United Airlines Talks the Talk, but does not Walk the Walk When It Comes to Corporate Blogging

Upon returning home from New York City on Friday, November 21, 2008 (United Flight #7147) connecting in Washington DC, I decided to take a glance at the United Airlines "HEMISPHERES" magazine.
. I came across an interesting article titled,
"The Business of Blogging". Overall, I thought the article made some very valid points. In fact, the author, Ethan G. Salwen recommends businesses integrate websites and blogs. This can be done by simply adding a "Blog" link to a main site or homepage.

The article captivated my attention. I never thought an airline magazine could present such and interesting article. Reading up on the article peaked my interest in whether United Airlines, or it subsidiaries has a blog. I asked the flight attendant but she was unaware. Additionally, I wanted to find out if any other airlines have corporate blogs.

I spent some time over the past week trying to see which airlines implement social media effectively. I reviewed results through Google.com, visited company websites and checked other blogs citing examples of companies using social media effectively. My results are posted below.

Airline / Blog (Yes /No) / Link to Blog on Homepage?

Southwest / Yes / Yes
Delta / Yes / Yes
JetBlue / Yes / Yes
United / No / No
US Airways / No / No

Overall, I'm really surprised to see that United Airlines and US Airways do not have a corporate blog (or at least a corporate blog which is easy to find). It shocks me to see a company support the importance of business blogging in a company sponsored magazine yet not participate itself in such a social phenomena.

As I mentioned, I feel the content in the current issue of HEMISPHERES magazine is very relevant, especially to business people and marketers. United Airlines simply needs to monitor content more closely to make sure it aligns with its business polices and goals. It does not make a lot of sense to allow an article stressing the importance of business blogging to be published in its company sponsored magazine while the brand itself doesn't blog.

I plan to contact United Airlines to clarify whether they indeed have a corporate blog and whether a link can be provided. I will keep everyone updated on my findings.

You may visit Peter Kim's site for a list of companies using social media.