With Twares, United Tweets To Next Level
Madhu Unnikrishnan madhu_unnikrishnan@aviationweek.com
United Airlines is the latest carrier to jump on the Twitter trend and has introduced special fares available only to the people who follow the airline's Tweets.
United formally introduced "Twares," or Twitter-only fares, on May 21, although followers of the carrier's feed knew plans were in the offing. On May 15, its feed, @UnitedAirlines, announced that it had winnowed down the names for the special fares to two finalists, "Twares" and "TwipDeals." The winning name, "Twares" was announced on May 18, with the teaser, "Be on the lookout soon for when Twares will be inaugurated." The formal launch was May 21.
By today, @UnitedAirlines had announced 20%-off fares to Switzerland for the company's followers. Passengers were instructed to go to United's Web site to enter a promotional code for the discount.
Twitter, a micro-blogging service that allows people and companies to issue updates on news in 140-character increments, has become another way for airline corporate communications and marketing departments to reach customers. On May 20, both Southwest (@SouthwestAir) and American's corporate communications departments (@AAirwaves) Tweeted from the companies' shareholders meetings. Southwest announced its new service to Milwaukee through the medium.
Alaska Airlines announces which of its flights will be on Wi-Fi-equipped aircraft on Twitter at @AlaskaAir. The company, like many other airlines, also advertises its promotional fares on the medium.
Photo credit: Airbus
