Crises Management 2.

0 Asiana Airlines Flight OZ214 in SFO

Case study & Analysis

Find us on: Twitter Facebook

We Believe in Thinking Differently about Aviation Marketing

Timeline of Events 6 July 2013

11:27am: Plane makes impact at SFO 11.28am: First photo from a Google employee boarding another flight hits Twitter (within 30 secs!) 11.30am: Emergency slides deployed 11.45am: First photo from a passenger posted on Path, Facebook and Twitter 11.56am: Norwegian journalists asks for permission to use photo from first posters. Tons of other requests follow 1.20pm: Boeing issues statement via Twitter 2.04pm: SFO Fire Department speaks to the press 3.00pm: NTSB holds press conference, and keeps updating Twitter with photos 3.39pm: Asiana Airlines statement released

Source: AFP, @JohnSaeki, http://twitpic.com/d1hh8e

Asiana Flight 214 Crash: Social Media bursts with Live updates from passengers and others at SFO

Learn more about our in-house Crises Management MasterClass

We Believe in Thinking Differently about Aviation Marketing

The first tweet, posted within 30 seconds of impact

Krista Seiden, a Google employee, was boarding another flight when the Asiana aircraft hit the runway. She had her mobile phone in her hand, and her first instinct was to snap a photo and tweet it out. All within seconds of impact.

Read full account: http://bloggerchica.com/howsocial-media-broke-the-story-of-the-sfo-plane-crash/

Journalists scamper to interview Krista over Twitter

Within 24hrs, Krista and her photo were quoted in over 4,450 news articles (Source: Google News)

First photo from a passenger hits Twitter, via Path

David Eun, a Samsung executive was the first passenger to post a photo of the burning wreckage, 18 mins after the crash.

https://path.com/p/1lwrZb

First Photos posted on Weibo by a Chinese passenger

Given the large number of passengers from mainland China, it was inevitable that there would be posts made on leading networks there, like Weibo, QQ and Xiaonei. One of the passengers constantly updated his status.
http://www.weibo.com/stephenzyj

He justifies his decision to run with his carry-on bag

Ironically, he was the one who was seen running with his carry-on bag, in the first photo taken by David. He says he did not want to lose his passport.
http://www.weibo.com/stephenzyj

Other passengers at SFO start interactions

A number of passengers at and around the airport start connecting over Twitter hashtags and conversations ensue. Here is a very interesting thread:
https://twitter.com/DanielleLWells/s tatus/353663158826713088

Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg made a post that went viral

https://www.facebook.com/sheryl/posts/1015 2997724435177

Asiana Flight 214 Crash: Journalists, NTSB, SFO and other airlines provide Constant Updates

Learn more about our in-house Crises Management MasterClass

We Believe in Thinking Differently about Aviation Marketing

Influential journalists provided constant updates on Twitter and Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/sheryl/posts/1015 2997724435177

Boeing updates its website front page and Twitter

Airlines that fly to SFO update their Twitter status

The NTSB Provides regular updates via Twitter

One organisation that did a good job with updates was the National Transport Safety Board in the US.
They constantly updated their Twitter account, even on a Sunday, as soon as more information was obtained by those on the scene, culminating

Constant stream of photos from the NTSB

The NTSB also were the first to become the official source of close-up photos from the tarmac, which were all released through Twitter.
Click here to view more photos from NTSB

San Francisco Airport switches to crises mode

SFO starts updating Twitter and Facebook constantly with the latest on the situation. The airport makes good use of hashtags, and tries to reply to individual passengers as much as possible.

San Francisco Airport switches to crises mode

The airports Twitter account also regularly re-tweets other authorities, like the NTSB, and airlines updating passengers about the situation.
This allows them to address the concerns of a large number of travellers, who often had similar questions about flight operations and delays.

Asiana Flight 214 Crash: Asiana finally responds

Learn more about our in-house Crises Management MasterClass

We Believe in Thinking Differently about Aviation Marketing

Press Release posted on Twitter and G+

Asiana Airlines finally updates Facebook and Twitter, with an initial statement that thanks people for their concern and support. A press release is posted 8 hours after the crash.

No status updates prior to the statement

Unfortunately, for six hours prior to the airline making a statement, most of their messages online seem incongruent. And this gets noticed by the press and others too

Silence speaks louder than words

Meanwhile, Facebook fan numbers for the airline shoot up dramatically

Certainly, concerned family members, travellers and the public flocked to Asianas Facebook page to look for information, but were disappointed for the first six hours.

The airlines first Facebook update was a big hit

The first update from Asiana on Facebook about the crash was its second most shared post this year. Ironically, it was also their most liked post till date as well.
Source: Unmetric

Twitter followers grow dramatically as well

Most journalists and news editors, along with others interested in the news were expecting more regular updates from Asiana Airlines

Not replying?
It seems that Asiana didn't capitalize on Twitter's reach and didn't tweet any more than usual over the weekend to keep people updated of the situation.
Moreover, they did not reply at all to tweets during the period of crises. Not at all.

Asianas stock price dips 6.2% in a day

The crash, followed by a delayed response, and then preliminary investigations pointing to potential pilot error culminated in a dramatic slide in the airlines stock price.

Asiana Flight 214 Crash: Lessons in Crises Communications

Learn more about our in-house Crises Management MasterClass

We Believe in Thinking Differently about Aviation Marketing

Whats your 20 second PR strategy?

In the age of the connected traveller, airlines do not have 20 minutes, but rather 20 seconds to respond to a crisis situation. Asiana Airlines clearly was not ready for this situation that ensued online. But each airline and airport needs to build social media into its standard operating procedures for crises management.

The accidental spokesperson may not always be right

While Krista Seiden happened to be at the right place at he right time, not all her information was accurate. For example, the flight did not arrive from Taipei. Soon after, some journalists misinterpreted that 60 un-accounted for passengers were actually fatalities.

If Asiana was participating online, it could have corrected these facts.

Where do your customers talk about you?

If most of the passengers on the plane were Chinese and Korean, it was a matter of time before the news was posted on mainstream social channels in their home countries, like Weibo and WeChat.
A professional crises communications team must speak to customer where they reside online, and address their concerns using the same media.

Dont start digging the well, when youre thirsty

It appears from the incidence that Asiana Airlines has not invested in any kind of social media crises or customer support strategy. They have banned people from posting on their Facebook wall. On Twitter, they reply to a handful of very positive tweets, but don't answer any client questions. And all this backfires when there is a crisis situation. Had they planned ahead, engaged passengers and journalists online and set the facts right, the damage to the brand could have been reduced. But now, it

Learn more about our in-house Crises Management MasterClass

Asiana Flight 214 Crash: Crises Management 2.0 How to prepare for the next crises?

Learn more about our in-house Crises Management MasterClass

We Believe in Thinking Differently about Aviation Marketing

Download full infographic here

American Airlines Flight 24

Download full infographic here

More crises management resources.

1. Top 10 aviation crises management case studies 2. Aviation Crises Management infographic 3. Royal Brunei Airlines emergency landing case study 4. Over 50 of SimpliFlyings crises management updates and articles 5. SimpliFlying in-house Crises Management MasterClass

For more case-studies: www.SimpliFlying.com SimpliFlying has worked with over 35 airlines and airports globally on customer engagement strategy. If youre keen to ensure that your crises management strategy remains relevant, get in touch to learn more about our consulting and training services.

Helping airlines & airports engage travelers profitably

http://www.SimpliFlying.com