This kudos goes out to the responsible folks at British Airways. Passengers flying to America from London’s Heathrow on December 26 praised British Airways for ensuring they were not adversely affected by a step-up in airport security following the terror alert. People boarding flights to the US this morning were sent text messages ahead of travel warning them the hand baggage allowance had been reduced to one item. Full story here: http://bit.ly/6ZWYmV.
The interesting part to me about the passengers that were praising BA’s helpful use of text messaging was that they ran the spectrum of ages. The passengers interviewed were 29, 44 and 64. The “sweet spot” of mobile (as my colleague Kang likes to call it) is certainly growing and adoption to the technology is expanding.
How come this simple use hasn’t been adopted by U.S. airlines? Sure, they text me a day before my flight, but how come I don’t get such useful information? Sure, websites like Orbitz will boast that they use mobile to update passengers on delayed flights, but honestly the last three (3) times a flight was delayed on me I was already on the plane and the message from Orbitz arrived when I was already on the plane!
I don’t expect much from old skool airlines like American or United, but c’mon Virgin America - I’m expecting a lot from you! Make smart use of mobile – or call me to make it happen for you!