Lessons learned from the airline industry

by Thomas Becher, APR

In my previous corporate career I served as media spokesman for Northwest Airlines – the same airline that carried the alleged attempted bomber (and coincidentally is finalizing its merger with Delta Air Lines).

My first thought upon hearing about the Christmas Day incident was that I was thankful this was wasn’t a disaster. But the global media onslaught that followed also reminded me of the public relations lessons the high-profile airline industry can impart on other businesses:

• A crisis can happen anytime. Bad news does not take a holiday – nor does a situation have to be your fault for you to be affected.



• A crisis can percolate before you even know about it. Passengers on that Northwest flight were taking photos and video and making phone calls even before airline management was fully informed. In this age of technology, there’s no time to wait to react.



• Embrace social media as a crisis tool. In a society of instant communication, a simple message on Twitter can help calm fears.



• Communicate early, communicate often. Recovering from a crisis requires constant communication to all your stakeholders.



• Have a communications plan. Determine what can go wrong and how you will communicate during a crisis.