Low cost champion Ryanair announced recently traffic growth by some 400,000 passengers totaling almost 8 million in April. The figures relate growth based on this year’s Easter travel, according to the airline up by 5% year on year.
Courtesy Ryanair Corporate
Lower prices, improved customer service, and added services like allocated seating were said to be major reasons for the added passengers. But what about Ryanair’s new brand speak and listen via social media?
April traffic statistics:
- Traffic grew by 400,000 to 7.8m customers (up 5%)
- Load factor increased 3% to 84%.
- Annual traffic rose to a record 82m customers (up 3%).
Ryanair also added a new marketing chief this month. Kenny Jacobs has taken on the role, apparently to create a new style of revamp of the airline’s brand across media channels. Many see this hire as a turnabout by the airline’s dynamic boss O’Leary,who back in 2012 scoffed at the idea of Facebook or other conversation channels mattering. The new Ryanair is all about social speak, at least. This can easily be seen via the tweets of @Ryanair these days as compared to before.
The airline’s social media admins now share “seflies” of passengers and so forth, apparently going “full social” with engaging with new, existing, and even old clients.
@MaveCad and I fly to Pisa, looking for pasta and Italian guys… with @Ryanair get both!! ;) #RyanairFotoFriday pic.twitter.com/gAISZf88O2
— Super Cuky (@LaraMahillo) May 9, 2014
Let me put it to you this way, I’ve scrutinized hundreds of companies for their digital prowess and I’ve yet to see one make a transition like this from hard corporate lingo to the lingo of a new client generation. Whatever Kenny Jacobs and O’Leary discussed, it’s working in my view. The initiative is a bit amazing given another fact. Jacobs himself is not any sort of Twitter or social media guru, @Kenny_Jacobs only has 303 followers – opps! 304 counting me.
We’ll stay on top of the airline’s digital moves including mobile.
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