When Airlines' CEOs Tweet on the Facebook Wall

[V Wong 0]

I don't think he is consciously trying to emulate anyone. It is just that when you do business in Malaysia, it is never far from political intervention and interference. So he has to struggle through that. Sometimes his frustrations show through - that is only human. How long can you stay in a pressure cooker without exploding?

 

Don't we all face similar situations in our daily life? Being a leader and respected figure in the industry, one would expect humility, grace and resilience in the face of pressure, rather than volatile eruption, whining and blaming... No?

[Robert 0]

Don't we all face similar situations in our daily life? Being a leader and respected figure in the industry, one would expect humility, grace and resilience in the face of pressure, rather than volatile eruption, whining and blaming... No?

 

 

Agreed!!

[flee 5]

Don't we all face similar situations in our daily life? Being a leader and respected figure in the industry, one would expect humility, grace and resilience in the face of pressure, rather than volatile eruption, whining and blaming... No?

I am not trying to offer any excuses for him - just trying to understand his situation and what I would do if I was in his shoes!

 

More tweets from him:

Conference call with navitaire owned by accenture to permanently resolve issues. They can't keep up with growth. Despite issues record sales

 

Off to see sabah chief minister on KK terminal lcct. At last a man of reason. He has always believed in airasia. First man to give us a loan

 

He chose to be more open and transparent, sharing his thoughts on social media. He could have chosen to issue his comments via a PR agency. Furthermore, people like us seize on his "bad" tweets in isolation. What about the other tweets that he made?

 

Although some of his tweets should be kept private, it is good that he chose to share his thoughts. It gives us an insight into his thought processes and what kind of problems he needs to deal with on a daily basis.

[N Azman 0]

Flee is so positive. I like flee.

 

Me on the other hand, not so. I tend to have higher expectations from a man of CEO stature. I see conflicting info, contradictory statements, personal attacks, childish sarcasm and unnecessary disclosure of info from this particular man hence that drives my opinion of him.

 

CEOs are not 16 year old teenage girls on myspace. Sure you can tweet, but like presidents and prime ministers you carry the name and reputation of a company with each tweet you make. and with that comes thousands of employees and also the shareholders. Your stability reflects on your ability to keep your company stable. Hence he should not be subject to normal "human" rules like the ability to flip out every once in a while.

 

"Paid tha cost to be tha boss" - Snoop dogg

[Naim 6]

RT: @tonyfernandes: There will be no change on plans to christchurch. Airasia is not an airline that will abandon in times of crisis. We were there for thailand. We were there for bali, acheh. We are there for the people of new zealand.

 

http://tmi.me/71XdC

[N Azman 0]

RT: @tonyfernandes: Airasia is not an airline that will abandon in times of crisis. We were there for thailand.

http://tmi.me/71XdC

 

This is a complete lie. I was there in Thailand as an AK customer. Nothing but a refunded ticket. I had reached KL via ground/air by the time the first AK rescue flight arrived U Tapao.

[dean hizudy 0]

don't be captain literal ler...id imagine theres a difference between positive or negative feedback vs plain offensive content.

 

for instance...."can you replace the orange juice please? the pulps are making me constipate" would probably survive the moderator's cut.

 

but "f#$k !@#$@ airlines serve drink on f!$!ing hand and not use tray !#$!$ wtf do you think crossin my way?" would probably be deemed offensive.

I agree. I think this is actually what is meant by MAS as a "negative comments". Because i can saw a lot of people posted some kind of very bad words that insulting/attacking certain individuals and races. Some people also even posted pornography photos to the MAS fb page that do not have any relation with MAS/aviation industry at all

[Ikman Ikreza 0]

RT: @tonyfernandes: There will be no change on plans to christchurch. Airasia is not an airline that will abandon in times of crisis. We were there for thailand. We were there for bali, acheh. We are there for the people of new zealand.

 

http://tmi.me/71XdC

 

How come D7 to be there if Christchurch airport as informed in news remained closed to all flights except emergency flights only due to earthquake. So weird on TF's tweets looks like he didn't alert about this.

 

Christchurch airport open to emergency flights only

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/canterbury-earthquake/69181/christchurch-airport-open-to-emergency-flights-only

Edited February 23, 2011 by Ikman Ikreza

[flee 5]

How come D7 to be there if Christchurch airport as informed in news remained closed to all flights due to earthquake.

D7 will only commence CHC services on 1 April 2011 - so it is not operating any flights now.

 

What he meant was that their plans remain unchanged. However, the earthquake can mean reduced tourist traffic as some might be afraid to travel to an active earthquake zone! That is what he meant by not abandoning CHC during times of crisis.

Edited February 23, 2011 by flee

[Ikman Ikreza 0]

D7 will only commence CHC services on 1 April 2011 - so it is not operating any flights now.

 

What he meant was that their plans remain unchanged. However, the earthquake can mean reduced tourist traffic as some might be afraid to travel to an active earthquake zone! That is what he meant by not abandoning CHC during times of crisis.

 

Thanks for info flee. Yup, D7 have estimated 1 month duration to go for their first flight to CHC and is it possible the earthquake will active again for second time within this 1 month period? Safety first priority even everyone can fly

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

CEOs are not 16 year old teenage girls on myspace. Sure you can tweet, but like presidents and prime ministers you carry the name and reputation of a company with each tweet you make. and with that comes thousands of employees and also the shareholders. Your stability reflects on your ability to keep your company stable. Hence he should not be subject to normal "human" rules like the ability to flip out every once in a while.

Then we'll end up with tweets of MH's CEO then - once in a blue moon, slow responsive, short and vague in nature, secretive, always so positive about the airline and asking for feedbacks about his bug-infested booking engine.

[Johan Z 0]

Then we'll end up with tweets of MH's CEO then - once in a blue moon, slow responsive, short and vague in nature, secretive, always so positive about the airline and asking for feedbacks about his bug-infested booking engine.

 

Haha. Spot on.

[N Azman 0]

Then we'll end up with tweets of MH's CEO then - once in a blue moon, slow responsive, short and vague in nature, secretive, always so positive about the airline and asking for feedbacks about his bug-infested booking engine.

 

As always, youve seen me attack TF like nobody's business, but that doesnt mean im completely supporting the other side either. But in response to your statement : Again we go back to the point:

 

1) It's not the CEO's job to give you market updates and feedback every complaint. It is however the prerogative of the airline to response, but definitely not through twitter.

 

2) Twitter serves as an avenue to communicate between CEO and Joe Public which has never existed before. That said, this is NOT the proper or the official channel for complaints. It is however, a way for Joe Public to directly relay their thoughts to MD and I was told both TF and TA dilligently read tweets directed to them. Some are replied directly, some are fwded to their staff for action.

 

3) Once in a blue moon? Refer back to point no.1 that i mentioned above. Richard Branson tweets what...once a month? does that make him a bad CEO? Its a matter of who has more time to open up their ipads and such for twitter.

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

As always, youve seen me attack TF like nobody's business, but that doesnt mean im completely supporting the other side either. But in response to your statement : Again we go back to the point:

 

1) It's not the CEO's job to give you market updates and feedback every complaint. It is however the prerogative of the airline to response, but definitely not through twitter.

 

2) Twitter serves as an avenue to communicate between CEO and Joe Public which has never existed before. That said, this is NOT the proper or the official channel for complaints. It is however, a way for Joe Public to directly relay their thoughts to MD and I was told both TF and TA dilligently read tweets directed to them. Some are replied directly, some are fwded to their staff for action.

 

3) Once in a blue moon? Refer back to point no.1 that i mentioned above. Richard Branson tweets what...once a month? does that make him a bad CEO? Its a matter of who has more time to open up their ipads and such for twitter.

1) Both the CEOs of MH and AK had committed to Twitter. They both signed up to Twitter in their personal capacity as the CEO of the airlines, possibly motivated by the need to show the Joe public that they are also keeping up with recent social media trends. I think nobody within the airlines forced them to sign up with Twitter. Both airlines have their own Twitter accounts and multiple Facebook pages as well. So since they have committed to tweet, are we to be blamed for coming up with some negative assumptions if one happened to be muted as compared to the other?

 

2) If it is not official, the CEOs could be sued by the airlines then, for revealing internal affairs to the public. People know the twitter account belongs to the CEOs and that the replies that the CEOs made are on their capacity as the CEO of the airlines - the no. 1 person in that company. How could that be unofficial?

 

3) Why not compare to SQ's CEO who do not have a Twitter or Facebook accounts at all? SQ as an airline also does not engage in any social media frenzy at all because they know how classy they are. Comparison is made between TF and TA simply because they are the CEO of Malaysian airlines. Of course we could drag Richard Branson, the CEO of Air Zimbabwe, Peruvian Airlines et al but what value it could add to us average Joe Malaysians?

 

My point is, if you have committed to something, a half baked efforts like that TA has been exhibited so far, will just give negative impressions towards himself as a person, himself as the CEO of MH and the airline in general (that he couldn't care less about the passengers' plights, typical gomen mentality/slow response and not as IT savvy as the CEO of the other airline whom everyone know is a much much busy person due to his diversified business ventures in airline business in multiple countries, hotels, financial sector and F1 racing).

[N Azman 0]

1) Both the CEOs of MH and AK had committed to Twitter. They both signed up to Twitter in their personal capacity as the CEO of the airlines, possibly motivated by the need to show the public that they are also keeping up with recent social media trend. I think no body within the airlines forced them to sign up with Twitter. Both airlines have their own Twitter accounts and Facebook pages as well. So since they have committed to tweet, are we to be blamed for coming up with some negative assumptions if one happened to be muted as compared to the other?

 

2) If it is not official, the CEOs could be sued by the airlines then, for revealing internal affairs to the public. People know the twitter account belongs to the CEOs and that the replies that the CEOs made are on their capacity as the CEO of the airlines. How could that be unofficial?

 

3) Why not compare to SQ's CEO who do not have a Twitter or Facebook accounts at all? SQ as an airline also does not engage in any social media frenzy at all because they know how classy they are. Comparison is made between TF and TA simply because they are the CEO of Malaysian airlines. Of course we could drag Richard Branson, the CEO of Air Zimbabwe, Peruvian Airlines et al but what value it could add to us average Joe Malaysians?

 

 

I see some of your point, but holddd your horses, we'll have to agree to disagree!

 

1) what commitment? is there a contract that says you'll twit x/hr or else we'll kick you off twitter? OK maybe unofficial is the wrong word but lets try this : INFORMAL. why i say INFORMAL is that things that are NOT done on twitter are : 1) Quarterly results 2) press conferences 3) COMPLAINT RESPONSE 4) major announcements 5) etc etc any official matter. Sure, one is more muted than the other. But most of tony's tweets is 'tak boleh pakai' to the Joe Traveling Public anyway like "Heikki is in the car" "Jarno rocks at golf" "Proton Sucks" and so on...nothing to do with Airasia pax and NEITHER is it FORMAL. It boils down to time spent on personal twitter accounts. Chillax, its only twitter.

 

2) CEO CAN be sued by airlines if they reveal confidential info youre exactly spot on. But when have they done that? give me one example and id be glad to give you VK Lingam's number.

 

3) haiyaaa captain obvious of course lar brader we dont care about air zimbabwe but i bet !Bile from Harare cares. I'm merely comparing CEO to CEO. Your comparison to chew choon seng is interesting. because apparently you say they are classy. KLM have one of the best social media team in the world so does that mean they are the unclassiest? the answer is : irrelevant. cos at the end of the day, its just twitter lah brader. it may be the CEO's OFFICIAL twitter account, but its informal. got time, and love to twit? then you twit more!

[Naim 6]

I regard TF's tweets as his personal tweets -- some useless, some useful, some banal, some trivial, some funny ... so let's not fuss about it. Don't like, don't follow him. Same goes for other CEOs tweeting under their names.

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

1) why i say INFORMAL is that things that are NOT done on twitter are : 1) Quarterly results 2) press conferences 3) COMPLAINT RESPONSE 4) major announcements 5) etc etc any official matter.

 

3) haiyaaa captain obvious of course lar brader we dont care about air zimbabwe but i bet !Bile from Harare cares. I'm merely comparing CEO to CEO. Your comparison to chew choon seng is interesting. because apparently you say they are classy. KLM have one of the best social media team in the world so does that mean they are the unclassiest? the answer is : irrelevant. cos at the end of the day, its just twitter lah brader. it may be the CEO's OFFICIAL twitter account, but its informal. got time, and love to twit? then you twit more!

1) The airlines (not the CEOs) did some of that things on Twitter and Facebook - responding to complaints and major announcements.

 

3) The CEO of SQ is Goh Choon Phong. Chew Choon Seng's term ended 31 December 2010. The thing with SQ does not engage in any social media frenzy and that KLM has the best social media team as claimed by you is not irrelevant. It's about business strategy and target market.

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

D7's next flight is to Antarctica.

 

 

Not!

 

Azran Osman-Rani hahaha. The entire population of Scott Base Antarctica during peak summer season is 35. Plus 17 Penguins, 13 Seals and 1 nasty killer whale, not enough of a market for AirAsia flight serices!

 

Kinda Keno's trippie.

[N Azman 0]

I regard TF's tweets as his personal tweets -- some useless, some useful, some banal, some trivial, some funny ... so let's not fuss about it. Don't like, don't follow him. Same goes for other CEOs tweeting under their names.

 

Spot on. Don't like, don't follow him? i disagree. everyone in aviation should follow TF. learn from his genius and follies, and call on his bs.

 

1) The airlines (not the CEOs) did some of that things on Twitter and Facebook - responding to complaints and major announcements.

 

3) The CEO of SQ is Goh Choon Phong. Chew Choon Seng's term ended 31 December 2010. The thing with SQ does not engage in any social media frenzy and that KLM has the best social media team as claimed by you is not irrelevant. It's about business strategy and target market.

 

1) and? i thought we were discussing CEO tweets? yes the airlines do reply to complaints and make announcement in tandem with the other media channels like tv, radio, papers.

 

2) thanks for the added info! i stand corrected. sigh. when i say its irrelevant, i was referring to your 'classy' comment lar bro. not irrelevant to airline strategy. of course lar its a matter of strategy. hence cannot compare lar one CEO bad for tweeting less, one CEO good for tweeting more(crap). see? even though you and me travelled a long way..but finally we've reached an agreement. its all about business strategy and target market. not classyness, tweet speed per minute or general responsiveness of CEO on twitter.

[Naim 6]

RT: @tonyfernandes: Results today for airasia. Also very important board if directors meeting. Shame oil price will knock shine off awesome results but we are in great position to handle this crisis. We thrive during crisis .

 

http://tmi.me/73Yv2

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

MH has a new Facebook page - MHbuddy. http://www.facebook.com/malaysiaairlines

 

MH Deals by Malaysia Airlines

If you're accessing from AU base - kindly use MHbuddy as alternative to book your flights. We're open for business here!

2 hours ago

 

Malaysia Airlines Travel

If you're in AU - you can use MHbuddy to book your flights.

2 hours ago

They are also offering an iPad for lucky passengers who book flights from that page.

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

AK's call center is officially disbanded.

 

Tony FernandesTony Fernandes

Big decision just made ny zaman and endorsed by me. End of april we will stop doing sales through the call centre. We moving more service to web. So call centre will become onbsolete.

50 minutes ago

[N Azman 0]

AK's call center is officially disbanded.

 

most likely because he finds the call center is getting a higher percentage of complain calls as opposed to actual sales calls.

 

bold move. wonder what happens to the now redundant staff of the call center.

[Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2]

MH has a new Facebook page - MHbuddy. http://www.facebook.com/malaysiaairlines

 

Using FB to book tickets? Interesting.

[Loh Wilson 0]

most likely because he finds the call center is getting a higher percentage of complain calls as opposed to actual sales calls.

 

bold move. wonder what happens to the now redundant staff of the call center.

 

If I am not mistaken, their call center is outsourced.