PAL (Philippine Airlines) Uses Twitter For Airline Requests

A traveler flies Philippine Airlines and lands in Manila, his stopover on his way to Bangkok. He wanted to spend the few hours he had at his pit stop to revisit the famed sites flanking Manila Bay. But alas! Would he have to be hauling his luggage around the whole time?

Yes, these are actual events that happened one late evening three months ago. Would this story have a happy ending? Let’s see.

So he takes out his iPhone, logs on to his Twitter account, and begins sending messages about his dilemma. To whom? To @flyPAL — Philippine Airline's official Twitter handle.

@flyPAL was established in September last year. Here, PAL team members from corporate
communications, system management and planning attend to passengers' unique, sometimes quirky, Twitter-based concerns, queries and requests.

For everything from lost luggage and checking seat pitch, to legroom concerns and asking about three- pronged power outlets on the plane, the PAL team is able to give quick and specific replies either publicly or privately on Twitter, depending on whether an answer would be beneficial to everyone or to the sender alone.

For general matters, bookings, and the rest of the 80% of what passengers normally need from Philippine Airlines, they encourage people to browse through their website as most of the information can be found there. But for other concerns, there’s PAL’s official e-mail address, and @flyPAL on Twitter.

Okay, wait. Back to our story.

Tweet sent, the airline responded quickly. In just four exchanges of less than 140 characters each, @flyPAL provided him step-by-step directions, leading him to the baggage storage near the terminal's transfer desk at the arrivals hall in Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

And in less than 30 minutes — probably less time than one would normally spend just getting off the plane, clearing immigration and passing through customs — the passenger was able to store his luggage for a minimal fee. Our Bangkok-bound traveler is left impressed, thankful that he chose to fly with the Philippines' flag carrier.

So for PAL’s Twitter team, they remain optimistic about increasing their Twitter followers and furthering their vow of customer service. And for those of us who plan to cruise the clouds anytime soon, we can rest assured that with @flyPAL, our very own Philippine Airlines will always be just a tweet away.

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