. 
But, hey, I'm just some guy who likes to look at airplanes, so what do I know?

We look forward to having another crew of #avgeeks fly in for next year's #MDT324!  Hope to see you there, Mike.


The thoughts shared in this post are those of the author and don't represent the viewpoints of Harrisburg International Airport.

#MDT324 - @BruceBere

Bruce Bere

MDT hosted our second annual fly in tweet-up, #MDT324 and over the course of the next week or two will be sharing the blog posts from the attendees.  Today's post is from Bruce Bere, a self-described 'airline, aviation and travel enthusiast' from the Midwest.  This was Bruce's first time joining us for fly-in tweet-up.

I love aviation—quite a bit. When I got an email and an invitation to the tweet-up, #MDT324, I jumped at the chance to go. Flying in from all different areas of the country, a group of people met at HarrisburgInternational Airport (MDT) and started what was the second consecutive tweet-up for this group.

Our lovely host, Stephanie Gehman (@airport_girl), who showed us around the airport including a behind the scenes look at the baggage operation and the tarmac, met us. Working for United Airlines at ORD, it was quite an experience to see a completely different airport. I am used to a baggage room with over 100 belts for different flights--MDT has only three. Overall, it was a great experience getting to compare a larger and smaller airport. The neat thing about MDT was the fact that so much goes on there that I certainly would never have guessed before touring the facility. Between the commercial aviation, military presence, and the FBO on site, it is always a full day.

Going into the tweet-up, I was a bit uneasy. I am shy by nature but by the end of the night, I felt great connecting with such a great group of people. Here’s to #MDT324 2013! 

We look forward to having another crew of #avgeeks fly in for next year's #MDT324!  Hope to see you there, Bruce.

Air Travel, Socially Speaking with @AAAESean

Introducing the 6th 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 Sean Broderick, a career aviation journalist and public relations pro who currently handles external communications for the American Association of Airport Executives, whose members represent some 850 airports. His responsibilities include managing the association’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

Airports Shifting From Just Providing Connections To Making Them

One day this past July, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) suffered a partial power outage in two of its three terminals. The outage lasted about 90 minutes and affected certain key functions, including ticketing and concessions.

During the brown-out, followers of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Twitter stream, @DCAirports, were kept abreast of the situation, including whether boarding passes could be printed on-site. They also were told that MWAA’s Web site was down, and that flight status checks should be done on individual airline Web sites.

This is but one real-life example of what Steven Frischling astutely notes is a shift in airport attitudes—a shift that is perhaps most visible on social media platforms. As he said in a blog post earlier in this series, “Social media has finally allowed airports to…have a voice of their own,” rather than relying on “the voices of others around them speaking for them.”

From my perspective, social media’s evolution hasn’t so much created this attitude shift as help expedite, illuminate, and solidify it. For years, airlines were the air travel industry’s principal brand-builders and loyalty-creators. From frequent flyer programs to dedicated business-class lounges, it was airlines connected with passengers. Airports simply provided a place for passengers to connect.

For a list of reasons long enough to fill another blog post, those days are over—and I think that’s a good thing. For everyone.

Airports are working diligently to onnect with their customer base, often in tandem with airlines. In the social media arena, for instance, market-specific fare sales are pushed via airport Facebook pages, which is logical. If you live in Harrisburg, does it make more sense for you to seek out good travel deals on, say, Delta’s Facebook page, or on HIA’s? Put another way, which one of those Facebook pages is better equipped to deliver information that’s relevant to Central Pennsylvania residents?

As for the airlines, they now have permanently rooted local partners—the airports they serve—cultivating meaningful relationships with existing and potential customers. What better way to jump-start a new route, promote a fare sale, or simply strengthen a connection than to tap into this pipeline?

Passengers—the most important part of the travel equation, of course—are finally getting recognized, catered to, and served by the one variable in their own travel equations that’s sure to remain constant: their local airports. Think about it: for the last 40 years, the greater Harrisburg community has been served by dozens of airlines, but only one commercial-service airport: HIA.

So how can passengers benefit from this shift? Social media is a pretty good place to start. “Like” the Facebook pages of airports you frequent, and follow them on Twitter. Yes, this basically grants them permission to market directly to you, and the smart airports will. But the really smart ones will go well beyond the sales pitch—their marketing and communications plans will incorporate customer service, partnerships with tenants (like airlines and concessionaires) that have useful information for you, and the type of general relationship-building effort that makes airports valuable partners, not just self-motivated service providers.

Most importantly, remember that social media is, well, social. Provide feedback, both positive and negative, via the channels that airports use. Participate in the process, and they’ll be obliged to reciprocate. The result will be a better-informed traveler—and a better travel experience.

Which airports and airlines are you actively engaging with on Twitter and Facebook? Where are you turning to to find answers to your air travel related questions?

Air Travel, Socially Speaking with @BethBlair

Introducing the 3rd 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 Beth Blair writes for Aviation Security International and a travel blog. You can find her personal site and blog at BethBlair.com.

How social media as altered the way we air travel
The social media trend has not only made our world feel smaller, it’s making travel easier. Every day travelers are turning to their favorite social media sites for updates on news, bargains, trends, air delays or other valuable information that may impact their days on the road and in the sky.

This summer I was on a family trip and as I tweeted our adventures, locals offered advice on bakeries, restaurants and coffee shops. This isn’t rare. Twitter has played a major part in social media evolution and for good reason. It’s the fast-food of communication. (link to Benet’s post?) Just as every tropical island and cruise ship has its own ambiance, so do airports. Travelers don’t hesitate to jump on Twitter to ask fellow travelers where to find an airport pub or massage chair. Better yet, I’ve witnessed people meeting in person for the first time while passing through an airport. A few years ago, they would have walked right past each other.

Airlines in SM
It’s been fun watching airlines and other travel industry businesses partake in social media networks and as the months pass they get better and better. Airlines use social media for damage control, flight bargains and assisting with circumstances such as lost luggage. Oftentimes, a passenger may simply send a tweet out of frustration and the airline looks at it as an opportunity to provide outstanding customer service.

Another common trend is employees, especially cabin and cockpit crews, blogging or tweeting about their experiences, pet peeves or offering advice to passengers. As for airline security, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) has been successful at running the passenger-geared TSA Blog that explains procedures and addressed newsworthy events.

The Joy of Blogging
Blogging in general has made quite an impact on the social media scene. From experiences and opinions to controversial news, the various realms of blogs have given travelers the opportunity to research, discover and gather insight on a destination long before they arrive.

On a personal level, my shared blog, TheVacationGals.com was created for us to share our experiences and findings during our travels. We each have unique voices, opinions and backgrounds which make for an interesting mix.

The blog has allowed me to share my experience as a former flight attendant, indulge my interest in travel safety and as a mom I enjoy assisting other parents with their air travel questions. For example, I have been able to voice concerns regarding the dangers of the long-time airline lap-child policy.

While companies are using Facebook and Twitter to start buzz about their products, their blogging customers are sharing their experiences about the products. When it comes to air travel, luggage is always a big conversation piece as are comfort and health products. For parents, topics like strollers, food, entertainment, car seats and the CARES (Child Aviation Restraint System) are at the top of the list.

The proof is in the photos
A photo is worth a thousand words and that certainly seems the case when one photo is placed before thousands of people. Visual stimulation tends to build trust between a poster and a viewer and this is reflected daily in social media. Twitpic and Flickr are just a couple of photo-sharing sites used in social media. Photos of a grotesque hotel room would turn off most future guests whereas a hotel with a gorgeous beach-view would tempt travelers to book a room that day. Today, exposure in social media is better than a brochure.

Of course, not every photo relays the truth behind the story and this can be the case for flying. Earlier this year, a passenger took various photos of a major carrier’s aircraft being “held together” by what looked like duct tape. The photos made its way on to various social media sites. Sure, it looks bad, especially alongside the phrase, “If you can duct it…” However, this is one example where the photo didn’t explain the entire story. The silver adhesive was actually very expensive high-speed tape, a much higher quality of adhesive than duct tape. And it certainly wasn’t bought at Home Depot.

This story should be a remind to all social media users, that while Internet information is easily accessible today and erupting with information, it’s up to the individual to verify all information before coming to a conclusion. Happy traveling and tweeting!

Air Travel, Socially Speaking with @CrankyFlier

Introducing the 2nd 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 Brett Snyder. Brett is the President and Chief Airline Dork at Cranky Flier, LLC. In addition to his blog, Brett operates Cranky Concierge air travel assistance service. Today Brett shares his thoughts on Delta Air Lines reservations and the Twitter movement.

Next stop on the Delta tour? Reservations. I was particulary excited about talking to Allison Ausband, who runs the reservations team, because Delta is doing some really interesting things. Besides using some more unique flexible work schedules, Delta is also bringing together social media with reservations to create some spectacularresults.

There are about 5,000 reservations agents at Delta, and they’re scattered around several call centers around the world. Well, at least 4,000 of them are. The rest are actually home-based, similar to what JetBlue does with its agents and the team is humming right along. Right now, there are also call centers in South Africa and Jamaica that take calls from the US, but the long term plan is to bring that all back in-house. Yep, that’s right. Love it.

But of all those agents, there are eight that are particularly interesting to me. Those eight (and growing) make up the DeltaAssist team, the group that manages @DeltaAssist on Twitter. Though the group started off handling issues only during business hours in Atlanta (something I criticized here), it has already been expanded to work on weekends. It will eventually become a 24×7 operation, and that’s where it needs to be. And really, it needs to be there very soon. You can’t have part-time coverage for a 24 hour operation.

The agents on this team are given wide-ranging power to resolve any issues that arise, and if they can’t, they contact whomever needs to fix it. Ultimately, Allison views this team as just another line of business, like the reservations sales team.

Though the benefit this team brings seems obvious to me, I asked Allison how Delta was measuring success. Her first answer was this.

What we’re reading makes it worthwhile. Even if it’s not a favorable comment, it’s real-time learning.

While I agree with that, I can’t imagine that’s how they measure success, so I pressed on and she gave me two answers.

1. Fewer complaints
2. Fewer calls into the reservations center

Allison explained that the response has been phenomenal. The group tells customers that “someone’s listening in cyberspace and there’s a human behind it.” In other words, it gives a human face to a generally impersonal process.

While Delta hasn’t fully fleshed out its metrics yet, it likes the trends that it’s seeing. DeltaAssist agents can respond more quickly to customers when they’re in trouble. Since it’s not on the phone, the agents can multi-task and be more productive. And best of all (in my opinion)? Twitter limits you to 140 characters, so it makes customers get to the point. That lets the team help more people with less time. In fact, I had the chance to use it this week for a Cranky Concierge client, and I think that highlights how efficient this is.

crankyflier: looks like flt 63 ATL TPA may cxl – trying to help [client confirmation #] – is it possible to reaccom even if no cxl yet?
DeltaAssist: We can, although the only flight with 2 seats still open is leaving @ 10:50p. ^WG
crankyflier: Well, can we grab those seats and then they can still hang around 63 to see if it goes earlier?
DeltaAssist: All set. ^WG

Fantastic. No need to call anyone, and you have to explain it very concisely. The problem, of course, is that some might abuse the system, and I asked if they’d seen that so far. In her Southern accent, Allison slyly notes, “We have some regulars.” And that’s a constant issue for the airline – figuring out how to help people and when. Allison knows that Delta can’t respond to everything in cyberspace, so the airline is turning toward technology to help find what needs urgent assistance and what might not.

DeltaAssist will never take over the job of reservation agents completely, but it will be a strong complement. Regardless of the channel that people use, all agents are now being reminded that there are rules, but they aren’t in stone.

“We want agents to know, they’re listening to the customer. They need to do what’s right.”

That sort of empowerment isn’t something that we’ve seen at legacy airlines in recent times, and I hope it doesn’t ring hollow in this case. Granted, after my recentguest post from a former Delta reservations agent, it does make you wonder how easy it will be to make this change in empowerment stick. When I was there, they were sending reservations agents into recurrent training to make it clear that they had more power to make things right.

It also helps that there is complete support from senior management.

“We wouldn’t have been able to get all these resources if [the execs] didn’t believe in what we were doing.”

That’s true, and it’s certainly welcome.

Air Travel, Socially Speaking with @avweekbenet

Introducing the latest in fly HIA blog mini-series, a discussion on how social media has altered the way we travel. Today's guest blogger is Benét J. Wilson. Benét is the Online Managing Editor for Business Aviation at Aviation Week in Washington, D.C., and is a consummate traveler and blogger.

The Internet has revolutionized and democratized the world of travel. In the old days, we had to rely on travel agents for booking our tickets and trusting that they would give us the best fares. We also had to rely on them, along with travel writers, for intelligence on where to go and where to stay.

But with the advent of the Internet, those functions became available to anyone with access to a computer. We can now book our own travel, find independent reviews on resorts and hotels and tailor our own vacations.

But for me, the one thing that has transformed travel is the growth in social media. And the one tool that has revolutionized how we experience our travel is Twitter. The 140-character microblogging site has the ability to give travelers instant information about any part of their trip.

For example, I flew to Geneva, Switzerland, back in May for a major business aviation show. The day after I arrived, I came down with a horrible cold. We all know that nothing is worse than being on the road and getting sick, especially if you’re out of the county.

I jokingly sent a Tweet asking one of my followers to go to Walgreens, get me some lotion tissues, some Sudafed Cold medicine for day and NyQuil for the evenings and along with some Riccola cough drops and fly them to Geneva. The next thing I know, I had tweets suggesting medicines I could buy in Geneva. One of my followers was even kind enough to Tweet her suggestions to me in French and German so I could show it to the pharmacist.

I took her good advice and got some great medicine and felt better after only a day. I again joked about how much better I felt, but admitted I had no idea what I was taking. Several of my European followers assured me that the medicines recommended to me were the right ones to take.

One of my favorite Twitter travel people is Stacy Smalls, AKA @EliteTravelGal. She is constantly tweeting about her amazing travels and giving advice on where people should go. She also handles her client emergency requests (and even requests from non-clients), because you never know when you’ll need help.

Another favorite is Brett Snyder, AKA @crankyflier, who brings humor and clarity to the airline business in his blog of the same name. But he also has a business – Cranky Concierge that sprang up after Twitter followers asked for help in rebooking flights after flight delays and cancellations. During Iceland’s volcano eruption, Snyder solicited clients via Twitter and came up with some really unique connections to get people out of Europe.

And if you mention almost any city in the world, I guarantee you will get some great suggestions on Twitter for places you don’t find in the guidebooks or deals that may not always be visible. A friend recently had an 8-hour layover in Singapore and wanted suggestions on what to do. One of my followers told me that the airport’s Singapore Visitors Center offers FREE two-hour tours of the city, including transportation. There’s also a free shuttle that takes you to points in the city.

So you will never see me travel without my two smartphones and their corresponding Twitter apps: the Blackberry Curve with UberTwitter and the iPhone4 with Echofone (both great recommendations from my Twitter followers). And to borrow my favorite airline tag line – this one from the soon-to-be-departed AirTran Airways – go. There’s nothing stopping you!

High-flying tweets!

That's right your regional airport is on Twitter, and we're tweeting away! @HIAairport will provide updates on weather, conditions, delays, and just "plane" fun conversations!

We would love to hear what's going on with you when you fly, so be sure to tweet your #MDT experiences and we'll make note of them. If you tweet @HIAairport with a couple days notice of a departure from HIA, you'll get a fun surprise from us!

So, if you're on Twitter and want a mutual follow, let us know. Leave a comment with your @account name or send us a reply on Twitter. Happy tweeting, tweeps!