Overall this is a great example of using PR and email to directly get to those customers that really matter, the frequent flyer.  More companies should use this approach more often.  Overall, well done … not just fix the maintenance issues.

Here is the email in full …

Qantas has recently experienced major disruptions to our international network. You may have been affected directly or indirectly by the disruptions, or seen the media coverage and speculation about Qantas safety and maintenance standards.

As one of our valued customers, I wanted to be in touch with you directly about this. I want to apologise if you were affected personally by the disruptions. I know that Easter is a special opportunity to unite family and friends, and I sincerely regret any frustration and anxiety you may have experienced due to the delays.

We hate disappointing our customers and we do all we can to rectify matters when things go wrong.

I also want to give you my personal assurance that you can continue to fly Qantas with confidence. Despite some sensational coverage recently, safety was never an issue. There were mechanical issues, but they did not represent safety threats. We always respond conservatively to any mechanical or performance issue, and we always put safety before schedule.

Every year the Qantas Group carries 38 million passengers to their destinations safely and home again. We continue to invest in the best fleet, product and service and in being a great Australian company. All of us at Qantas want to thank you for your loyalty and we look forward to giving you a warm welcome when next you fly.

The initial posting by Jason Roe was innocent enough.  He is a web developer in Ireland who seemed to found a relative harmless bug within the Ryan Air online booking site.  The bug meant that after going to the voucher page and then returning to a booking page, a zero cost for the flight was being displayed rather than the proper price.  Evidently completing the transfaction would not have given away a free ticket. 

After writing about the bug, he received a number of posts from people within Ryan Air (evidently confirmed by their IP address) slamming him.  Under the names of Ryanair Staff #1, #2 and #3, there were a series of comments posted that were less than complementory. 

Initially it made for fun reading, however after a while the volume of other comments and then the links to other sites meant that Ryanair had a PR problem on its hands. At last count there were over 500 comments and nearly 1000 links to that blog entry from other sites.

Ryanair could have done a couple of things – say nothing, issue a press release being humble or attacked the blogger.  Surprisingly someone appears to have chosen the 3rd approach.  A Stephen McNamara, evidently from Ryanair, was quoted as saying “Ryanair can confirm that a Ryanair staff member did engage in a blog discussion. … It is Ryanair policy not to waste time and energy corresponding with idiot bloggers and Ryanair can confirm that it won’t be happening again. … Lunatic bloggers can have the blog sphere all to themselves as our people are far too busy driving down the cost of air travel“.

Assuming this is not an elaborate hoax, we can learn some interesting lessons from this.

Firstly, companies can not stop their people from commenting what is happening around the world.  Some companies block IP addresses etc, but this is just a temporary measure and those that want to comment will find a way.

Secondly, companies should be on the front foot and clearly admit when there is a problem, thank the person who brought it to their attention and get on with fixing it.  Avoidance or shooting the messenger are not real options.

Thirdly, official spokespeople should be carefully selected for their clarity in communication and being  cool head in an crisis. 

Finally, they should not engage in the debate.  It never works out how they think it will work out and companies never come out on top.

The internet is hear to stay and one man media companies are the norm, not the exception.  Understanding this and working with them will make a company stronger.  A thousand little voices do make a difference!