Alaska Airlines Might Want to Revisit "We're Not Robots" Campaign

Posted by Sheila Shayon on November 17, 2010 03:00 PM

Alaska Airlines is in the news – and not for shuttling the Palins around.

A Canadian couple recently missed their flight tending to a baby diaper emergency. Forced to spend the night and fly another airline home, they launched a publicist-attention-getting blog called Alaska Airlines Hates Families, demanding the airline (famed for its 1980s spot above, and for Apolo Ohno's endorsement) reimburse their $1,038 ticket.

A blogosphere groundswell of sympathy erupted, but was ineffective until a front page story appeared in The Edmonton Journal. The airline wrote them a $1,000 check, hoping it would all go away, and a new blog post went up, titled "Alaska Airlines Does Not Actually Hate Families."

But residual negative PR continues to swirl and Alaska Airlines has been dubbed “family haters,” severely detrimental to any airline in these flier-unfriendly times, with everyone's nerves frayed by TSA restrictions and passengers protesting en masse (as happened today to Ryanair).

Staying upbeat on Facebook and Twitter, Alaska Airlines' PR team is trying to smooth the roiled waters of a sullied reputation. Time for a cameo on TLC's new hit show?

More about: Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Ryanair, Social Media, Damage Control

Doug Zanger says:

Interesting. And surprising to me.

We fly Alaska Airlines all the time and they are really great to us. And we have a rambunctious 23-month old.

November 17, 2010 03:17 PM #

S. Brady (brandchannel) says:

Certainly shows the power of the web and social media to blow up one unfortunate experience — and command a brand's attention.

November 17, 2010 06:02 PM #

M Udall says:

We have three young daughters (1), (3), and (3) and fly Alaska all of the time! This is a great airline with wonderful service.

My husband and I have never had any problems with Alaska Airlines and their employees are always willing to accomodate us when we fly. I completely understand the added stress of flying on a plane with young children, but the recent news accounts of the Canadian couple sound to me like a couple who are inexperienced with flying and who made some bad decisions, trying to strong-arm Alaska Airlines into compensation for their own misfortunes.

My advise to other families traveling with infants...
1. Show up early
2. Take advantage of early boarding and get on the plane right away, even if your baby has just soiled her diaper.
3. Once on the plane, go directly to the lavatory and take care of the problem.
4. If the lavatory is locked, explain your situation to a flight attendant. Trust me, nobody wants a biohazard on the plane.

Megan

November 19, 2010 05:06 PM #