Thai Airways logo blackout ridiculed globally
Thailand’s national carrier Thai Airways after the crash landing of an Airbus A330-300 on September 9 at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport has tried to protect its image by blackening out the airline’s logo on the plane, a step that has been ridiculed and questioned globally in social and other media.
Described as a “crisis communication rule” by airline officials, the distinctive purple and gold logo as well as the plane’s serial number has been covered under black paint overnight as soon as all 288 people have been evacuated after the crash. The airline said the move was “to protect the image of the airline and the Star Alliance network of carriers, which Thai belongs to.” Thai Airways “generally practices ‘de-identifying’ of an aircraft after an accident,” it added.
However, observers noted that the Star Alliance logo has been left untouched and was still visible on the plane.
Pictures of the cover-up quickly made it on social media, exposing Thai Airways to much ridicule. Comments said while it used to be common practice with some airline in the past to “de-identify” an airline after a crash, is it proving ineffective in the social media age when passengers and onlookers can snap photos and put out unflattering comments to a global audience within minutes of an incident.
Others said that the painting exercise was a good example for “Thainess”, meaning not to “lose face” after making a mistake and not admitting to it.
All in all, it seems that this sort of crisis management actually sent the wrong message to the public. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the industry’s trade group, released a document on best practices on crisis communication after a conference in 2012 that discussed the role of social media such as Twitter and Facebook. IATA advised airlines to be “proactive” in their communication and put out facts as quickly as possible after passengers and eyewitnesses were firing posts on social media.
Star Alliance said in a statement that it also does not recommend that its members mask their logos on planes involved in accidents.
Thailand's national carrier Thai Airways after the crash landing of an Airbus A330-300 on September 9 at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport has tried to protect its image by blackening out the airline's logo on the plane, a step that has been ridiculed and questioned globally in social and other media. Described as a "crisis communication rule" by airline officials, the distinctive purple and gold logo as well as the plane's serial number has been covered under black paint overnight as soon as all 288 people have been evacuated after the crash. The airline said the move was "to protect the image...
Thailand’s national carrier Thai Airways after the crash landing of an Airbus A330-300 on September 9 at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport has tried to protect its image by blackening out the airline’s logo on the plane, a step that has been ridiculed and questioned globally in social and other media.
Described as a “crisis communication rule” by airline officials, the distinctive purple and gold logo as well as the plane’s serial number has been covered under black paint overnight as soon as all 288 people have been evacuated after the crash. The airline said the move was “to protect the image of the airline and the Star Alliance network of carriers, which Thai belongs to.” Thai Airways “generally practices ‘de-identifying’ of an aircraft after an accident,” it added.
However, observers noted that the Star Alliance logo has been left untouched and was still visible on the plane.
Pictures of the cover-up quickly made it on social media, exposing Thai Airways to much ridicule. Comments said while it used to be common practice with some airline in the past to “de-identify” an airline after a crash, is it proving ineffective in the social media age when passengers and onlookers can snap photos and put out unflattering comments to a global audience within minutes of an incident.
Others said that the painting exercise was a good example for “Thainess”, meaning not to “lose face” after making a mistake and not admitting to it.
All in all, it seems that this sort of crisis management actually sent the wrong message to the public. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the industry’s trade group, released a document on best practices on crisis communication after a conference in 2012 that discussed the role of social media such as Twitter and Facebook. IATA advised airlines to be “proactive” in their communication and put out facts as quickly as possible after passengers and eyewitnesses were firing posts on social media.
Star Alliance said in a statement that it also does not recommend that its members mask their logos on planes involved in accidents.
