GlobalData: Top 10 Most Mentioned Airlines on Social Media in January-June

Photo source: @American Airlines

GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, on Monday released a report of the top 10 most mentioned airlines on social media during the first half of 2022 based on discussions of Twitter influencers and Redditors.

According to GlobalData’s Social Media Analytics Platform, American Airlines retained its place as the most discussed airline on social media compared to its last report. However, the share of voice of the airline fell to 15 percent in H1 2022, from 20 percent in the previous six months.

The highest spike in social media conversations on American Airlines was observed in mid-January, led by a passenger mask dispute. Twitter influencers also appreciated the step taken by the airline company to comply with the federal mask regulations of Covid-19.

The remaining top nine positions on GlobalData’s list that analyzes the social media conversations around leading airlines are occupied by Delta Airlines, JetBlue Airways, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, Qantas Airways, United Airlines, Qatar Airways and Air India.

Delta Airlines with a 14 percent share of voice in H1 2022, continued to remain in second place as GlobalData’s H2 2021 report. During the month of April, influencers conversations spiked the most when Delta Airlines ignored the mandated mask requirements and regarded the Covid-19 virus as “an ordinary seasonal virus”. (Due to heavy outrage on social media, Delta Airlines changed its statement from “ordinary seasonal virus” to “more manageable respiratory virus” for Covid-19.)

Date range: January 1-June 30, 2022

According to GlobalData, though the Covid-19 pandemic-induced travel demand is a positive for the global airline industry, certain factors such as rising airfares, staff shortages, and travel protocols in the wake of new disease variants pose new challenges for airlines.

“Social media discussions around the global airline companies have surged by 20 percent in H1 2022, over the previous six months. The net sentiment of social media contributors plunged by more than 30 percent in H1 2022, over H2 2021,” said Smitarani Tripathy, social media analyst at GlobalData.

According to Tripathy, the increasing rate of flight cancellations due to staff shortages was one of the key reasons that dragged down influencers’ sentiments. Meanwhile, the recessionary fears coupled with rising airfares due to disturbances in supply chain are expected to weigh further on air travel demand.

GlobalData’s ‘Top 10 Most Mentioned Airlines: H1 2022’ report, which analyzes the social media conversations around the leading airlines, can be found here.