by Graham from Graham’s Travel Blog (follow him at @ghtravelblog).
After four JetBlue planes were stuck on the JFK tarmac for 9 hours on February 14, 2004 there was a lot of discussion about a passenger’s bill of rights. On January 22nd 2009, nearly four years later, an AeroMexico flight was stuck on the PDX tarmac for 4 hours. The passengers were not allowed to disembark, and police officers threatened to arrest agitated passengers. Although we are still without a traveler’s bill of rights, what we do have is Twitter.
Twitter can be used to bring a quick resolution to such travel nightmares as those described above. The key to this strategy is getting word of the situation out to a large group of sympathetic people who are willing to ruffle a few feathers. This strategy is outlined below.
Before you travel
Join Twitter – If you aren’t already a member, you’ll need to become one. If you are completely new to Twitter, then you’ll want to check out How to Set up a Twitter Account and 10 Easy Steps for Twitter Beginners.
Join the TravelHelp group and start following people – You’ll want to follow travelers and non-travelers alike. Join in some conversations and get to know some people. There are many great travel tweeps (Twitter users) out there; a good starting point for finding them is the 200+ Travel Twitterers List.
Set up your mobile device for Twitter – If you have a cell phone from which you can send a text message, then you’ll be to tweet from your phone. The tutorial Linking Twitter with Your Cell Phone will guide you through the process. If you have an iPhone then you can simply visit Twitter For iPhone.
Be ready and willing to help out those in need.
If you need travel help
Turn on your mobile device – If you can’t send a Twitter message from your phone, you’ll need to borrow one. If things are bad enough that you need to send out a distress call then getting someone to loan you their mobile device shouldn’t be a problem.
Send a tweet that includes the following:
- #TravelHelp
- A hashtag so your emergency situation can be tracked, your flight number might work (ie: #AM608).
- A description of your situation.
- A request for help, be as specific as possible.
- A request for retweets.
An emergency travel tweet might look like the following:
#TravelHelp #AM608 Stuck on tarmac 3 hours. Police threaten arrest. Please help, send food. Please RT.
Send updates – If possible, tweet regular updates using the same hashtags as before.
Thank those that helped – After your situation has been resolved, don’t forget to thank everyone through Twitter. You might even consider writing about your experience.
When you receive a request for travel help
Evaluate the source – If the request is from someone who you don’t know then it could be a hoax. Evaluate the user before proceeding.
Retweet the message – Getting the word out quickly is one of the reasons why Twitter is so powerful. A few retweets will get the call for help to a large audience.
Contact the airlines – State your concern by phone or an online feedback form. A simple message such as, “I have a friend on flight AM608, and I’m concerned about their food supply running out, can you help?” should suffice.
Tweet and retweet about the situation – If you learn anything new about the situation, hear about news coverage or learn the best way to contact the airline, let others know. Don’t forget to use the hashtags that were present in the original tweet in your new message.
Consider contacting a news team – If the event happens to be near you, you might want to tip off the local news team. News coverage can get the word out to an even larger audience, which adds to the pressure on the airlines to act.
Resolution
I believe that if enough people call the airlines with concern for a friend, then the airlines will take notice and act accordingly. Heck, they could even spin it into something positive for the news crews.
In an ideal world, the airlines would instantly catch the type of situation described in the beginning of this article. However, we don’t live in an ideal world, and we should look out for one another and help out when we can.
I recognize that there are many details to work out as there are weaknesses in the TravelHelp/Twitter plan: how to avoid hoaxes, determining what constitutes a travel emergency, etc. Ideally, I’d like this post to get people talking about the best way to use Twitter to obtain travel help in an emergency. If you would like to discuss the subject, you can leave a comment below or join the TravelHelp group and join the conversation there.
@dr_mike
Sounds like what my father did with Ham Radio way back when with their emergency groups.
@TheDailyMinder
Fantastic article. You know what – I’d never thought of this. But, I’m sure it will come in handy when I’m back in the Himalayas.
Thanks Darren.
@AimforAwesome
I love Twitter – and I use it daily. I’ve had some amazing help on Twitter and will post that tomorrow – about how my hard drive issue with a new HP Mini netbook computer got resolved in a way it never would have without twitter. Twitter saved me 2.5 mths of wait and 220 dollars. Not bad for a free app.
What I thought of as I read this Darren was that the potential for misuse of Twitter is looming large in the background. Think of false hijacking reports, and anything as remotely serious as that – and you have the potential to disrupt a large group of people over a hoax. Similar to fake landing of martians on American soil over the radio years back.
Someone amasses a group of say 40,000 tweetfriends and builds up a respectable profile for a while and then sets the game in motion – a complete hoax and, if harmless – some notoriety. Think that’s not coming soon?
The potential for real damage is there too – hoaxes are not always harmless. Someone could lose an eye, or worse.
Twitter can’t be that trusted because it’s basically anonymous. There’s little accountability if one wishes to use it for less than honorable intention.
Other than that – as I said, I love it and am using it daily and getting a lot done. I think the time is coming when people test the limits of Twitter in good and bad ways. Be ready for the bad too…
@thebenchs
I live in a island and its common that some deficulties ocure when you are in the airport so i guess this would be a good what to help people on it and of course for doze that juts reach to air port and sond know how things work on it.
Cool pots.
@authorlisalogan
Wow, this is great advice! Twitter Saves the Day, again. I’m definitely RT’g this post right now.
@patriciaaltner
Excellent post! I’m going to set my phone so I can contact Twitter in an emergency.
@goingbigger
Reminds me of the commercial “I have fallen I can’t get up”. Wonder if new generations will use systems like is time of serious crisis as well.
It is a nice write-up suggesting various measures related to travelers safety. Joining Twitter will be new experience for me but I know it would be helpful in many ways.
@ghtravelblog
Vern: You make some great points. Like I mentioned in the article, the possibility of a hoax is certainly possible. I’m hoping that someone can suggest a safeguard for this, but an adequate safeguard may not be possible.
With the Twitter account hijackings not long ago, the possibility of an account with a good reputation being used to stage a hoax is real. The problem would be that airlines may be inclined to ignore real calls if hoaxes prevail.
@AimforAwesome
Some accountability – someone’s credit card number? I don’t know – maybe some internet authority needs to start issuing internet id cards on which is an ID number and a code that matches that person up with various accounts online. Makes sense to me. Yes, many problems with it – anyone else have a solution? There must be some kind of accountability…
@jacquiecliff
Interesting concept. Makes sense especially in this day and age. Of course there is that whole issue of declaring an emergency when there isn’t one, but at least you could vent if stuck on a plane that is waiting to take off for several hours.