Airlines with the Most Followers on Twitter and Why It Matters

Although the Philippines lists many registered airline companies, there are mainly six competing commercial airlines with scheduled flights serving the domestic market. Let’s take a look at how many followers each of these airlines have on Twitter and why it matters.

Airphil Express

Twitter is now a key channel for airlines to communicate with their customers.

As a business metric, the number of Twitter followers matters as it is a base from which to build engagement, promotions, and all the key elements that add value to the airline and the followers. Just like an email database, the more customers they have following, the greater the potential audience.

Research also shows that following customers flock to Twitter for answers that may not be forthcoming from a website or call centre. Again, the larger the audience, the larger the base from which to communicate.

All of the six major airline accounts were analyzed for their number of followers to deliver the rankings (July 2012).

The six Twitter accounts had a combined follower base of 817, 344 Twitter users. Only two airlines topped the hundred thousand follower mark, Cebu Pacific taking the top spot with 389,842 followers while flag carrier Philippine Airlines takes the second spot with 375,084 followers.

No other airline came close to reaching these two, with Airphil Express and Zest Airways, the next highest accounts, more than 300,000 followers adrift.

So, without further ado, here are the six most followed airlines on Twitter:

1. Cebu Pacific (389,842) @CebuPacificAir
2. Philipine Airlines (375,084) @flyPAL
3. Airphil Express (33,523) @airphilexpress
4. Zest Airways (11,718) @FlyZest
5. South East Asian Airlines  (4,391) @flyseair
6. AirAsia Philippines (2,786) @AirAsiaPH

Update as of October 14, 2013 @ 9:50 p.m.  Philippine Airlines reclaimed the top spot with 539, 804, or 24,826 more than Cebu Pacific.

1. Philipine Airlines 539,804
2. Cebu Pacific 514,978
3. Airphil Express PAL Express 67,534
4. Zest Airways AirAsia Zest 30,900
5. South East Asian Airlines 7,547
6. AirAsia Philippines AirAsia Zest 16,160
7. Tigerair Philippine @tigerairPH 1,215

However, if we are to look at who made the most number of tweets (most active), it is interesting to note that Philippine Airlines takes the top spot with 12,841 tweets, followed by Cebu Pacific with 11,228 tweets and then by Airphil Express with 11,067 tweets. They are the only three airlines that topped the 10,000 tweet mark.

The six most active airlines on Twitter:

1. Philipine Airlines (12,841)
2. Cebu Pacific (11,228)
3. Airphil Express (11,067)
4. Zest Airways (576)
5. AirAsia Philippines (372)
6. South East Asian Airlines (364)

Update as of October 14, 2013 @ 9:50 p.m.  Cebu Pacific has 2,396 more tweets than than Philippine Airlines.

1. Cebu Pacific 31, 664
2. Philipine Airlines 29, 268
3. Airphil Express PAL Express 22, 476
4. Zest Airways AirAsia Zest 2,211
5. South East Asian Airlines 764
6. AirAsia Philippines AirAsia Zest 7,628
7. Tigerair Philippine @tigerairPH 195