Summer 2022 was set to be the Great Escape. After two years of COVID with restrictions and lockdowns, we were finally free to travel again. 

Except it didn't quite work out like that.

There were a lot of ongoing problems in the airline industry this summer. Interminable airport queues, lengthy security delays, lost luggage And that’s assuming you were lucky enough to get on a flight that wasn’t cancelled in the first place!

But what stood out among all these issues was the communication from the relevant companies, or, more accurately, the lack of communication and the impact that had.

Let’s talk about why open, honest and empathetic communication is crucial when things don’t go to plan and how you can make sure your crisis communication strategy is always on point.

Lack of communication can build frustration and mistrust

A recent piece in the Irish Times covered the luggage issues over the summer, and the experiences of those whose belongings were still lost in transit, three or four weeks after completing their journey.

One of the most frustrating elements for travellers involved was the pure lack of communication.

Phone calls went unanswered and emails were ignored. One man described over 100 unsuccessful attempts to contact the airline’s baggage handling partner via telephone, email and social media.

There was no contact, no connection with a human being who could explain what was going on. And that caused huge problems.  

We’re often told that "no news is good news." But that’s not always the case. “No news” creates a vacuum, and when there’s a vacuum, we tend to fill it with our own stories. Keeping the lines of communication open is always the better option.

It’s not just what you say; consider how you say it 

And it’s not just about open communication. How you convey that information is just as important as sharing it in the first place.

A colleague recently told me about his experience of a cancelled Aer Lingus flight. It was due to be an early morning flight returning home to Dublin, but he received an email quite late the night before to tell him the flight was cancelled.

The cancellation itself was inconvenient, but it wasn't the biggest issue. The problem was how that message was communicated.

Let’s start with the subject line. If you’re sending an email at 11:00 pm to let your customers know their early flight the following day is cancelled, that's pretty important. You need to make sure that email grabs their attention and gets opened.

A subject line that refers to a case number isn't going to achieve that. If the customer hasn’t already raised a case regarding their flight, why would this subject line be important or relevant to them?

A far better approach would be to introduce a level of urgency and some element of relevance to the recipient.

For example:

“Important! Changes to your upcoming flight - please read.”

This clearly communicates the message that it's important to open this email.

In this case, the body of the email wasn't much better because there was a total lack of empathy for the traveller involved.

“Due to changes in our flight schedule, the service has been cancelled. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

The airline then went on to list three available options for affected travellers.

The language here is certainly not customer-focused. “Changes in our flight schedule” suggests that it’s less about those travelling and more to do with company logistics. The tone implies the company is doing something that’s most convenient for their operations, and customer needs are secondary to that.

A simple tweak to the wording could help it to convey a “we're all in this together” type of situation, rather than “here’s what’s happening, it’s inconvenient, but there you go.” Even a slight change of phrase would have completely changed the tone.

Perhaps something like:

"Due to unexpected circumstances, we have been forced to cancel your flight. Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this has caused. Here are three options for you to create alternative travel plans."

You’re sharing exactly the same information, but the tone of this message is, “we’re with you on this, we’re sorry, and we want to do what we can to help.” 

Small changes like this can make a huge difference to the way your customer will perceive the message.

Honesty, empathy and consistency - 3 key ingredients for effective crisis communication.

We travelled to Spain in June, and I had my own taste of the summer’s travel woes. Fortunately, our flight did take off, although it was an hour late.

We’d got on the plane quite early and were waiting for our scheduled departure time when we noticed that passengers had stopped boarding. Soon afterwards, the captain came on the intercom to tell us what was happening.

• He explained they were a team member short. A staff member had been diverted onto another plane, and until there was a full complement of cabin crew, they couldn't let any more passengers on board.

• The captain said he understood how frustrating it was for us but hoped we'd be able to get going soon and promised to keep us posted.

• And he did. A little while later, he thanked us for our patience and told us they were still trying to organise another crew member, and hopefully, we'd be able to take off soon. 

• Then he came back to say they’d located a replacement cabin crew member who was now on his way from the airport building. 

• When the captain announced that “Oscar” (telling us his name made it personal and maintained that human connection) had arrived on the plane, he was greeted by a huge round of applause. 

• The rest of the passengers were then allowed to board, and we were ready for takeoff.

Even though our departure was delayed for over an hour, there were no disgruntled passengers. Everyone was happy because we were kept informed at all stages. We knew what was going on, how the situation was progressing and had an estimate of how long it would take before we could be on our way.

For more advice on the best way to handle communication when things don’t go to plan, take a look at my blog post, 7 Tips for Communicating in a Crisis.

Silence isn’t always golden

The absence of information can be dangerous because people populate that space with their own ideas and stories. Leaving your customers feeling ignored and undervalued can also do irreparable damage to your brand reputation and, consequently, your bottom line.

The best crisis communication plans are always based on empathy, timely and accurate information and, most importantly, keeping the lines of communication fully open.

You don't have to have all the answers. But you do need people to know that you care about them, you're working on the situation,  and you're doing the best you can.