Klout In The Airport: A High Score Gets You Into Cathay Pacific’s SFO Lounge. Last month, Klout launched its iPhone app. Today, it’s announcing its first big mobile partnership, one that should make app pretty appealing to any air travelers in San Francisco. So Klout is launching a Perk with Hong Kong-headquartered Cathay Pacific Airways. Anyone in the international terminal at San Francisco International Airport with a Klout score of 40 or higher will be allowed into the airline’s lounge, which is normally limited to Cathay’s first class and business class passengers.
Just use the app to show your score to the lounge receptionist and you’ll get access to seven workstations, three showers, and a noodle bar. The promotion, which starts today and runs through July, is another sign that whatever the haters say, companies are interested in exploring Klout as a marketing opportunity. That Cathay Pacific is willing to open its doors to Klout users seems like a real commitment, albeit one that’s limited to SFO, rather than all of its airports.
[Infographic] Airports in social media – ACI Europe Study reveals startling data. MakeMyTrip debuts airline social seating. Airlines are doing it so why not online travel agencies? MakeMyTrip, the India OTA, has introduced in beta, Tripalong, a social seating site for flights. With Tripalong, users can add flights or automatically import them from MakeMyTrip, create profiles, link to their Facebook and LinkedIn networks, and get informed when social media contacts will be on the same flights or in destination cities. And, Tripalong also will inform users when other Tripalong users are on the flight so travelers can decide whether they are pals or not pals to determine if they want to meet or sit together. Tripalong has not tied its app to any airlines yet so to secure a seat next to a social network or Tripalong friend, you need to check in together at the airport or check into the flight far enough in advance using airlines’ online check-in features. A very different business model than MissTravel.com, by the way.
Here’s a Tripalong video on how the whole thing works. Selon Facebook, l'aéroport international de Los Angeles est le plus "social" du monde. Jeudi 19 janvier Réseaux sociaux - 19 janvier 2012 :: 08:59 :: Par Eric Une étude récente réalisée par Facebook et fondée sur le nombre de check-in montre que l’aéroport international de Los Angeles est le plus actif sur le réseau social. Les aéroports ne servent pas seulement à faire décoller et atterrir les avions. Premières vitrines d’une ville, d’une région ou même d’un pays, ils sont au cœur de véritables enjeux commerciaux et marketing.
Une étude récente réalisée par Facebook montre que l’aéroport international de Los Angeles est le plus actif sur le réseau social. Dans le Top 25 des aéroports les plus « sociaux », 20 sont américains, et on en trouve seulement deux en Europe : l’aéroport d’Amesterdam Schiphol (16ème) et celui de Londres Heathrow (20ème). Que conclure de cette étude ? En tout état de cause, ce type d’étude ne peut qu’intéresser les marques présentes sur les aéroports pour dégainer des offres géolocalisées. (source) Statistics and Research Studies for Travel, Tourism & Lodging. BCD Travel In Motion. Social Web is a term used to describe the combination of User-Generated Content (UGC) and social networking that connects people of similar interests or lifestyles.
Social Web’s growth was initially fostered through personal sites such as Facebook and Bebo, but over the past 18 months Social Web has found a growing niche in the business world by connecting people who share professional interests or networks. From a business perspective, much of this social networking is happening in the open Internet; recently, however, a number of leading companies have begun migrating an assortment of Social Web tools and services behind the corporate firewall, including: File sharing and content collaborationTransparent intra-organizational and cross-functional communicationKnowledge-sharing forums (particularly key for industries and organizations that rely on “knowledge workers”) How social networking is impacting corporate travel?
How widespread is social networking for corporate travel today? Superfly mocks Kayak with launch of flight search and loyalty platform. TLabs Showcase on travel startups featuring US-based Superfly, a platform which combines a flight search engine with a loyalty scheme management system. Who and what are you (including personnel and backgrounds)? Superfly is a team of consumer internet and mobile travel pros, founded by Jonathan Meiri and Zviki Cohen. Jonathan is Superfly’s Co-Founder CEO. He started out as a product manager at eBay and was part of the team that launched PayPal Mobile. He then worked with companies that focus on digital travel, first as a director of mobile at Rearden Commerce and after that as VP product of WorldMate.Zviki Cohen is Superfly’s Co-Founder and CTO. Before Superfly he spent several years at Amdocs, most recently as Chief Architect of its consumer platforms.Kenneth Esterow is a Superfly advisor and the former CEO of GTA by Travelport.
What financial support did you have to launch the business? We’ve raised just under $500,000 from an A-list of Israeli Angel investors. Strengths: Weaknesses: Google provides personalisation via context of search, travel way behind. Tales of frequent fliers getting the same letter three times from their favourite carrier have done the rounds but now airlines seem to be taking personalisation more seriously. Could it be something to do with Google’s latest foray into the travel industry with its flight search tool? Who knows, but, at a Travel Technology Initiative session at World Travel Market last week, airline and technology figures agreed work needs to be done. EasyJet says it doesn’t do enough and that its personalisation efforts are too broad. Now, the low-cost carrier is planning CRM investment to come up with a more targeted offering recognising not only consumers who come direct to its website but also the ‘high value business customer’ that is increasingly coming via travel management companies and large corporations.
The airline also admits to spending a lot with Google to drive traffic and says the search giant could drive more traffic but easyJet does not want to become too reliant on any one intermediary.