I’ve said before that I’m a big fan of American’s social media team, and it’s during times like Hurricane Sandy that they really shine.

During the storm they provided crises communications, weather news, information about flight delays and cancellations, and helped customers whose travel plans were disrupted. And they did all of this with patience, friendliness, and humor.

Every day they’re helping lots of people, 140 characters at a time, so it’s good to seem them get some recognition for their efforts.

Last month at the 2012 SimpliFlying Awards event in Amsterdam they were awarded First Place – Best Airlines Driving Customer Service from Social Media.

They absolutely deserve it.

Do you want to see the faces behind the @AmericanAir team?  Take a look at this new video from American detailing some of their Social Media Team’s accomplishments for 2012.

Speaking of the @AmericanAir team, Brett Snyder of the Cranky Flier has a two part Across the Aisle interview with Jonathan Pierce, the Director of Social Communications for American Airlines.

It’s a great interview and touches on subjects that I wasn’t even aware of, like the challenge of using Twitter as a customer service tool in an environment regulated by the Department of Transportation. Interesting stuff.

Part 1:

The Cranky Flier Interviewing the Man Behind the Social Media Strategy at American Airlines, Part 1 (Across the Aisle)

and Part 2:

The Cranky Flier Interviewing the Man Behind the Social Media Strategy at American Airlines, Part 2 (Across the Aisle)

(Update: the scammers posing as American Airlines have been shut down.  You can find the REAL American Airlines on Instagram by searching  for username AmericanAir.)  American has a fairly new presence on the social photo sharing site Instagram, and it seems that scammers are just as quick to embrace new technologies and platforms.

Someone has set up a fake American Airlines Instagram account promising followers a free ticket just for being one of the first 10,000 to follow by Nov. 7. Here’s a look:

You can find the real American Airlines on Instagram as AmericanAir, here’s a look at their info:

Other than attracting followers, I’m not sure what the scammers hope to gain: beyond whatever info is in your profile, no personal information is exchanged when you follow someone.

American isn’t the only airline with a fake Instagram counterpart, Delta and Southwest have fakers too.

According to the Twin Cities Business Journal, the fake Delta account had more than 21,000 subscribers with promises of a free ticket – which is absolutely nuts!  It’s tough enough to get a “free” ticket on Delta with miles! Not sure how anyone fell for that one.

Now if I saw a Delta Instagram account that promised a Free Ticket (with a $350 co-pay, that can’t be used on premium class or international travel, excludes May through April travel, and fees must be charged to Delta branded AMEX card) – that I would believe!

American Airlines Vacations just launched a new scratch-off promotion that offers players a discount and a chance to win a vacation:

Plan Now for Big Savings and Enter for a Chance to Win a Dream Vacation!

Click and drag the coin across the game card to reveal vacation package savings of up to 10%! Match any three offers and with that offer.

Then, register to receive your promotion code and you’ll also be entered for a chance to win a dream vacation!

Hint: If you don’t like the scratch-off results, just refresh the page and play again.

The prize is a $5,000 electronic gift certificate issued by American Airlines to be used toward an AA Vacation package purchase. All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. Central on September 21, 2012. Go here to read the rules and go to www.AAVacations.com/Scratch-Off to enter.

Reader Giveaway

Speaking of winning stuff….here’s your chance to win an American Airlines Amenity Kit and a 10% discount code you can use to save money on your next ticket purchase!

The discount code is courtesy a reader who had a spare (thanks WIS!), and the amenity kit is my own. It’s brand new and still sealed in the plastic.

Next time you’re in coach, pull out the kit and it’ll be just like sitting in First Class (minus the extra room, warm nuts, baked on board cookie, and butter mint).

The other day I mentioned that American was nominated for two awards in the Annual SimpliFlying Excellence in Social Media Awards. They’re among the finalist in two categories:

Best Airline in Social Media

Best Use of Social Media to Drive Customer Service

Voting runs though August 25, and if you haven’t already voted, you can go here to cast your ballot.

To enter my Reader Giveaway, all you have to do is correctly guess who I voted for in the Best Airline in Social Media category and leave your answer in the comments section.

Monday, I’ll have a random drawing from among all the correct answers and will announce a winner.  One entry per person. The deadline to enter is Sunday, August 19, at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

Good luck, don’t forget to vote, and have a great weekend!!

Do you try to pick flight that you think will offer inflight wifi? I do. I look for 767-200s, 737s, MD-80s on some routes, and try to avoid 757s and 767-300 (domestically).

Before I buy a ticket, I’ll follow wifi availability on a route using the American wifi widget to see if there are some flights that consistently offer it. It’s not guaranteed to work, but since last year, I have’t ended up on a flight (excluding flights on 763s and 757s) without Wifi

Does anyone else do this?

Anyway, here’s a new Facebook promotion from American Airlines:

Win 100,000 AAdvantage Miles and 10 Single Use In-Flight Wifi passes

It’s our goal to ensure that you stay plugged-in, entertained, and engaged with your life throughout your entire travel experience, and our suite of Connectivity services are designed to do just that. So how are we doing? Let us know what you think, and you could win 100,000 AAdvantage miles and 10 one-time InFlight Wi-Fi passes.

The questions with my comments

It’s our goal to ensure that you stay plugged-in, entertained, and engaged with your life throughout your entire travel experience, and our suite of Connectivity services are designed to do just that. So how are we doing? Let us know what you think, and you could win 100,000 AAdvantage miles and 10 one-time InFlight Wi-Fi passes.

How often do you use In-Flight Wi-Fi? And why?

I never turn down three things: a second helping of warm mixed nuts, baked on board cookies, or inflight wifi.

Have you tried our entertainment on demand and streamed a movie/show in flight? What did you think?

This is cool, and I’d ilk to try it. It’s sort of like Netflix for your computer and tablets at 30K feet:

Entertainment on demand is available onboard all American Airlines flights on 767-200 planes – primarily transcontinental flights between New York JFK and Los Angeles and JFK and San Francisco, as well as select MD80 planes* and coming soon to 737-800 planes. We are working to install entertainment on demand service across our entire Inflight Wi-Fi equipped domestic fleet by the end of the year.

Of the flights that I’ve been on this year that have offered it, I was upgraded each time. So while I’ve been able to try out the new Samsung Tab entertainment system, I still haven’t tried the Entertainment on Demand service. I look forward to giving it a try the next time the Upgrade Gods decide to leave me in the main cabin.

Our mobile apps are pretty awesome! But what else do you wish they could do?

They are pretty awesome and I’m a big fan of AA’s iPhone App and the mobile website. But since they asked…there are a couple of features I’d like to see added. I’d like to see an Admirals Club section with a list of locations. One that doesn’t require a Wifi or data signal (airports and international destinations can sometimes make it difficult to access information stored remotely).

I’d also like it to list club amenities. It would be especially helpful at JFK, ORD, DFW if you’re trying to find a club that offers showers.

How often do you find yourself looking for a power port in flight?’

Always. It’s inevitable that one of my devices is low on energy.

About a year ago they started adding more powerports to their planes and the whole fleet is finished with the exception of 767-300s and the 757s. Those two are a work in progress and should be done by the end of the year.

Anyway, go here to read the rules and to take the survey and enter the drawing for the 100,000 AAdvantage Miles.

Good luck!

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