Yahoo Travel: Ranking U.S. airlines on social media responsiveness

Figure: Yahoo Travel ranks U.S. airlines on their social media response speed.

We've all experienced delays, cancellations, or mechanical problems with our planes that have left us with no choice but to cry. In these frustrating times, it can be a lot easier to have a friendly airline representative to talk to you about what to do next.

For many Americans, Twitter is a quick and convenient way to vent or get travel advice.

So, which airline in the United States responds to customers the fastest on Twitter? To answer this question, the editor of Yahoo Travel Channel conducted a small experiment. A message was sent to JetBlue, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, US Airways, Alaska Airlines, Virgin America Airlines and Frontier Airlines, and then a timer was set to see how long it would take to receive a reply. The content of the message was simple: "Help! What is your company's reservation phone number?"

First place went to Alaska Air, which responded in 1 minute. This airline’s Twitter was so sharp that I didn’t even have time to refresh the page before I got a response. Second place went to Jet Blue and Frontier Airlines, which responded in 2 minutes. Very good. Well done.

US Airways took four minutes to provide a reservation number, while Delta Air Lines took seven minutes and provided a very detailed, lengthy answer.

What happens next is interesting.

American Airlines took 19 minutes to respond, United Airlines took 1 hour and 25 minutes, and Virgin America took twice as long, at 3 hours.

Southwest Airlines, uh… didn’t respond.

According to JetBlue's social media strategist Morgan Johnston, treat Twitter like you would a girlfriend. "It's really about listening and engaging tactfully," Johnston said. "We don't want to create noise, but if it's clear that fans are looking for answers, we should step in and help."

In addition, at any given moment, JetBlue's social media has 2 to 3 people on duty, responding to fans or participating in interactions. This is something other airlines with longer response times should also consider.

To be fair, the reporter also contacted Southwest Airlines to consult about their social media strategy. Communications expert Dan Randerson said, "Customer service is very important to us. We have more than 100 million customers and a lot of messages coming in. Our social team has done its best to prioritize answering the most time-sensitive questions."