Delta Gets Bloggy

Delta’s really been pushing into the whole web 2.0 world more than any other airline lately. Today, they took another step by quietly launching their corporate blog Under the Wing. As far as I know, this is the only US airline with a blog besides Southwest. (Yes, JetBlue has Neeleman’s flight log, but that’s really clunky and only updated about once a month lately.)

Honestly, I have no idea if this blog will be good or not. It just has a welcome post from the EVP of Marketing & Sales so far, but it looks promising (and I’m not just saying that because I made the blogroll). According to the post,

. . . we decided to add a blog to the site, where you can hear directly from Delta leaders on some of your most passionate and inspiring ideas, as well as some of the changes we’ve got coming.

You’ll also be hearing from Delta employees on some of the fun, quirky, and entertaining subtleties that make the spirit of this company and its people so unique.

Could be good. But it’s all in the execution. Give me an in-depth post from the head of the JFK operation about what you’re doing to fix the nightmare over there. And don’t give me corporate speak. That’s what press releases are for. Help me understand what’s going on in a more personal tone. Tell me more about the buildup of flights at LAX and how that’s working out. Take a camera on a delivery flight of a new aircraft. Maybe get us some more pics of the new flat beds you’re putting in BizElite on the 777s. Let’s get some really good, in depth conversation here. I say “conversation” because if the post is good, the comments will flow.

Of course, this requires Delta to make a conscious decision from a PR point of view to let people talk freely. Without that, it won’t work. That doesn’t mean people should be spilling secrets or anything, but it does require letting your guard down and that can be tough. Southwest has a done a great job of putting some very interesting posts out there along those lines. For example, anything from Captain Ray Stark I read instantly because it’s real and it doesn’t always focus on instances when Southwest’s shines. Including the bad along with the good gives him instant credibility. And he’s an entertaining writer.

I’m not saying Southwest’s blog is perfect. They also stray away from talking about the airline fairly often. No offense to USS Blog Boy, but I don’t go to a Southwest Airlines blog to hear about military experiences. I want to hear about the airline.

I imagine a legacy airline like Delta will have a tougher time getting senior management to go along with this whole “open communication” idea than an airline like Southwest, but I really hope they can.

Update 8/28 @ 856p – The folks over at Midwest pointed out that they do in fact have a blog. It’s not a corporate blog as you might expect, but Travels with Tish is about putting together “Girlfriend Getaways.” Sorry for leaving you guys out.