Malaysia Airlines PR Workers Have A Lot Of Work To Do

It’s been three weeks since the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing, purportedly crashed into the Indian Ocean. The public image of the airline, which was already experiencing financial troubles prior to the incident, has been forever tarnished and it’s future is uncertain. The airline’s public relations professionals are now faced with the daunting challenge of repairing the company’s image and regaining the public’s trust. Some might say the fate of the company rests in the hands of these people, as how they handle the fallout of such a tragedy will be incredibly crucial to the company’s survival.

It’s not uncommon for airlines to go out of business as a result of an airline disaster. TWA and Pan Am both ceased operations after their own disasters, and much like Malaysia Airlines, were both suffering financially at the time of the accidents. According to history, Malaysia Airlines may go the way of these companies.

But airline experts think it is possible for Malaysia Airlines to survive the financial blow from this tragedy through a change in management and aggressive PR campaigns focusing on improved safety. What this company needs to do is send the message of change to the world. But there reasons to think that maybe the airline has already made several key mistakes. In an article from ragan.com, it is speculated that the airline failed to put in place a well thought out contingency plan for such disasters, as they have shown little ability to engage with the media appropriately, letting the Malaysian government fill the role of speaking with press, instead of their own spokesmen. This shows a lack of planning and experience in dealing with crisis. 

Going forward, Malaysia Airlines needs to prepare aggressive safety campaigns to try and repair their image. The company also needs to take on the responsibility of not only regularly communicating details of the investigation, but also expressing empathy to the families of the victims. 

So far the airline has offered to pay $5,000 to the families of each passenger of flight MH370, and it is likely they will end up paying out millions more. But experts say the likely decline in ticket sales will hurt the company more than anything. 

Sources

http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/5_lessons_learned_from_Malaysia_Airlines_crisis_re_48122.aspx

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-malaysia-airlines-future-20140329,0,5251055.story#axzz2xJNvAm9f

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370