Led by SimpliFlying, an aviation marketing strategy firm, the rigorous awards process consisted of public voting and judging by a distinguished panel of thought leaders in the travel marketing space.
DOHA, QATAR – Qatar Airways has been named the best emerging airline in social media for 2013 by leading aviation marketing consultancy, SimpliFlying.
Qatar Airways was nominated and then named overall winner in the Best Emerging Airline/Airport on Social Media category as part of the 4th Annual Sympliflying Awards, held in Amsterdam on 23rd October. The event took place in conjunction with the EyeforTravel Online Marketing, Mobile & Social Media in Travel Europe 2013 conference.
Led by SimpliFlying, an aviation marketing strategy firm, the rigorous awards process consisted of public voting and judging by a distinguished panel of thought leaders in the travel marketing space. The judges for SimpliFlying Awards 2013 included Raymond Kollau, CEO of Airlinetrends.com, Robert Patterson, Vice President of Content and Social Strategy at MMGY Global and Rosie Akenhead, Business Manager at Yelp.com.
Launched in 2010, the Annual SimpliFlying Awards have become the authoritative voice of the best social media practices by airlines and airports.
“Qatar Airways is certainly top in the league when it comes to social media,” said SimpliFlying CEO Shashank Nigam. “They have built a huge following on social media in the last couple of years with engaging campaigns like Tweet-a-meet and partnerships like those with FC Barcelona and premium hotels in exotic locales. Their social media campaigns are well thought out and seek to achieve multiple benefits for the airline each time. Qatar Airways is certainly staying ahead of the competition by thinking differently about aviation marketing.”
Shashank went on to say “The connected traveller of today is evolving quickly, even carrying his living room with him up to the skies. This presents many opportunities for airlines and airports.”
Qatar Airways has been quick to respond to the opportunities presented through the use of social media platforms by engaging with the connected traveler. The airline uses 14 social media outlets to assist, inform, and engage its travelers.
Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 16 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 128 aircraft to 133 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and The Americas.
In 2013, Qatar Airways has launched seven destinations to date – Gassim (Saudi Arabia), Najaf (Iraq), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Chicago (USA), Salalah (Oman), Basra (Iraq), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq), Chengdu (China), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Ta’if (Saudi Arabia) and most recently Clark Manila International Airport (Philippines).
Over the next few weeks and months, the network will grow further with Hongzhou, China (December 20, 2013), Sharjah and Dubai World Central, both in the UAE (March 1, 2014), Philadelphia, USA (April 2, 2014) and Miami, USA (June 10, 2014).
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
