Aviation crisis-Are we ready? BY PARTHA CHAKRABORTY

Contents Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………...03Introduction…………...……………………………………………………………..04Problem Domain…………………………………………………………………….20Solution Domain…………………………………………………………………….22

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System Domain…………………………………………...………………………...29Application Domain………………………………………………………………...56Feasibility Study…………………………………………………………………….75Expected Outcome………………………………………………………………....80Reference………………………………………………........................................81 Abstract

Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a major event that threatens to harm the organization, stakeholders, or the general public. The study of crisis management originated with the large-scale industrial and environmental disasters in the 1980s. It is considered to be the most important process in public relations.

Three elements are common to a crisis: (a) a threat to organization, (b) the element of surprise, and (c) a short decision time. Venette argues that "crisis is a process of transformation where the old system can no longer be maintained." Therefore, the fourth defining quality is the need for change. If change is not needed, the event could more accurately be described as a failure or incident.

In contrast to risk management which involves assessing potential threats and finding the best ways to avoid those threats, crisis management involves dealing with threats before, during, and after they have occurred. It is a discipline within the broader context of management consisting of skills and techniques required to identify, assess, understand, and cope with a serious situation, especially from the moment it first occurs to the point that recovery procedures start

The importance of advance and thorough preparation for addressing an aviation crisis cannot be overstated, as it will help a company deal with adversity if and when the real event occurs. Corporate executives and their in-house teams should not face such an extraordinarily stressful event alone or unprepared; there are many resources available to help put together an effective crisis management plan. Thought and deliberate action must be taken in implementing it, however, since good intentions alone will not sufficient. Even with the best intentions, mishandling a crisis can haunt a company for months and even years.

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INTRODUCTION

Crisis “A critical event or point of decision which, if not handled in an appropriate and timely manner (or if not handled at all), may turn into a disaster or catastrophe.”

During the crisis management process, it is important to identify types of crises in that different crises necessitate the use of different crisis management strategies. Potential crises are enormous, but crises can be clustered.

Lerbinger categorized eight types of crises

1. Natural disaster2. Technological crises3. Confrontation4. Malevolence5. Organizational Misdeeds6. Workplace Violence7. Rumours8. Terrorist attacks/man-made disasters

Natural crisis

Natural crises, typically natural disasters, are such environmental phenomena that threaten life, property, and the environment.

Technological crisis

Technological crises are caused by human application of science and technology. Technological accidents inevitably occur when technology becomes complex and coupled and something goes wrong in the system as a whole (Technological breakdowns). Some technological crises occur when human error causes disruptions (Human breakdowns). People tend to assign blame for a technological disaster because technology is subject to human manipulation whereas they do not hold anyone responsible for natural disaster. When an accident creates significant environmental damage. Samples include software failures, industrial accidents, and oil spills.

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Confrontation crisis

Confrontation crisis occur when discontented individuals and/or groups fight businesses, government, and various interest groups to win acceptance of their demands and expectations. The common type of confrontation crisis is boycotts, and other types are picketing, sit-ins, ultimatums to those in authority, blockade or occupation of buildings, and resisting or disobeying police.

Crisis of malevolence

An organization faces a crisis of malevolence when opponents or miscreant individuals use criminal means or other extreme tactics for the purpose of expressing hostility or anger toward, or seeking gain from, a company, country, or economic system, perhaps with the aim of destabilizing or destroying it. Sample crisis include product tampering, kidnapping, malicious rumors, terrorism, and espionage.

Crisis of organizational misdeeds

Crisis occur when management takes actions it knows will harm or place stakeholders at risk for harm without adequate precautions. Lerbingerspecified three different types of crises of organizational misdeeds: crises of skewed management values, crises of deception, and crises of management misconduct.

Crises of skewed management values

Crises of skewed management values are caused when managers favor short-term economic gain and neglect broader social values and stakeholders other than investors. This state of lopsided values is rooted in the classical business creed that focuses on the interests of stockholders and tends to disregard the interests of its other stakeholders such as customers, employees, and the community .It has 3 stages -precrisis -acute -chronic and -conflict resolution

Crisis of deception

Crisis of deception occur when management conceals or misrepresents information about itself and its products in its dealing with consumers and others.

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Crisis of management misconduct

Some crises are caused not only by skewed values and deception but deliberate amorality and illegality.

Workplace violence

Crises occur when an employee or former employee commits violence against other employees on organizational grounds.

Rumors

False information about an organization or its products creates crises hurting the organization’s reputation. Sample is linking the organization to radical groups or stories that their products are contaminated

Crisis management is a situation-based management system that includes clear roles and responsibilities and process related organizational requirements company-wide. The response shall include action in the following areas: Crisis prevention, crisis assessment, crisis handling and crisis termination. The aim of crisis management is to be well prepared for crisis, ensure a rapid and adequate response to the crisis, maintaining clear lines of reporting and communication in the event of crisis and agreeing rules for crisis termination.

Crisis management consists of different aspects including;

Methods used to respond to both the reality and perception of crisis. Establishing metrics to define what scenarios constitute a crisis and

should consequently trigger the necessary response mechanisms. Communication that occurs within the response phase of emergency-

management scenarios.

Crisis-management methods of a business or an organization are called a crisis-management plan. A British Standard BS11200:2014 provides a useful foundation for understanding terminology and frameworks relating to crisis, in this document the focus is on the corporate exposure to risks in particular to the black swan events that result in significant strategic threats to organisations. Currently there is work on-going to develop an International standard.

Crisis management is occasionally referred to as incident management although several industry specialists such as Peter Power argue that the term "crisis management" is more accurate.

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A crisis mindset requires the ability to think of the worst-case scenario while simultaneously suggesting numerous solutions. Trial and error is an accepted discipline, as the first line of defense might not work. It is necessary to maintain a list of contingency plans and to be always on alert. Organizations and individuals should always be prepared with a rapid response plan to emergencies which would require analysis, drills and exercises.

The credibility and reputation of organizations is heavily influenced by the perception of their responses during crisis situations. The organization and communication involved in responding to a crisis in a timely fashion makes for a challenge in businesses. There must be open and consistent communication throughout the hierarchy to contribute to a successful crisis-communication process.

The related terms emergency management and business continuity management focus respectively on the prompt but short lived "first aid" type of response (e.g. putting the fire out) and the longer-term recovery and restoration phases (e.g. moving operations to another site). Crisis is also a facet of risk management, although it is probably untrue to say that crisis management represents a failure of risk management, since it will never be possible to totally mitigate the chances of catastrophes' occurring.

While the aviation industry is enjoying its strongest safety record in years, any segment of the industry could be called upon at any moment to deal with a crisis, emergency, or accident situation. Whether in aviation or any other industry , corporate management should work with its various departments , outside counsel, communications specialists, and insurers well in advance to develop a workable emergency plan. The time and preparedness that are required to deal with today’s vastly complicated crisis situations should not be underestimated. Indeed, how a company handles a crisis in the first few hours, days, and weeks following a crash or other catastrophe often affects the public’s perception of the company and may strike at the bottom line. Since crises are undesirable for organizations, crisis management is an important task for management and nearly all organizations have crisis management and communication strategies. Crisis management is considered to have three phases; the prevention , response and recovery phase.

Prevention phaes :Before the crisis occurs, it is generally preferable to try to prevent it from happening. In the prevention phase, the degree to which crisis prevention efforts are taken depend on how important management considers crisis prevention to be. Additionally, while there are often some indicators or warning signals that the events are coming, they may be overlooked or ignored, which would make

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prevention very difficult for the organization. Since the crises are surprising events, it follows that the probability of the crisis occurring at the time it did was not accurately predicted ahead of time. In this phase, it is also advisable to build up an image of legitimacy and trustworthiness, as that will serve the organization during the response phase. Designate an Emergency Communications Coordinator (ECC) and an alternate ECC. The EEC should not be involved in the emergency steps themselves but should be familiarwith handling the situation at hand and distributing and receiving calls from different outlets that become involved when an emergency occurs. An alternative ECC should be selected in case the first ECC is unavailable at the time.Members of the emergency crisis team will hold occasional meetings to discuss and further develop the plan. These meetings will help to remind everyone involved of the steps that may need to be taken when dealing with an emergency and will help to be surethe company is ready for any kind of crisis that may be faced.Designate a primary and alternative location to hold emergency news press conferences.The rooms that are chosen should provide space for a news conference, along with multiple telephones, electrical outlets, and refreshments for those who will be attending.News media identification should be provided and made available for the media by the ECC.

Response Phase : However, when avoidance and prevention efforts have failed and a crisis event occurs, the organization must try to limit and contain the damage done to stakeholders, property, the environment and the organization itself by responding to the crisis. When the initial reports of the crisis event arrive, they are likely to be contradictory, incorrect or ambiguous, due to the stressful circumstances of crisis situations and the abovementioned communication limitations. As a result, crisis managers will have to make decisions about how to interpret these reports. This interpretation will affect the choices of how to act in response to the crisis. The crisis management team of organization must quickly decide how the organization will have to act to deal with the crisis. Due to the time pressures that the organization faces, it will be forced to make a tradeoff between information searching and action, and as a result, the initial communication and actions will likely be based on limited information and characterized by ambiguity and confusion. Those at risk of being harmed must be informed how they are to protect themselves and harmed stakeholders need to be helped as much as possible. The quality of the actions taken in these early stages of the response phase can have a major impact on the safety of affected stakeholders, sometimes being the difference between life and death. Other stakeholders will consider it to be illegitimate if the organization takes too

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long in meeting the legitimate demands from the harmed stakeholders for actions that will reduce their harm. Additionally, if the organization does not quickly react to the crisis, the media will accuse the organization of acting irresponsibly and ignoring the crisis. Aside from providing instructions for stakeholders to protect themselves, showing concern for the victims and their kin is also considered one of the corner stones of successful crisis communication. The emergency should be reported to the CEO (also known as the ECC), who will activate the plan. The ECC will inform the members of the crisis communication team who are relevant to the emergency that is taking place.• Contact should be made to the appropriate outside sources such as police, fire department, investigators, federal aviation administration, state department, etc. This contact should be made from the VP for Government and Community Relations or Health and Safety Manager.• All employees involved with the emergency should remain calm and determined to ensure that the emergency will be taken care of in the most effective way possible.• All news media should be sent to the CEO or the Director of Media Relations. Reporters should be told where the Emergency Newsroom would be located. Reports will be issued and updated within the newsroom. Interviews will be arranged and developed in the Newsroom from the CEO and other appropriate members of the emergency crisis team.

o No other employees should handle the questions from the media. It is important to be sure only one person is representing the company in order to assure that the message being delivered is a single, unified message.• The media should be provided with the following information:o Provide the media with facts – no speculation or cover-ups.§ What happened? When? And Where?§ How and Why did it happen? (If you are unsure of why it occurred, say that you are unaware and that it is still developing)§ Who was involved? – Provide names of those involved only after there has been a notification of death or injury. Refer to company policies onreleasing confidential information.§ Extent and nature of injuries, property damage, continuing damage, and insurance coverage. (Be sure not to include specific dollar amounts)• Employees should be informed of the details of the situation as soon as possible, in the fastest way possible.• If injuries occur to customers, find out information on the people involved who were harmed and contact families immediately to ensure that they are aware of what is going on before they find out via the news. Can have help provided from Government and Community Relations chair, Health and Safety Manager, or police department.• In event of bankruptcy or crash of stock, the CEO should contact the VP for Investor Relations to help handle the situation

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Recovery Phase : When there is no risk of further damage to stakeholders or the organization itself, the organization enters the recovery phase. In this stage the organization attempts to learn from the event, manage public perception and restore any damage it has sustained to its legitimacy and reputation. What organizations say during crisis communication affects how people perceive the events and the organization itself. This affecting the organizations reputation and legitimacy and the reactions that stakeholders will have. Organizations can use crisis communication strategies to maintain their reputation and thus prevent the relationships they have with their stakeholders from going sour. Organizations can do this by influencing the perception of the event, for instance by downplaying the severity of the event, such as when excuses are made or the blame is shifted upon a scapegoat. They can also do this by influencing perceptions stakeholders have of the organization, so that it appears to be sympathetic. Release to the news media, as quick as possible, the decisions and information relating to the incident. Where appropriate, express gratitude towards the people involved in helping with the crisis. For example, the police, fire departments, community, emergency crews,employees, or whomever else may have been involved.• The ECC or whoever is assigned, should compile clippings of news stories and information dealing with how the Crisis plan helped during the emergency and what can improve the steps that were taken to make the plan more efficient. This information should be brought together in a relatively short amount of time while the information isstill fresh and retrievable.• If customers injured, have CEO visit families and provide comfort and support to ensure they are deeply sorry for what has happened and allow support for the families that have someone who was injured or killed in the emergency.

Crisis leadership

Alan Hilburg, a pioneer in crisis management, defines organizational crises as categorized as either acute crises or chronic crises. Erika Hayes James, an organizational psychologist at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business, identifies two primary types of organizational crisis. James defines organizational crisis as “any emotionally charged situation that, once it becomes public, invites negative stakeholder reaction and thereby has the potential to threaten the financial well-being, reputation, or survival of the firm or some portion thereof.”

1. Sudden crisis

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2. Smoldering crises

Sudden crisis

Sudden crises are circumstances that occur without warning and beyond an institution’s control. Consequently, sudden crises are most often situations for which the institution and its leadership are not blamed.

Smoldering crisis

Smoldering crises differ from sudden crises in that they begin as minor internal issues that, due to manager’s negligence, develop to crisis status. These are situations when leaders are blamed for the crisis and its subsequent effect on the institution in question.

James categorises five phases of crisis that require specific crisis leadership competencies.Each phase contains an obstacle that a leader must overcome to improve the structure and operations of an organization. James’s case study on crisis in the financial services sector, for example, explores why crisis events erode public trust in leadership. James's research demonstrates how leadership competencies of integrity, positive intent, capability, mutual respect, and transparency impact the trust-building process.

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1. Signal detection2. Preparation and prevention3. Containment and damage control4. Business recovery5. Learning

Signal detection

Si Sense-making: represents an attempt to create order and make sense, retrospectively, of what occurs. Perspective-taking: the ability to consider another person's or group's point of view.

Preparation and prevention

It is during this stage that crisis handlers begin preparing for or averting the crisis that had been foreshadowed in the signal detection stage. Hilburg has demonstrated that using an impact/probability model allows organizations to fairly accurately predict crisis scenarios. He's recognized the greatest organizational challenge is 'speaking truth to power' to predict truly worst-case scenarios. Organizations such as the Red Cross's primary mission is to prepare for and prevent the escalation of crisis events. Walmart has been described as an emergency-relief standard bearer after having witnessed the incredibly speedy and well-coordinated effort to get supplies to the Gulf Coast of the United States in anticipation of Hurricane Katrina.

Containment and damage control

Usually the most vivid stage, the goal of crisis containment and damage control is to limit the reputational, financial, safety, and other threats to firm survival. Crisis handlers work diligently during this stage to bring the crisis to an end as quickly as possible to limit the negative publicity to the organization, and move into the business recovery phase.

Business recovery

When crisis hits, organizations must be able to carry on with their business in the midst of the crisis while simultaneously planning for how they will recover from the damage the crisis caused. Crisis handlers not only engage in continuity planning (determining the people, financial, and technology resources needed to keep the organization running), but will also actively pursue organizational resilience.

In the wake of a crisis, organizational decision makers adopt a learning orientation and use prior experience to develop new routines and behaviors that ultimately change the way the organization operates. The best leaders

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recognize this and are purposeful and skillful in finding the learning opportunities inherent in every crisis situation.

Learning

The effort taken by an organization to communicate with the public and stakeholders when an unexpected event occurs that could have a negative impact on the organization’s reputation. This can also refer to the efforts to inform employees or the public of a potential hazard which could have a catastrophic impact. There are 3 essential steps that an organization can take to prepare for and withstand a communications crisis: 1) Define your philosophy; 2) Assess your vulnerabilities; 3) Develop a protocol.

Models and theories associated with crisis management

Successfully managing a crisis requires an understanding of how to handle a crisis – beginning with before they occur. Alan Hilburg speaks about a crisis arc. The arc consists of crisis avoidance, crisis mitigation and crisis recovery. Gonzalez-Herrero and Pratt found the different phases of Crisis Management.

There are 3 phases in any Crisis Management as shown below

1. The diagnosis of the impending trouble or the danger signals.2. Choosing appropriate Turnaround Strategy.3. Implementation of the change process and its monitoring

No corporation looks forward to facing a situation that causes a significant disruption to their business, especially one that stimulates extensive media coverage. Public scrutiny can result in a negative financial, political, legal and government impact. Crisis management planning deals with providing the best response to a crisis.

Preparing contingency plans in advance, as part of a crisis-management plan, is the first step to ensuring an organization is appropriately prepared for a crisis. Crisis-management teams can rehearse a crisis plan by developing a simulated scenario to use as a drill. The plan should clearly stipulate that the only people to speak publicly about the crisis are the designated persons, such as the company spokesperson or crisis team members. The first hours after a crisis breaks are the most crucial, so working with speed and efficiency is important, and the plan should indicate how quickly each function should be performed. When preparing to offer a statement externally as well as internally, information should be accurate. Providing incorrect or manipulated information has a tendency to backfire and will greatly exacerbate the situation. The contingency plan should contain information and guidance that will help decision makers to consider

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not only the short-term consequences, but the long-term effects of every decision.

When a crisis will undoubtedly cause a significant disruption to an organization, a business continuity plan can help minimize the disruption. First, one must identify the critical functions and processes that are necessary to keep the organization running. This part of the planning should be conducted in the earliest stages, and is part of a business impact analysis phase that will signpost “How much does the organization stand to lose?”.

Each critical function and or/process must have its own contingency plan in the event that one of the functions/processes ceases or fails, then the business/organization is more resilient, which in itself provides a mechanism to lessen the possibility of having to invoke recovery plans. Testing these contingency plans by rehearsing the required actions in a simulation will allow those involved to become more acutely aware of the possibility of a crisis. As a result, and in the event of an actual crisis, the team members will act more quickly and effectively.

A note of caution when planning training scenarios, all too often simulations can lack ingenuity, an appropriate level of realism and as a consequence potentially lose their training value. This part can be improved by employing external exercise designers who are not part of the organisational culture and are able to test an organizations response to crisis, in order to bring about a crisis of confidence for those who manage vital systems.

Following a simulation exercise, a thorough and systematic debriefing must be conducted as a key component of any crisis simulation. The purpose of this is to create a link and draw lessons from the reality of the simulated representation and the reality of the real world.

The whole process relating to business continuity planning should be periodically reviewed to identify any number of changes that may invalidate the current plan.

Providing information to an organization in a time of crisis is critical to effective crisis management. Structural-functional systems theory addresses the intricacies of information networks and levels of command making up organizational communication. The structural-functional theory identifies information flow in organizations as "networks" made up of members ". Information in organizations flow in patterns called networks.

Another theory that can be applied to the sharing of information is Diffusion of Innovation Theory. Developed by Everett Rogers, the theory describes how innovation is disseminated and communicated through certain channels over a period of time. Diffusion of innovation in communication occurs when

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an individual communicates a new idea to one or several others. At its most elementary form, the process involves:

(1) an innovation, (2) an individual or other unit of adoption that has knowledge of or experience with using the innovation, (3) another individual or other unit that does not yet have knowledge of the innovation, and (4) Communication channel connecting the two units. Communication channel is the means by which messages get from one individual to another.

There has been debate about the role of apologies in crisis management, and some argue that apology opens an organization up for possible legal consequences. "However some evidence indicates that compensation and sympathy, two less expensive strategies, are as effective as an apology in shaping people’s perceptions of the organization taking responsibility for the crisis because these strategies focus on the victims’ needs. The sympathy response expresses concern for victims while compensation offers victims something to offset the suffering."

Crisis leadership

James identifies five leadership competencies which facilitate organizational restructuring during and after a crisis.

1. Building an environment of trust2. Reforming the organization’s mindset3. Identifying obvious and obscure vulnerabilities of the organization4. Making wise and rapid decisions as well as taking courageous action5. Learning from crisis to effect change.

Crisis leadership research concludes that leadership action in crisis reflects the competency of an organization, because the test of crisis demonstrates how well the institution’s leadership structure serves the organization’s goals and withstands crisis. Developing effective human resources is vital when building organizational capabilities through crisis management executive leader.

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PROBLEM DOMAINThe high profile aviation industry carries the risk of crisis from a range of events - an aircraft crash, severe weather disruption, staff disputes, major passenger issues, regulatory changes, political crises, sanction, hijackings or less high profile issues. With the public an integral part of most commercial aviation operations, many crises instantly attract media attention and place a company’s reputation firmly in spotlight.

Airlines and airport operators must be able to respond to a crisis by activating an effective crisis management program (a regulatory requirement for airlines and airport operators). If not, matters can rapidly spiral out of control. A poorly handled crisis can cause far more damage to an organization’s reputation and ongoing business operations than is necessary. While managing specific crisis issues, the organization also needs to ensure the rest of the business continues to operate with minimal disruption. Solid contingency planning and calm, decisive management is required, within an often turbulent environment.

Are we really ready to respond to an Aviation Accident or crisis involving to a Airline? Wheather accident management team primed well versed on the issues that will arise first few hours following an accident?Have we identified potential litigation issues and pitfalls an airline may step into while attempting to do the right things? Is your firm using the latest technology to support you in the event of a disaster? Unfortunately, the airline industry is often crippled with its reliance on the “black box”. If the black box is never recovered or it takes years to recover it as was the case in the Air France flight 447 crash in 2009, valuable time and money is wasted to get to answers. Modern aircraft still rely on radar, while most of our vehicles are equipped with technologically superior communication. If your organization is relying on yesterday’s technology, it may not weather a tragedy as well as it could. It might seem easier to think, “This won’t happen to me,” but time and time again, as was the case this year with Malaysia Airlines, we see examples where an unthinkable tragedy strikes and shows us it can happen. By learning from the experiences of other organizations can build those lessons into their own disaster recovery plans. Things can and do go wrong multiple times and when we may least expect them. The more effort organization put into disaster recovery plans, the better you will be equipped to face them, if want to explore as many what-if scenarios as can imagine when creating disaster recovery plans, so when the event happens all need to do is follow the plan. In times of crisis, leadership must be clearly defined. Difficult decisions need to be made and efficient operations need to take place in the face of chaos, so there can be no question regarding the decision-making process and who is in charge. In the case of Malaysia Airlines, international flight crashes impacted several countries with often opposing leadership styles.

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SOLUTION DOMAINWhile serious accidents can have a devastating impact on an aviation com-pany, lesser events can be equally damaging. Aviation companies can suffer serious repercussions, and may even be put out of business, if they are cited for safety violations. This especially is the case if aircraft are grounded because of safety concerns. An example is a California-based aircraft operation and maintenance company that collapsed when it lost its largest customer, the United States Forest Service, after company aircraft failed safety inspections. While less likely to cause an aviation company to fail, a wide variety of other incidents can cause reputation damage that can result in embarrassment to the company and diminished revenues for a period of time. Examples include non-safety related regulatory violations, labor problems, or bizarre or inap-propriate actions by a member of a flight crew. In all cases, effective commu-nication can help to keep a bad situation from becoming a reputation disaster. Ineffectual or inappropriate communication, on the other hand, can cause a situation to spiral out of control, potentially causing irreparable 16

damage. Serious aviation events are comparatively rare. That fortunate fact, however, means that when they do occur, it is quite possible that the company will not be adequately prepared to respond. Too often a company has a crisis response plan, but it is little more than a seldom-read chapter buried in an operations manual. Failure to respond quickly and effectively, however, can have dire consequences. The nature and extent of crisis response varies significantly with the scope and nature of a company’s operations. A major airline operating throughout the world, for example, has very different crisis response needs than a local charter helicopter service. What is necessary for every company, however, is to have a plan to gain control of the situation as quickly as possible. Gaining control not only means effectively and appropriately managing the details of the crisis response itself, it also means controlling the message – assuring that the company is seen by the media and others as the most reliable source of information, and that stakeholders are aware of the company’s actions to competently and, when appropriate, compassionately address the situation. Of course, the best way to be seen as competently managing a crisis is, in fact, to competently manage it. Crisis management plans must be made, regularly updated, and rehearsed. A crisis management team should be identified and everyone involved must know their roles and responsibilities. Procedures must be in place for rapidly notifying and assembling the team, with provisions made ahead of time for all necessary equipment such as computers, telephones and handheld devices. Consultants and other essential outside resources should be identified in advance. Even an otherwise well-managed situation, however, can have a bad outcome if communications are not handled properly. It is critical that organizations communicate quickly – and in the right way – with all necessary parties, which can include employees, first responders, airport personnel, the news media, families of the crew and passengers, and investigators. A consistent and coordinated messaging strategy is essential, and a communication plan should be an essential part of the overall crisis response plan. Elements of a crisis communication plan include, • Establish a crisis communication team. Depending on the size of the

organization, a crisis communication team may be comprised of the CEO, the head of public relations, the heads of key operating units, the head of human resources, the safety or security officer, and the corporate counsel. Additionally, a communications manager should be appointed to coordinate communications with first responders, investigators and others needing access to company information.

• Designate and train a spokesperson. Often a company’s designated spokesperson is the CEO. Whether the CEO or another senior represen-tative, however, the spokesperson needs coaching in crisis communica-tion. Other employees who likely are to have contact with the media also should have training.

• Develop an internal communications plan. Employees typically need to be the first to be notified when a crisis occurs, especially those

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employees dealing with customers. A robust emergency notification sys-tem should be developed and tested. The specific details of the plan will vary by the nature, size and complexity of an organization, but typically begins with collecting all employee contact information.

• Develop a media strategy. In the midst of a crisis is rarely the best time to cultivate a relationship with the news media. Ideally, companies will al-ready have built familiarity and an atmosphere of openness and trust with those reporters most likely to cover an event. Often this is an outcome of an effort by the company to reach out to the news media with story ideas and offers to be an expert resource.

• Identify all external stakeholders and the most appropriate chan-nels for communicating with them. A company will need to communicate with a broad array of individuals and organizations, each with their own information needs, during a crisis. The different groups – ranging from the news media to investors – should be identified in advance, with an understanding of the type and style of communication each requires along the most appropriate communication channels.• Develop a social media policy and communicate it to all employ-

ees. Thanks to social media websites, virtually any employee can become an undesignated company spokesperson, potentially creating a public re-lations nightmare. Through a company’s social media policy, employees need to be made aware that it is not acceptable to be perceived as repre-senting the company in their social media activities, and that confidential or sensitive information should never be disclosed.

• Identify specific information items that will essential in a crisis. In the event of a serious accident, accurate passenger lists of course are essential for passenger airline and charter operations. However, other in-formation is likely to be essential, and plans should include a process for having that information quickly available to the crisis management team. For example, one important piece of information for both cargo and pas-senger air operations following an accident is a cargo list, which is essential information for the fire and rescue crews. Additionally, up-to-date fact sheets about the organization need to be maintained. This information can be distributed to reporters at press conferences or during interviews.

• Develop an internet and social media strategy. It is likely that there will be a surge in traffic on a company’s website during a crisis. The crisis communication team should not only plan how to use the website for communicating its message, but also should enlist its IT department or website developer to be ready to take steps to avoid having the site over-loaded. Furthermore, companies should recognize that they need not rely exclusively on the news media to reach the public at large – social media can provide a very effective tool for communicating directly with people. Companies should consider establishing a social media presence for mar-keting and general public relations purposes, which can be pressed into service in the event of a crisis. They also should consider creating a so-called

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dark site, a pre-built, non-public website that can be published to the live Web in the event of a crisis. A crisis communication plan needs to be regularly reviewed and updated. The ways people communicate are evolving at a rapid pace. Only a few years ago, for example, social media played a nominal role in crisis communication. Today it represents both a challenge in controlling the message as well as a powerful channel for reaching stakeholders. Similarly, mobile devices such as smartphone and tablets mean that people have access to information and a wide array of communication channels on a near-continuous basis. Crisis communication plans need to be continuously refined and updated to guarantee that they account for changing technologies and modes of communications. Crisis communication plans also need to be regularly updated to reflect changes in an organization. Changes in reporting relationships may require new individuals on the crisis communication team. A merger or acquisition can change a company’s risk profile, and consequently its crisis response needs. Not only must plans be reviewed regularly and updated as required, the revised plans must be thoroughly rehearsed. Hopefully, most companies will never have to put their crisis management programs into action. But if they do, a well-conceived, well-rehearsed pro-gram can be the difference between having critical situation unravel with potentially ruinous consequences, and staying in control of events, possibly even enhancing the company’s reputation as a result of its cool-headed man-agement of a crisis. The company must be certain all communications deliver a strong and con-sistent message that conveys the right combination of confidence and com-passion. The company must been seen as in control of the situation, but also as willing to say it is sorry while not admitting liability. Sincerity is essential. The speed with which a company must act to avoid a reputational crash can be intimidating for executives unfamiliar with highly volatile situations. It is easy to make mistakes in the heat of the moment. One expert in aviation crisis management relates the story of a senior airline official who, in the af-termath of a serious accident involving one of its aircraft on approach to an airport, announced that the airline was not at fault since it was well known that certain approach aids at the airport were deficient. The attempt to pass the blame backfired when he was questioned as to why the airline continued to operate at an obviously unsafe airport. Companies must balance the need to disseminate information quickly with the need to deliver accurate infor-mation in a way that reflects well on the organization. There is a fine line between responding quickly and acting hastily. Employees are a key part of the communication process, especially those in customer-facing roles. The communications manager should activate the emergency notification system to send information to employees about the crisis, informing them what is being done to address the situation and in-structing them as to what they should do and what they can and cannot say. In the case of an accident occurring in the US or its territories, the investi-gation is controlled by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB),

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which establishes emergency response standards and which is in charge of communicating facts directly related to the incident. Parties involved in an aviation accident are prohibited from speaking about investigative findings with the news media or the public. They also are prohibited from speculating on the circumstances of an accident and required to not respond to theories, hearsay or rumors. Often there is an inherent conflict between the NTSB’s cautious control of the information flow and a company’s desire to disclose as much information as possible. This inherent conflict adds a layer of complexity to the communication process and must be judiciously managed. The speed with which a company must act to avoid a reputational crash can be intimidating for executives unfamiliar with highly volatile situations. It is easy to make mistakes in the heat of the moment. One expert in aviation crisis management relates the story of a senior airline official who, in the af-termath of a serious accident involving one of its aircraft on approach to an airport, announced that the airline was not at fault since it was well known that certain approach aids at the airport were deficient. The attempt to pass the blame backfired when he was questioned as to why the airline continued to operate at an obviously unsafe airport. Companies must balance the need to disseminate information quickly with the need to deliver accurate infor-mation in a way that reflects well on the organization. There is a fine line between responding quickly and acting hastily. Employees are a key part of the communication process, especially those in customer-facing roles. The communications manager should activate the emergency notification system to send information to employees about the crisis, informing them what is being done to address the situation and in-structing them as to what they should do and what they can and cannot say. In the case of an accident occurring in the US or its territories, the investi-gation is controlled by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which establishes emergency response standards and which is in charge of communicating facts directly related to the incident. Parties involved in an aviation accident are prohibited from speaking about investigative findings with the news media or the public. They also are prohibited from speculating on the circumstances of an accident and required to not respond to theories, hearsay or rumors. Often there is an inherent conflict between the NTSB’s cautious control of the information flow and a company’s desire to disclose as much information as possible. This inherent conflict adds a layer of complexity to the communication process and must be judiciously managed. After the initial crisis has passed, there remain a number of items companies should do to further protect – or even enhance – their reputation. If the in-cident results in injuries or death, experts recommend that an organization at fault act quickly to provide restitution. Not only does quick action have a strong public relations benefit, the longer an organization takes to make res-titution, the more expensive the settlement is likely to be. The organization also should strongly affirm that that the causes of the crisis have been (or are being) addressed, and that executive management is committed to never letting it happen again.

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Most of the same principles that apply to a large scale crisis also apply to lesser crises, which also can spin out of control and become a public relations nightmare. These include incidents such as disclosure of safety issues or even an unhappy customer with an ax to grind. Thanks to the power of social media, a single disgruntled customer can become a significant disruptive force. Take for example the musician who was angered by the response of a major airline when his guitar was broken in transit. He wrote a song and recorded a music video about the event which “went viral” on YouTube, and became a public relations embarrassment for the airline. The video has been viewed more than 12 million times.

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SYSTEM DOMAINPrinciplesBe proactive A key challenge for any company involved in a crisis is to minimize negative or hostile media coverage which can undermine the confidence of customers, employees, investors, business partners and other stakeholders. There is no chance of influencing the mediacoverage if you refuse to engage with reporters or hide behind “legalese” or “no comment”. While what you will be able to say will be limited, you should aim to establish yourself as a credible and trusted source of information about what your company is doing, as quickly aspossible. The aim is to show that your organization is supportive, engaged, very concerned and responding responsibly. Once you have issued a first “holding statement” acknowledging your involvement, maintain a steady flow of information through the newsmedia and via other communication channels – for example, the company website. Focus on your response to the event, and what you are doing to mitigate the consequences.Be quick to establish yourself as the best source of information about your organization and how it is responding Airlines and other involved parties no longer have the traditional “golden hour” in which to gather information before issuing a statement. With the proliferation of Social Media channels like Twitter and YouTube, there are numerous examples of eyewitnesses posting comments, photos and videos of aviation incidents within minutes of the event. This includes “tweets” from survivors who were on board the aircraft itself. The development of onboard internet access suggests it is only a matter of time before someone broadcasts live commentary and/or images of an aviation emergency from an aircraft which is still airborne.If your organization is involved in an accident or major incident, you should aim to issue a brief “holding statement”, confirming your involvement, as quickly as possible. Without it, you will surrender your opportunity to influence the developing news coverage. This firststatement should contain whatever factual information is available, however limited, together with a commitment to release further updates. You should also describe the immediate steps you have taken in response to the event, and what you intend to do next.The holding statement should also be posted on the company website and used as the basis for an initial internal bulletin to employees and for communications with other important stakeholders (for example, customers or business partners).Be honest

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One of your key objectives must be to establish&maintain – credibility. This will ultimately depend on the audience’s perception of the honesty and sincerity of the statements you make. If you lose credibility - and with it, the trust of your audience - they willstop listening, or will disregard any further comments you make.Acknowledge the facts. Do not hide behind evasions, obfuscation or legal jargon. If you have been involved in a major accident, do not try to pass it off as an “incident” or an “operational issue”.This will indicate that you either do not understand, or are not willing to admit, the full extent and implications of what has occurred. More dangerously, it will suggest that you have not accepted responsibility for dealing with the consequences.Of course, it is possible that what at first genuinely appears to be an “incident” may escalate into something more serious. If the story is still developing, you should therefore acknowledge that the information you have is incomplete and may change over time. Qualify your statements with expressions such as: “the details currently available...” or “based on what we know at the moment...” This ensures that your credibility will not be undermined if the situation becomes worse.Express regretIn some countries (for example, Japan or other Asian societies), a formal “apology” is expected from parties involved in any incident which causes damage, inconvenience or distress to others – regardless of whether they were to blame for the event. Companieswhich fail to express regret or sympathy for those affected can expect to be severely criticized, particularly if there has been loss of life or serious injuries. Their relationships and standing within the local community may also be damaged.Foreign companies, particularly those originating in more litigious societies, may see an expression of regret as an admission of guilt, and therefore an acceptance of legal liability.Indeed, your legal counsel may specifically advise against making any such statement, forthat reason. However, a carefully-worded expression of regret, which does not specifically admit liability or blame, can play a critical role in establishing a positive view of the company involved, and will ease the recovery of its business. This principle applies universally.If you are involved in an accident in a country which you are unfamiliar with, or which involves people from another culture, you should take advice on the most appropriate way to express regret and to show sincerity and respect. This may go beyond verbal statements toinclude bowing or making a “wai” gesture with the hands. In some cultures, an immediate offer of compensation for loss of life or damage to property is expected.Review and cancel any upcoming company events or announcements that may be inappropriate.

Understand the audiences

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News reporters are just one audience you need to engage with after an accident, as they in turn will influence the perceptions of the stakeholders who will ultimately determine the true impact of the event on your business. Each party will need to consider its own list of key stakeholders, and their relative importance. But many of these audiences overlap, and all will be sensitive to the media coverage. They include:Survivors of the incident (if any)Family and friends of those on boardOther individuals or organizations directly affectedEmployeesCustomers (individual/corporate/loyalty program members)Your customer’s customer (i.e. the ultimate consumer of the product or service)Your customer’s employees (eg. airline pilots or cabin crew)InvestorsThe financial marketsInsurance brokers and underwritersBusiness partnersThe travel trade (eg. corporate/consumer travel agencies; tour operators)Codeshare/alliance/franchise partnersSuppliersService providersThe investigating bodies (technical/judicial/criminal)Family advocates and support groupsRegulatory agenciesLocal/provincial/national governmentsEmbassiesGovernments whose citizens were involved or affectedBe clear about what you can – and cannot – provideIn the first few hours after an accident, factual information is usually at a premium. The investigation into the likely cause may take months or even years to reach a conclusion, although the news reports may be filled with speculation and “expert” opinion.Despite the pressure to speculate, the airline and the other parties involved should verycarefully avoid discussing the potential cause(s), and should not identify specific factors that may have (or may not have) contributed to the accident (such as potential weather issues, mechanical problems, etc.) or reveal details of the investigation. Ensure that all of youremployees are aware that they should say nothing to the media or other stakeholders outside of the investigation.But do not use the investigation as an excuse to say nothing. There is a wealth of otherinformation you can legitimately provide – for example, factual details about the flight; the aircraft and engine combination; the airline’s operations and history; its training and maintenance capabilities. You can also make a statement that you have instructed your employees to fully cooperate with

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the investigating authorities, and that you have complete faith in the ability of the investigating bodies in determining the causes of the accident. In many cases, it is wise to discuss potential statements with the head of the investigating authority prior to making the statement. Collate and track all public release statements made by the investigation authority and others involved in the crisis. Whenever a specific question is asked regarding theinvestigation, you should always refer back to the public statements of the investigators.

Be consistent across all channels

It is easy to become fixated on the news media, as the pressure they place on companies involved in an accident can be overwhelming. But there are numerous alternative channels through which you can engage, or influence, your stakeholders. The “tone of voice” used todifferent audiences may vary (for example, communication with families versus briefings to investors), but the messaging and factual information must be consistent.You should assume that information or communications sent to any party will become known to all parties. As an example, internal emails can be expected to be leaked and therefore employees should be cautioned against speculation and in forwarding any information to anyone (including employees) not directly involved in the investigation.You should therefore ensure that your messaging is consistent across all of these additional communication channels:The company websiteEmployee intranetIndividual or group briefings (eg. for families, employees, unions, shareholders etc.)Personal letters from the companyCustomer communicationsCommunications from company representatives (eg. law firms/insurers)Social media platforms (eg. CEO blog, company Facebook page)Don’t forget that there are numerous other “touch points” through which stakeholders engage with your organization and which may influence their perceptions. They include:The Passenger Information Center (i.e. the emergency call center)Reservation agents (at ticket desks & call center)Front-line employees (check-in agents, cabin crew)Marketing materialsDirect mailers (for example, to members of the Frequent Flyer Program)AdvertisementsIn-flight magazineAt the very least, you should ensure that front-line employees are briefed on what they can say in response to questions about the situation from customers (who may decide to publicize what they are told). You should also review marketing and advertising campaigns

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to check that they do not contain inappropriate messaging or images - for example, a promotional campaign featuring an aircraft model or engine type which has just been involved in an accident.

Coordinate with other parties involved

Journalists are usually highly attuned to discrepancies or inconsistencies between statements made by different parties involved in any major news story, particularly a fatal accident where issues of cause or “blame” will be a major factor in the coverage. It istherefore important that the various parties (particularly the airline, the manufacturers and the investigating body) coordinate the release of information to ensure basic facts are consistent and to minimize any perception of “finger-pointing”.Establish communications with the investigating bodies, regulatory authorities immediately.Note that any investigation that occurs outside of your own country will most likely involve your own Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the local CAA, the investigation authority in your own country (if applicable), and the investigation authority where the accident occurred.As a professional courtesy to other parties involved in the accident, or who may otherwise be affected (see below), you should also provide them with advance warning or a copy of any statement which contains new information, before it is released into the public domain. Thiswill allow them time to prepare responses to any new questions from the news media or other stakeholders.Be aware of the impact your statements may have on othersAny aviation accident or serious incident raises questions about safety. At various times, the media may focus on the safety of the aircraft and/or engine type; on pilot training,maintenance, airport equipment and procedures; air traffic control; or the regulatoryenvironment. Every accident therefore has the potential to implicate a wide spectrum of “secondary” parties who were not involved in the original event – for example, otheroperators of that aircraft type, or of the specific airframe/engine combination.A decision to ground a particular aircraft “in the interests of safety”, taken unilaterally by one airline or regulatory body, creates serious issues for every other operator of that type, regardless of whether they (or their regulator) take the same action. Similarly, statements oractions by any party involved in an accident may have implications for all parties. The image of the industry itself is damaged if individual airlines, manufacturers, service providers or regulators appear to be trying to protect their own reputation by deflecting blame or “pointingthe finger” at someone else. Safety should not be a competitive issue. Best practice for airlines

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The operator of the aircraft will inevitably attract the most intense media interest and demands for information after an accident. Confirmed information may be difficult to obtain, and the airline may be unable to verify or comment on “facts” obtained by journalists fromother sources, including social media postings by survivors or eyewitnesses. In the absence of hard facts about the accident or incident, the airline should focus on what itknows for certain at that point in time, particularly the details of how it has responded, andthe actions taken to support those affected.Statements from the Operating Carrier should include some or all of the following:Expressions of regret and concern for the wellbeing of passengers and crew members and/or sympathy for victims and their loved onesFactual information about the flight (eg. flight number; aircraft type; origin;destination; number of passengers and crew; departure time; where and when theincident occurred; codeshare partner/s involved)Specific actions the airline has taken since it was notified of the event (eg. Activating crisis management center/s; activating a passenger information center; deployment of special assistance teams; establishment of family assistance center/s; care andsupport provided for survivors and/or families; financial assistance; memorial ceremonies)Factual information about the aircraft (aircraft and engine types; dates of manufacture and acquisition; flight hours, number of flights; how many in the fleet;seating configuration; routes operated; cargo capacity; maintenance history)Factual information about the crew (names; designations; operating experience,type ratings, history with the airline)Factual information about the passengers on board (number of passengers; names nationalities; number of adults/children)Expression of support for the investigationFactual information about the airline (history, company structure, network; aircraftfleet; alliance, codeshare and franchise operations; crew training; maintenance; previous accidents or incidents) Names of passengers and/or crew members should not be released publicly untiltheir legal next-of-kin have been notifiedThe Operating Carrier should avoid issuing statements or commenting on any of the following:How the investigation will be structured, and what it will focus onInformation in the maintenance recordsThe possible cause/s of the accident, failure of onboard systems or airport equipmentThe way the aircraft broke apart, and what this might indicateFinding key pieces of evidence, for example flight data or cockpit voice recorders

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The actions of the crew before the accident, or what they might have done to prevent it.The possible relationship between crew training and the accident.The possibility of pilot error, or of error or wrongdoing by any other employee of the airline.The likelihood that someone else must be to blame (eg. the aircraft manufacturer or airport).The role of weather or air traffic controlThe condition of human remains, and how they will be identifiedFranchise/feeder services,Operating Carrier.Many airlines, particularly regional carriers, operate in the livery, and using the flight designator code, of a larger “mainline” carrier, under franchise agreements. The smaller airline may (or may not) be owned by the airline on whose behalf it operates, but it is legally designated as the Operating Carrier, and should therefore take the lead role in dealing with the news media after an accident or major incident.Press releases should be issued under the letterhead and in the name of the Operating Carrier, and any spokespeople quoted in statements or appearing at press briefings or interviews should be employed by the Operating Carrier.However, the fact that a franchise flight carried the livery, flight number and passengers of another airline cannot be ignored or denied. If this relationship is not acknowledged and clarified, it may cause considerable confusion among the news media, families, and otherstakeholders. In addition to the “best practice” guidelines, afranchise or “feeder” airline should therefore also include some or all of the following in its public statements or in comments to the news media:The nature of its relationship with the “mainline” carrier on whose behalf the flight was operatedThe support which the “mainline” carrier is providing to survivors and/or to family members of those on boardThe support which the “mainline” carrier is providing to the Operating Carrier (eg.logistics; activation of its call center to handle enquiries about passengers; assistance in establishing family assistance center/s)

Franchise/”feeder” services: Mainline Partner

After an accident involving an outsourced franchise or feeder operation, any attempt by the Mainline Partner to distance itself from the accident or from the Operating Carrier will raise serious questions about its behaviour and integrity, and the way it treats customers. It istherefore in the interest of the Mainline Partner to be seen to support the smaller Operating Carrier and that statements from the two companies are consistent.While the Operating Carrier should take the lead in dealing with the news media, the Mainline Partner should focus on the following in any statements or responses to questions:

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Expressing concern for survivors and/or sympathy for victims and their loved onesAcknowledgement that the accident/incident involved a franchise service operated on its behalf, and carrying its customers (ticket-holders)Describe the actions taken to provide care and support for survivors and/or families of the victimsDescribe assistance provided to the Operating Carrier (eg. logistics; activating telephone enquiry center; establishing family assistance center)Defer all other questions to the Operating Carrier, or to the investigating body.

The Mainline Partner should not:Deny or downplay the existence of the franchise partnershipSpeak on behalf of the Operating CarrierIssue statements or make any comments which contradict or are inconsistent with statements made by the Operating Carrier.

Codeshare partner/s

The proliferation of codeshare and alliance partnerships has made it increasingly likely that two or more airlines may be involved in the same incident – either as the Operating Carrier or as a Codeshare Partner whose flight designator code is carried on that service, andwhose passengers or crew members may be on board.In such cases, the Operating Carrier should always take the lead in dealing with the demands of the news media. However, it is important that any Codeshare Partner/s are prepared to respond to questions from journalists or from other stakeholders. The Codeshare Partner should focus on the following:Expressing concern for survivors and/or sympathy for victims and their loved onesAcknowledgement that the accident/incident involved a codeshare service on whichits own customers (ticket-holders) and/or crew members may have been on boardDescribe the actions taken to provide care and support for survivors and/or familiesof the victimsDescribe assistance provided to the Operating Carrier (eg. logistics; activatingtelephone enquiry center; establishing family assistance center)Defer all other questions to the Operating Carrier, or to the investigating body

The Codeshare Partner should not:Deny or downplay the existence of the codeshare partnershipSpeak on behalf of the Operating CarrierIssue statements or make any comments which contradict or are inconsistent with statements made by the Operating Carrier

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Best practice for aircraft and engine manufacturers

After an aircraft accident or serious incident, the primary role of the aircraft and engine manufacturer is to support the accident investigation and to keep the Operating Carrier and other operators informed of any relevant information or recommendations which may result from the investigation. The manufacturers will normally be in constant contact with the airline’s flight operations or engineering departments after an accident. A similar dialogue should also be maintained with the airline’s Public Relations staff, to ensure they have access to the latest information and to ensure that responses to the news media and other stakeholders are consistent from both parties. While the manufacturers will often attract intense media interest, particularly if the performance of the aircraft or engines appears to be a factor, they are strictly bound by the“party” rules on the release of information which are normally imposed by the investigation body. However, the manufacturers still have a role to play in providing factual background information about the specific aircraft or engine type, as long as the information is notintended to encourage journalists to make judgments or reach conclusions about the likely outcome of the investigation.In statements to the news media, the aircraft and engine manufacturer should focus on:Expressing concern for survivors and/or sympathy for victims and their loved onesFactual information about the aircraft or engine type (serial number; date of delivery; flight hours; number of flights; number in service; number of operators)Expressions of support and commitment to the accident investigationDescription of actions taken in response to the accident/incident (eg. deployment of accident investigation team)Safety record of the aircraft or engine typeActions taken (if any) as a result of the investigationThe manufacturers should not:Comment or speculate on the progress or likely outcome of the investigationSelectively “leak” information which tends to exonerate the aircraft or engine type or implies that other parties or factors were responsibleComment on or publicly dispute statements made by the investigating bodyAttempt to discredit or undermine the investigating body, or its findings

Best practices for airport operators

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If there is an accident or serious incident at or near an airport, the airport itself will become the focal point of media attention. Journalists will congregate in the terminal area attemptingto find company spokespeople, eyewitnesses and the friends and family of those on board.TV crews and photographers will also demand access to the accident site, or a suitable vantage point.The airport operator has an important role to play in dealing with the news media on-site and coordinating any press briefings or media access to the accident scene. If the airport has a media center, this should become the location of media briefings by any of the partiesinvolved (eg. the Operating Carrier). Where appropriate, joint press briefings may be arranged which could involve the airport authority, emergency services, Operating Carrier and/or the investigating body.The airport itself should also be prepared to respond to questions from journalists. Anystatements or comments should focus on the following:Expressing concern for survivors and/or sympathy for victims and their loved onesFactual information about the circumstances of the accident/incidentThe progress of the search and rescue operationFacilities and equipment which the airport has provided to support the search & rescue or recovery operationsSupport provided by the airport authorities to the Operating Carrier (eg. assistance in establishing a reception center for “meeters and greeters”The impact on the ongoing operation of the airportActions which the airport has taken to mitigate the impact on other airlines and to minimize passenger inconvenienceAll other questions should be directed to the Operating Carrier, the emergency services or the investigating body.The airport operator should not:Speak on behalf of other involved parties – for example, the Operating CarrierBe the first to release information about the number of injuries or fatalities, or their identitiesSpeculate about the potential cause of the accident/incidentComment on the accident investigation

Best practice for air navigation service providersThere have been numerous examples of accidents which implicate the Air Navigation Service Provider – for example, mid-air collisions or accidents in which questions were raised about the information or instructions given to the crew by Air Traffic Controllers. In these cases, the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) can expect to become one of the targets of media and public attention as well as being a party to the investigation. The ANSP should be prepared to respond to questions from journalists, and from other stakeholders (for example, employees). Any statements or comments should focus on the following:

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Expressing concern for survivors and/or sympathy for victims and their loved onesFactual information about the circumstances of the accident or incidentExpression of support and commitment to the investigationDescription of actions taken in response to the accident/incidentFactual information about the nature of the service provided by the organization, its resources, operating structure, ownership etc.The training and experience levels required of front-line staff such as air traffic controllersActions taken (if any) as a result of the investigationThe ANSP should not:Comment or speculate on the progress or likely outcome of the investigationSelectively “leak” information which tends to exonerate individuals or the ANSP itself,or which implies that other parties or factors were responsibleComment on or publicly dispute statements made by the investigating bodyAttempt to discredit or undermine the investigating body, or its findings

Best practice for investigating bodiesThe investigation body is normally the main source of information about the progress and conclusions of the technical investigation into any aircraft accident or serious incident. All parties invited to participate in the investigation are generally required to accept rulesprohibiting the disclosure of information on the progress or findings of the investigation, unless that information is released by the investigating body itself. As the investigation team comprises recognized experts in their respective fields, there is usually enormous interest from journalists in any information they provide, particularly in the first few days after an accident. The investigating body should therefore consider holding regular press briefings and maintaining a flow of information as it becomes available.Statements or comments to the news media from the investigation body could include:Factual information about the accident or incident (aircraft and engine types;operator; circumstances of the accident; persons on board; number of injuries and/or fatalities)Actions taken by the investigation body to date (deployment of investigation team; name of investigator in charge; parties invited to participate in the investigation)Structure of the investigation team and focus areasPotential timeline for the investigationTimeline and channels for the release of further information (eg. daily press briefings, press releases, statements posted on website)Statements of initial findings and resulting safety recommendations (if any)

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Date and location of any public hearingDate when the final investigation report will be publishedSummary of key findings and safety recommendations, if any

Best practice for using online and social media platforms The impact on “breaking news”The proliferation of Social Media channels has created a new dimension to the challenge of influencing breaking news coverage of a major aviation event. To illustrate how Social Media can lead the conventional news media, and the problems this creates for the parties involved, consider how your organization would cope with the following scenario, Wide-body aircraft suffers uncontained engine failure on climb-out, four minutes into the flight. Crew faced with a cascade of failures due to serious damage to aircraft systems. Aircraft remains airborne for 1hr 39 minutes while crew assess damage and dump fuel before returning for an emergency landing at the originating airport.40 minutes after the engine failure, while the aircraft is still airborne, a 24-hour TV news channel reports “breaking news” of an explosion overhead a populated area6 minutes later, first “tweet” by a viewer about an “aircraft crash”, identifying the location. Starts a flood of tweets from other users talking of an “aircraft explosion”,which alerts other news organizations to the storyWithin 15 minutes, AP newswire quotes local police chief confirming aircraft debris found – this report “re-tweeted” by CBS News producer in New York20 minutes later, Bloomberg identifies the airline. Every major international news organization now following the storyPhotos of aircraft debris posted on Flickr, appearing to show the airline’s logo –numerous responses confirm the airline’s identity1hr 27 minutes after the event, Reuters reports “breaking news” of a crash, identifying both the airline and the aircraft type12 minutes later, aircraft lands safely at the originating airport, despite suffering significant structural damagePassengers with smartphones almost immediately start uploading photos, videos and commentary onto Social Media channels2 hours after the engine failure occurred (and 20 minutes after it landed), the airline issues its first statement, confirming the safe emergency landing and denying the aircraft has crashed. General guidelinesSocial Media platforms are a potentially powerful tool for engaging and interacting with audiences such as employees or customers. But Social Media programs which work (or appear to work) for other organizations may not be appropriate for you. As with any other

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form of communication, you should be clear about which audiences you need to reach; the reason for doing so; and the most appropriate channel for engaging with them.

Best practice for using Social Media:

Develop your Social Media policy in “peacetime” – do not attempt to engage with online audiences “piecemeal” in the midst of a crisisPerform an audit of all Social Media channels already used by the organization. You may find that sales or marketing staff, for example, already use sites like Twitter for sales promotions. Don’t overlook sites which may be operated by overseas offices.Identify the audiences you wish to reach online – and then focus on the channels which are most likely to reach them. Once you have identified the appropriate Social Media platforms, focus only on these channels.If a decision is made to develop an online presence on platforms like Facebook or Twitter, ensure that these channels are fully integrated with your ongoing communication program, so they are regularly updated and become regarded as a prime source of news and information about the organization. This will enable you develop a dedicated “follower” network over time, with which you can engage in a crisis.Remember that any online channel (even if it appears to be password-protected) is potentially open to anyone. Your postings may also be forwarded or “re-tweeted” with added commentary.Include monitoring of Social Media channels as part of your conventional media monitoring program. There are numerous low-cost or free-to-use programs which allow you to track online conversations about your organization, your competitors, or the industry generally.Include monitoring of employee unions activity on social media and websites and consider providing them with direct feed of your statements.If you decide to engage with online conversations about your organization, this should be a policy decision made at a senior level, and not left to junior staff members. Once you have decided to engage, it is very difficult to withdraw.Determine who will be your “spokespeople” – in other words, which members of staff will be responsible for posting information on Social Media platforms, and for engaging in online dialogues on behalf of the company (if that policy decision has been made). Ensure that these staff have the appropriate training and are clear your communication policy and messaging.Never hide behind anonymous user names – make clear that any postings or comments are made on behalf of the organization.If you are building a Social Media presence for the first time, work on the assumption that you will face a major crisis on the day your sites go “live”. In other words, ensure that you have the appropriate resources to cope with a flood of online enquiries and comments, and that you are prepared to track

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and correct any inaccurate or hostile Social Media postings about the organization, from Day One.After an accident or major incident, any online postings should appear on all Social Media channels operated by the company – do not overlook channels used primarily for sales or marketing purposes. Any inconsistency in your messaging or approach across different channels may be noticed and commented on by online audiencesand by the news media.

Company website

The company website is a primary communication channel, and one of the first places journalists, customers and other audiences will look for information about an accident or major incident, and how it might affect your ongoing operations. You should refer to the website in press releases, statements and Social Media postings – but only if you have posted updated information on the site.Best practice for using your website:For airlines, prepare a “dark site” during “peacetime”. This is a special site which can be activated almost immediately (i.e. within minutes) after notification of an accident and replaces the normal home page on the website. Only activate the “dark site” in the event of an accident with fatalities.For lesser events (or for non-airline parties involved in the accident), a link displayed prominently on the home page is sufficient, using the words “For more information on the incident involving xxxx, click here”.The “dark site” should be branded very simply, without any of the colourful logos or images which normally appear on the home page. It should display the latest statement on the situation. Previous statements should be archived and available via a linkYou should also display a link to the “normal” home page, as you should not prevent customers from being able to use the site for online bookings etc.Other information you may wish to provide via the “dark site” includes:o Background information on the aircraft and engine typeo Background information on the company and its operationso Summary of previous accidents or serious incidents (where appropriate)o Links to public statements and reports from the investigating bodieso Summary of the company’s response to dateo Video of statements made by the CEO or other senior executivesOnce the “dark site” is active, refer to it in all your press releases and other statements so audiences are directed there.

Third-party websites

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There are numerous examples of third parties (for example, law firms or family groups) setting up websites which are positioned as “official” sources of information about an accident. The purpose of these websites is usually to solicit business from people considering legal claims for compensation, or to offer advice and information about thestatus of the investigation and any associated litigation. Family associations may also form after an accident, and may create websites as online “memorials” to the victims.In each case, the airline should be careful not to allow the name or URL of these websites tobe associated or confused with the airline’s own website. While you cannot prevent third parties from creating websites dedicated to a particular accident, you can minimize the potential for confusion by immediately registering any domain names which they might try touse.These could include:Air xxxx accident.comAir xxx Flight xxx accident.comFlight xxx.comFlight xxx accident.comAir xxx accident information.comFlight xxx information.com

FacebookFacebook is arguably the best Social Media channel for engaging with customers,employees and “fans” of the company, as it is the most widely-used. Many people within your target audiences will already have their own Facebook pages and be familiar with usingit. Numerous airlines operate Facebook pages, and several are also the subject of unofficial pages created either by critics or “fans” of the airline.If you have a Facebook page, it should be treated as a primary communication channel after an accident or serious incident. You should post the same statements and background information that are displayed on the company website, and update them at the same time.The major difference is that Facebook users can add their own comments and refer users to other sources of information. You should therefore constantly monitor your Facebook page and take a policy decision on whether to respond to negative comments, or to correct any misinformation or incorrect statements which are posted.

YouTube

Hundreds of hours of video material are uploaded onto YouTube every day. Some airlines have created their own dedicated “TV channel” on YouTube, through which they communicate regularly with customers and other audiences. It has also become a primary source of images of aviation accidents and incidents, some of which are posted by people

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directly involved (for example, passengers or eyewitnesses).Even if you don’t have your “own” YouTube channel, you should consider posting video of statements made by your CEO or by other senior executives after an accident. As with Facebook and other Social Media sites, other users may post comments in response toanything you place on YouTube. You should monitor these comments and make a policy decision on whether to respond to any negative or misleading statements.

Twitter

The use of this “micro blogging” service is growing rapidly, with millions of users posting short messages (“tweets”) to their online followers every day. Any Twitter user can become a “follower” of anybody who tweets. Anyone receiving a tweet on their computer or smart phone can forward or “re-tweet” it to their own followers, which can create an exponential surge in the number of users talking about a compelling story or issue.

Twitter has therefore become a primary source of breaking news, particularly in fast developing situations like an aircraft accident. A tweet from a survivor or eyewitness can reach tens of thousands of users around the world in minutes. The 140-character limit doesnot allow space for detailed explanation or context. But companies which use Twitter as an“instant messaging” service are usually perceived to be showing a greater degree of transparency and a willingness to engage with the online audience.If you decide to use Twitter as a “news feed” service, best practice includes:Determine your Twitter policy in advance. If you decide to set up a Twitter news feed,are you going to tweet about every operational incident, however trivial? If not, whatare the criteria for deciding which incidents will be publicized?Be equally as careful in validating information before releasing it on Twitter as youwould for any other channel.Never post anonymously, or under an assumed name. Use a Twitter name (@xxx)which makes it clear that messages are posted on behalf of the company (for example, “@Airxxx newsfeed”)Place a hash tag (#) in front of key words in your message – for example: “#Flight xxx” or “#xxx accident”. This “tags” the subject matter and allows you (and other users) to “group” and identify Twitter conversations on this topic.Monitor the online conversation using a hash tag tracking service such as Hashtags.org, Twemes, Tweetchat, Tweetgrid or Twitterfall. Twitter itself provides a limited search function which allows you to follow grouped conversations.

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Use tweets to update followers on the latest information on the company’s response (for example: “#Flight xxx accident. Passenger information center now open. Call 8001234 5678”)Direct followers to other, more detailed, sources of information - for example, the company website.Any postings (including comments made in response to criticism) must be consistent with the organization’s overall messaging strategy.

Online forums

There are numerous online forums dedicated to the aviation industry. Some are “membersonly” and intended to be used exclusively by people working within a specific community (for example, members of a cabin crew union). Others can be accessed by anyone with aninterest in the subject, such as the Professional Pilots’ Rumour Network.Best practice for engaging with online forums:Conduct an audit of online forums which are likely to be used by specific audiences which are important to the organization – for example, employees.If necessary, register for any forums you have identified as priority targets so you can monitor conversations and post information when appropriate.Never join forums or post comments under a pseudonym. If you are joining the forum on behalf of the organization, create a username which clearly identifies you .Ensure that any information or comments posted are identified as official statements, and are consistent with your overall messaging strategy.Remember that any material you post can be copied and forwarded to anyone. Work on the assumption that anything you say, even on “member-only” forums, may become known to the news media, or to other stakeholders such as family members.

Web Logs (Blogs)

Many organizations publish “blogs” from the CEO or other members of the senior management team in order to demonstrate transparency and speak directly to key audiences such as employees or customers. Blogs are often less formal in tone than other forms of executive communication, and are intended to show the “human” face of a largeand otherwise impersonal organization.In the event of an accident or serious incident, a senior executive blog can be an effectivemeans of demonstrating a genuinely “caring” response by talking about the personal impact of the event and what it meant to the author. But this needs to be very carefully worded toavoid appearing glib or insincere. If the sentiments expressed are not authentic, do not publish the blog. Best practice for using blogs:

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Conduct an audit of all blogs published across the organization, including any run by the sales and marketing teams. Identify the purpose of each blog, and the intended audienceTreat all blogs as you treat any other communication channel in a crisis. Ensure that the information provided, and the messages used, are consistent with the organization’s overall communication strategyIf there has been an accident with fatalities, ensure that blogs do not resort to “corporate-speak” or “legalese”. They should be used to express a genuine human response to the loss of life and to express sympathy for those affected.Remove any inappropriate images, company slogans or a cheerful signoff.

Employee Social Media Policy

Everyone within the organization is potentially a spokesperson. This applies particularly to employees who use Social Media channels to keep in touch with friends and contacts around the world. Employees who identify their connection to the company (for example, ontheir LinkedIn profile, or Facebook page), may be tracked down and “befriended” by unscrupulous journalists or other interested parties (for example, lawyers) after an accident.These new “friends” can then access their photo albums and read comments by them or by other work colleagues in their network.While you cannot prevent employees from using Social Media channels in their personal time, you should introduce an Employee Social Media Policy which includes the following:Guidelines on whether employees can access Social Mediachannels during working hours (some may need to do this in the course of their work)Prohibition on posting photographs or video taken on company premises, or in the course of their employment with the company, on Social Media sites.Prohibition on posting comments on Social Media sites relating to their work for the company, or about senior executives, their supervisors or colleagues.After an accident or serious incident, issue a reminder to all employees not to post information, or to engage in online discussions, about the event.

Being prepared

The day after an accident is not the time to develop a crisis communication strategy. Invest the time to create a robust communication plan in “peacetime”, and on training andexercising the people who will implement it.If your organization has limited resources, or does not employ fulltime communication professionals, consider where you could source external help to deal with the full spectrum of communication challenges you would face in

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a crisis. Focus on what you can do with your current resources, rather than on what you can’t.

Creating a Crisis Communication planThe main elements of a robust Crisis Communication plan include:Statement of company communication policy, including authorised spokespeopleOutline of the communication organization, and its interface with the corporate Crisis Management Team (the head of communications should sit on the CMT)Description of functional roles and responsibilities, and candidates to fill themChecklists for each functional role, outlining the main tasksTemplates for initial “holding statements” which can be issued immediately after key information is confirmed (for various possible scenarios, including aircraft accident; serious incident; diversion; hijacking or other security incident; service disruption)Contact lists for important internal and external contacts (including media lists and service providers)Standard forms and documentation (for example, media call logging form, press conference registration form)Training your spokespeopleDealing with the news media in the midst of a major crisis, particularly with the added emotional stress of dealing with a fatal accident, is not “business as usual”. Spokespeople need to understand how to defend the organization under pressure from aggressive reporters who may know more about the situation than they do. Front-line operational orcommercial managers based far from head office (for example, country managers or airlinestation managers) may be the first company representatives to reach the scene, and mayhave no previous experience of dealing with the news media.Anybody designated as a potential spokesperson in a crisis should receive appropriatetraining. This includes senior executives who may have previously received “media training”or who may feel that they are already familiar with how journalists work.

Crisis communication training should provide:An understanding of the challenges the organization will face after an accident, and what audiences expect to see and hearHow the news media work, and what they will look forThe impact of Social Media on breaking news coverageThe role of company spokespeopleHow to deliver “key messages”

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Handling different interview situations – live, recorded, stand-up, “down the line”,“ambush”The importance of non-verbal communicationInterview techniques – “blocking and bridging”Holding a press conference Exercising the planDo not leave your crisis communication plan on the shelf and allow it to gather dust. The moment you most need it, the plan will be out of date, nobody will understand their roles,and key players may no longer be with the organization. Ensure that you review or updateyour plan at least every six months. Check contact lists and the nominated candidates for key positions. Ask whether the current version of the plan still reflects the “real world”, or if it is now outdated as a result of organizational changes.At least once per year, conduct an exercise to test the plan and to ensure that everyone understands their role, and the purpose of the plan. An exercise may be a simple table-top or a full-scale input-response exercise run by a “control team”.Accidents do not happen with plenty of warning, during working hours. Neither should yourexercises. Run no-notice exercises at inconvenient times, or when key players are absent.This will provide a far better indication of your true capabilities, and your ability to respond effectively to a major event which occurs at 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning.The proper time to prepare for an accident or serious incident is before it occurs, and thesepreparations should be exercised on a routine basis. In addition to this publication, IATA hasdetailed Emergency Response Planning (ERP) guidance materials on how to prepare forthese rare events from an operations perspective.Communications exercises which you may consider running include:Notification exercise: Check contact numbers are valid and key players can be reached quicklySlow walk-through: Take a potential scenario and ask a series of questions of yourteam. Check whether your current plan provides the answersTabletop: Run through a simple scenario and test one aspect of the plan – forexample, developing updated press statementsInput-response exercise: Test the entire communication plan by using an exercisecontrol team to provide “inputs” via phone calls, emails, social media postings and “news reports”.

After each exercise, conduct an immediate de-brief to capture key learning points and ensure the plan is updated and improved. Exercises may include

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other departments, or overseas offices. You may also wish to include third parties (for example, codesharepartners) in your exercise.Time invested in preparing, training and exercising your communication plan is never wasted, even if you never experience an accident or major incident. Remember the old military adage:

“Fail to prepare = prepare to fail”

..

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APPLICATION DOMAIN

Social media and crisis management

Social media has accelerated the speed that information about a crisis can spread. The viral effect of social networks such as Twitter means that stakeholders can break news faster than traditional media - making

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managing a crisis harder. This can be mitigated by having the right training and policy in place as well as the right social media monitoring tools to detect signs of a crisis breaking. Social media also gives crisis management teams access to real-time information about how a crisis is impacting stakeholder sentiment and the issues that are of most concern to them.

Organizations should have a planned approach to releasing information to the media in the event of a crisis. A media reaction plan should include a company media representative as part of the Crisis Management Team (CMT). Since there is always a degree of unpredictability during a crisis, it is best that all CMT members understand how to deal with the media and be prepared to do so, should they be thrust into such a situation.

Crisis Risk Assessment: Crisis Communication Plan for Southwest AirlinesThis plan has been developed by the crisis management team to provide a strong response in the event of a crisis. The plan will provide background information on Southwest Airlines. It will develop into the objectives of the company. Once this is provided, it will discuss the potential crises and assess the risks of these crises within the company. After evaluating the crises, the plan states the steps needed to get through these crises and the people involved in the process.Background:Southwest Airlines was founded on June 18, 1971 in Dallas, Texas with only three Boeing 737 aircraft located in three main cities, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. Southwest became a major airline in 1989 when they exceeded the billion-dollar revenue mark. Today, they are now America’s largest low-fare carrier, serving more customers domestically than any other airline.Their mission is to have the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth,friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit, combined with low fares and no annoying fees.On May 2, 2011 Southwest acquired AirTran, an Orlando based airline. The two companies will potentially be integrated by 2015. To date, Southwest has over 46,000 employees and operates more than 3,000 flights per day. Herbert D. Kellener founded Southwest Airlines, however Gary Kelly is currently the company'sPresident and CEO. Southwest’s main competitors are other commonly known airlines such as,Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, Frontier, Continental, British Airways, United, and manyothers. However, Southwest tries to stay on top with their dedication to customer service and their low fare guarantees.Objectives:As stated before, Southwest’s mission is a dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit. Currently, Southwest’s short-term objectives are stressed on maintaining a positive image of their company to current and prospective customers. They also strive to keep their commitment of the

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highest safety standards and loyalty to all customers. Some of Southwest’s main objectives include:o Reduce employee turnovero Improve their design-to-market time by 5%o Increase product quality by 10%o Decrease operating costs by 5%o Increase Internet sales by 90%o Decrease flight times by 3%o Increase number of aircraft in fleet by 5%In order to ensure that the proper course of action is taken throughout the crisis communication plan, it is important to assess the potential crises that may occur in the organization. Below we have categorized the crises that may occur and provided a detailed description of what these categories can include.To fully understand the crises that may occur, it is important to rank what is most likely to occur along with what may involve the greatest amount of risk. This plan has developed 5 different categories in which crises can occur.The crises listed below are listed in the order of what is most likely to occur:Customer Dissatisfaction:Customer dissatisfaction relates to any issue that may upset the customer. Dissatisfaction is a part of business that many companies face and must know how to handle properly. These issues are the ones that happen the most within the organization. Dissatisfaction can stem from a delayed flight, a canceled flight, getting on the wrong flight, missing their layover flight, lost baggage,overbooked flights, etc. The goal is to correct the problems or make the customer’s displeasure become less prominent.Service Issues:Service issues relate to the transitional process while on the plane. This category can tie in with the customer dissatisfaction group as well. From the moment a customer walks up to the service desk to get their boarding pass, to the time a customer collects their bags, there are potential service issues to consider. These issues can tie into the customer dissatisfaction category, relating to the potential issues faced with the actual flight service. Other service issues include small mechanical errors that need to be adjusted before the plane takes off, a delay in flight or a flight staying on the ground longer due to needing to refresh the gas or any other small parts of the plane that may need adjusting.Employee Issues:Employee issues relate to any sort of issue regarding an employee within the company. This issue can be as simple as someone being rude to a customer. This issue also expands into any sexual harassment or harassment in general that might occur with an employee and another employee or an employee and a customer. Other employee issues relate to employee theft, doing drugs or drinking alcohol on the job, or coming into work on drugs or intoxicated.

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Financial Issues:Financial issues relate to anything that can affect the company and their finances they have overtime. This can include a non-employee theft. Along with this, the financial issues can also deal with the company potentially going bankrupt. The price of stock and whether it rises or drops can also be considered a financial issue.

Safety Issues:Safety issues relate to any sort of potential problem that occurs on the plane that could harm an individual on the plane. This can include any medical emergency that may occur (whether it be a human or an animal aboard the plane), weapons brought on a plane, terrorist attacks, or sexual harassment on the plane. Along with these safety issues, it is also important to consider any problems with the plane mechanically or any plane defects that may happen when the plane is in the air.As stated above, along with the most likely to occur, it is also important to identify which issues cause the most risk to those involved with the organization. Below states the order in which these categories produce the most risk:Safety IssuesSafety issues are listed as the crises that produce the most risk because they involve actual harm to the employees or the customers aboard the flight. It is important to take the proper precautions when a safety issue occurs and handle in the most cautious way possible so that these issues do not cause more harm than necessary.Financial IssuesFinancial issues cause a high risk factor for the company as well. It’s important to consider what needs to be done so that the company does not face bankruptcy. The financial stability of a company is a top priority in maintaining a good standing within the business world.Customer DissatisfactionCustomer dissatisfaction can be considered of higher risk due to the fact that it also deals directly with the customers. If a customer becomes unpleased with the service, they may chose to no longer fly with Southwest and may also convince their friends to fly with a different airline.Service IssuesService issues are potentially risky, yet lower on the list due to the fact that these are typically smaller and fixable issues that can take place within a company. These are the problems that may cause a minor delay, but shouldn’t cause too much controversy among the company.

Employee IssuesEmployee issues are looked at to be the least risky form of issue because an employee is tied to the company and if something is to happen, the company knows how to get ahold of this person and can fire them in order to find someone who is better suited for the job.

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Target Audiences or Publics:News media outlets include print, radio, television, online and outdoor. These media outlets are essential to the organization because they allow Southwest to reach potential customers through advertising, thus furthering their sales. There must also be a positive relationship between the company and the media outlets so the message the company wants to portray, will be portrayed.External business outlets include competitors, the media, customers and suppliers. Competitors affect Southwest Airlines because potential customers may choose to utilize a different company over Southwest based on personal preference and experiences, costs, amenities, etc. The media is vital as an external business outlet because it needs to be considered while budgeting, as different sources of the media advertisements have different costs. The media is also an essential external media outlet because the message they portray could benefit or damage the company. Customers are an external business outlet because they are the source of income for the company. Customers must actively make the decision of which airline to fly with and can benefit or harm the company through word-of-mouth. Suppliers provide Southwest Airlines with products used in and on the planes, in the airports, and computer systems.General external outlets include community leaders, government officials, legal representatives, local citizens and taxpayers. Community leaders, local citizens and taxpayers are key to Southwest Airlines because they are potential customers. They also may vote or influence different issues about the airports. Government officials may influence decisions about the airlines based on the relationship with the company and regulations through the FAA and FCC.Legal representatives are utilized by the company in legal situations, such as issues with the FAA and FCC, and suing. Southwest Airline uses legal representation for advice and protection. Internal business outlets include shareholders, investors, financial partners, businesses and enterprises, and suppliers. These factors are important in decision making within the company, as their money and resources are directly involved. Shareholders and investors may decide to selltheir shares or decide not to invest in the company in the future if they disagree or are unhappy with the company.

Internal employee outlets include Southwest Airlines and AirTran board members, Southwest employees, executive team and corporate managers. The employees are essential to the running of the airline. The executive team and corporate managers dictate and enforce policies and procedures to employees, and employees enforce the regulations to customers.Government outlets include the FAA (Federal Administration Airline) and the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). The FAA and FCC enforce regulations and restrictions on

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aspects of the airlines. If these policies are not followed, the company will be reprimanded.Media Relations:If there was an emergency crisis, it is important that the spokesperson be knowledgeable about all Southwest related components that might have affected the incident. If there were a plane crash, it could cause severe loss of life. Kayla Kuehl, CEO will be the head spokesperson for plane crashes. She will be assisted by Tara Allen, Assistant Director of Media Relations, as well as Rachel Tauke, Executive Vice President of Government and Community Relations. In a case where expert opinion is needed these officials should call on professionals rather than attempting to answer questions with risk of losing credibility. Ashley Hasler, Director of Health and Safety Management will be with these spokespeople at all times to ensure effective communication. Spokespeople should be straight to the point without giving out too much information. The spokesperson should also have proper language, pleasant performance, professional appearance, be concerned and sympathetic. We have a list of emergency personnel that should be contacted in case of an emergency. In the case of a crash, contact information for local officials is not available as the locality to a crash is always uncertain. Question pertaining to contact information of local officials should be directed to our headquarters police correspondent, Dallas Chief of Police, David Brown, who can find this information if needed. Also, calling 911 will guarantee local fire, EMS and police response. We chose the surrounding seven media outlets to contact in case of a crisis with Southwest Airlines. These media outlets include: ABC News Program, CNN News Program Manager, Fox News Program, NBC News Program Manager, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today. In addition, depending on what type of crisis occurs we also have contact information for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board. One of these three contacts should be notified on the crisis immediately after it happens. Also the Jack Evans Police Headquarters should be notified, as they are the closest Police Station to the Southwest Airlines Headquarters. Below includes the important contact information that will be necessary to get a hold of any of the organizations listed above. These contacts are arranged by groups

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such as: emergency contacts and media contacts.

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In our empirical study we decided to focus on Air France, SAS, and Spanair. In this thesis we aim to answer our research question; “How did Air France, Spanair and SAS differ in the way they communicated and acted towards their stakeholders during and after the crises following fatal airline accidents, and which actions have been taken to help restore the airline’s reputation and legitimacy?” In order to do this we have gathered and presented the theoretical framework is the findings of our empirical study. We chose these airlines because they have all experienced major accidents with many casualties within the last ten years and they are all regular passenger airlines and not of the low cost kind. The data for our analysis has been made up of secondary data that we have collected from a wide variety of sources. We limit ourselves in our study to secondary data due to the fact when contacting the airlines they were reluctant to give out information about safety procedures or policies, especially because airline accidents are a very sensitive subject. Secondary data is defined as data that has been previously collected for some other purpose and can be made up of both raw data and published summaries. There are three main areas of secondary data; documentary data, survey-based data and multiple source compilations. The data we have collected is mostly of the documentary kind in written format, such as press releases, annual reports, homepage information and media coverage of the accidents by Swedish daily press. We are aware that such secondary data is, by its nature, colored by the biases of those who produced it and can only cast light on a limited subset of the events we are interested in. However, since we are primarily interested in the external communication of these companies, we consider such secondary data, which is part of the external communication, to be sufficient for our purposes. Press releases were found at each airlines respective homepage. Both Air France and SAS had all press releases about their accidents in the archives. Span air had three press releases regarding the accident on their corporate website, but more were found on the SAS website as they were the owners of Span air at the time of the accident. We analyzed the annual reports of the airlines the year the accident occurred. We looked at how much attention was given to the accident and if there was a clear connection between the accident and information about the airlines flight safety procedures. We also searched for information about flight safety on the airline’s corporate websites. We are aware that all this information originates from the airline in question and therefore must be regarded with a critical eye. We have chosen three articles for each of the accidents spanning from the day of the accident to one week after the accident occurred. In this way the description of the airline in the crisis situation is comparable since they were written under similar circumstances. In this section we will present how three European airlines communicated and acted during and after they experienced a fatal airline accident. After giving some background information on the airlines and the chosen accidents we will describe press releases,

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We have gathered some “lessons learned” from various incidents over the years. These points, as outlined here, are intended to serve as a primer for company executives and in house counsel in advance of a crisis. The discussion is not meant to be exhaustive. And while this article addresses aviation accidents in particular, the concepts we discuss are applicable, in most instances, to any industry or company crisis. An emergency plan can take several forms. It can be limited to the initial steps the company will follow in the immediate hours and days following an aviation accident, or it can be more comprehensive in scope, expanding well beyond the accident itself. Regardless of scope, however, any emergency plan should be detailed and identify the roles and responsibilities of each department and the department leaders in a crisis. When possible, the manual should include examples of other incidents or recent events from the industry that any user can draw on for direction. This is a wise investment of time and will ensure that the company is ready to engage in best industry practices when catastrophe strikes. One very basic step that companies often overlook is a written emergency plan or manual. A well-written company manual that outlines an emergency action plan can be a very valuable starting point and training tool. To keep your plan up to date, consider scheduling periodic feedback sessions to review and assess the contents of the plan. Revisit and update your plan annually. In addition to the litigation and regulatory issues associated with a crisis, publicly traded companies are likely to have to address disclosure and other securities-law issues in a compressed time frame. When a crisis strikes, it is important to engage internal investor-relations leaders to begin appropriate steps for disclosure. Outside securities counsel should similarly be engaged and notified at an early stage to determine whether special disclosures are required or prudent. Annual reports and media coverage in order to receive an indication as to how quickly and thoroughly the airline responded to the crisis. The Air France Accident : Flight AF447 left Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 31th bound for Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. On board were 216 passengers and 12 crew members. During flight over the Atlantic the airplane entered a zone of stormy weather. An automatic message from the airplane was sent to the air traffic control centers and expressed that the electric circuit had failed. At this time the aircraft was far from the coast, and air traffic control centers in Brazil, Africa, Spain and France tried to contact the aircraft but did not succeed. On June 6th bodies of the passengers were found and parts of the wreckage were located. To this day, the exact cause of the accident is not known because the wreckage and “black boxes” containing voice and data recordings have not been found. The Spanair Accident :Spanair flight 5022 crashed during takeoff on August 20th, 2008. On board were 172 people of which 154 died. The aircraft attempted a first takeoff but returned to the gate after technical problems and passengers were told that they might have to change aircraft. The technical problems were resolved and it was during the second attempt to take off that one of the engines caught fire and the aircraft crashed to the ground after only reaching an altitude of around 60 meters. Fire spread quickly in the wreckage of the aircraft that was fully fuelled. Seven months after the

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accident the airline was sold at throw away price. The SAS Accident

On October 8th, 2001 SAS flight SK686 was taking off from Linate Airport in Milan bound for Copenhagen. During takeoff the flight crashed into a small private airplane on the runway and crashed into a luggage hangar and caught fire. All 104 passengers and six crew members perished, as well as four people in the private jet and four people working in the hangar. At the time of the accident there was thick fog at Linate Airport and the private jet ended up on the wrong runway. The accident was ruled to be caused by air traffic control mistakes and four people working at Linate airport were sentenced to prison, amongst them the airport director who was sentenced to 8 years .

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Communication during the crisis: Air France: On the day of the accident Pierre Henri Gourgeon, CEO of Air France held a press conference at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Gourgeon stated that the crew was very experienced and had many flight hours in service and that there were no problems in the aircraft”s safety records. Gourgeon continued with saying that the whole airline was deeply touched and share the mourning with the relatives of the passengers. He said that they will pass on information as soon as they know anything. What they knew so far was that the aircraft had passed through storms and that automatic messages of system failure were sent from the aircraft. After the accident, the Air France website was adopted to the crisis situation. The site showed less graphics and pictures than usual and instead of the normal booking engine on the first page visitors were given news about the crash and provided links for further information . Air France has compiled all press releases concerning the AF 447 and gives information about when it was last updated. In total there are 25 communications, including press releases and memos asking the press to respect the privacy of the relatives of the victims. The press releases are in both English and Portuguese and already in the first release there is information about the number of passengers onboard, offering a toll free number for further information and stating that the airline shares the anxiety of the families of the passengers. In the second press release more detailed information is given about the circumstances around the accident. It was stated that the aircraft entered an area of stormy weather and that a message concerning electric circuit failure from the aircraft was received. Information about the pilots long experience and reports of the aircrafts latest maintenance check was also stated. Technical information about engine types and the age of the aircraft was also shared . The subsequent press releases continue to give further details that are of interest to the general public. Much attention is given to expressing condolences to the relatives and friends of the passengers, and at the same time giving an update to all the efforts that the airline is making to help the relatives but also what is done to investigate the causes of the accident and the agencies it is involving and cooperating with. In the third release which was published the same day as the accident was announced the nationalities of the passengers was released and the possibility of contacting the airline in order to receive knowledge of whether a loved one was on board was given. The press releases that follow continue to give information about how the airline has lived up to safety standards and that all recommendations from the airplane manufacturer have always been followed. Continuous condolences are expressed, especially when bodies start to be found. Constant gratitude is also communicated towards state authorities helping in the search for the wreckage of the airplane. Attention is also given to the employee volunteer program which sprung into action when the accident was a fact; the airline mobilized approximately 4000 volunteers within the

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company to help in all areas of the crisis management and gives details of their training, informing about the inter-religious prayer ceremony that was held in Paris in honor of the victims. The press is asked to respect that this service is for family and friends only and that they are encouraged to follow the ceremony from outside the cathedral where television screens will show the service. Next press release answering the question of how Air France is providing support to the relatives and friends and starts by stating that the expectations of the friends and family of the victims are varied. It continues: “They are legitimately demanding information and transparency, even though the circumstances of this tragedy are slowing the progress of the investigation and Air France itself is unable to obtain all the necessary information, which is collected and centralized by the French and Brazilian authorities”The remaining press releases concern the progress that is made in the investigations concerning the causes of the accident. Links are shared to the French Air Accident Investigation Bureau as they publish two reports on the accident.Span Air On the day of the accident Span Air gave a press conference and the airline spokesperson stated that at times like these the first priority is to attend to the relatives of the victims. He continued to say that qualified caretakers were making their way to Madrid as a part of the crisis team that would take care of relatives to the victims. Information about In the Air France-KLM annual report from 2009/2010 much attention is given to the accident of flight AF447. Jean-Cyril Spinetta, Chairman of the board of directors opens the report with a letter to the stakeholders. Much focus is on the financial crisis, but the letter ends by bringing up the one year anniversary of the AF 447 tragedy. “We have just commemorated the first anniversary of the tragic loss of flight AF447 which has left us all deeply scarred. The absence of any clearly identified explanation led Air France to review its organization.” The report continues with an interview with Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, CEO which is titled “Safety, Air France‟s over-riding priority”. The interview begins by stating that the accident still remains in everyone‟s memory and continues by describing all the efforts Air France is making to improve safety and declares that it is the over-riding priority for Air France but of course also for the rest of the airline industry. Focus is placed on the numerous safety initiatives, including safety cooperation programs between pilots and management and their very own Independent Safety Review that Air France has developed in order to manage the safety of all Air France flights.

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The AirAsia Crash and Indonesia’s Crisis Response

The 28 December 2014 Air Asia crash was the first aviation crisis for the leadership of President Joko Widodo who took power in October 2014. To the credit of the Indonesian Government, the crisis mode leadership demonstrated by the Jokowi Government was text book in character, largely explaining the discovery of the debris within 53 hours from the moment the doomed flight lost contact with Air Traffic Control. Indonesia’s crisis management system stood the test well, including the sterling character of strength and responsibility exuded by Tony Fernandes, CEO, Air Asia. Here, the star performance of Basarnas, the National Search and Rescue Agency and the security apparatus, especially associated with the Defense Ministry, deserves mention.

The Air Asia Tragedy

Prior to the Air Asia crash, Indonesia had experienced many other plane crashes. In addition to the sprawling nature of the Indonesian archipelago, the increasing crowded airspace, the exponential rise of cheap air travel, rising competition among budget airlines, questionable conditions of air planes and their airworthiness, the quality of pilots and crew as well as quality of ground staff, have all in one way or another accounted for accidents in the past.

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Some of the more recent air crashes include the April 2013 crash of Lion Air off Bali (with no casualties even though this was Lion Air’s seventh air crash since 2002), the May 2012 Sukhoi-100 crash in West Java, killing all 45 on board, the January 2007 Adam Air crash enroute from Surabaya to Manado killing all 102 aboard, the September 2005 Mandala Airlines crash in Medan killing all 149 on board, the December 1997 Silk Air Crash in Palembang  killing all 104 on board and the September 1997 Garuda Airlines crash in Medan killing all 234 people on board. There have also been many military plane crashes, including the June 2012 crash in Jakarta that killed nine, the May 2009 crash in east Java killing 79 and the April 2009 plane crash in West Java that killed 24.

The Air Asia crash in December 2014 was not the first for the year in Indonesia. Earlier, in January, an Intan Angkasa Air plane crashed in the Moluccas killing all four on board. Yet, the Air Asia crash was the first for the airline in its history. While there were minor mishaps (runway excursion on landing in Kuching airport in January 2011 and skidding on Bandar Seri Begawan runway in July 2014), no Air Asia plane had ever crashed and never had there been any casualties till the doomed Surabaya-Singapore flight.

Air Asia flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200, left Juanda International Airport in Surabaya at 5.34 am local time for the two hour journey. It was carrying 155 passengers with 7 crew members. The passengers were composed of 149 Indonesian nationals, 1 Singaporean, Malaysian and British, and 3 South Koreans. The crew was all Indonesian except for the French co-pilot. At 6.12 am local time, the highly experienced pilot, Mr Iriyanto, a former F-16 fighter pilot, requested an alternate route, including flying from the submitted 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet due to severe weather, in a region known for bad thunderstorms.

He was not given permission to do so immediately due to the heavy air traffic in the region. Fourteen minutes later, the plane lost contact while still under the control of Indonesian Air Traffic Control in the area around Belitung Island on the eastern coast of Sumatra. This means that some 40 minutes into its flight to Singapore, the plane lost contact, probably due to bad weather. Even though the captain did not issue a distress signal, the plane disappeared from the radar screen.

This launched the most serious challenge for Air Asia, an airline that began operation in 1993, going on to become one of the world’s most successful budget airlines, currently flying to some 88 destinations in Asia and Australia. It also placed Indonesia in a crisis mode, knowing full well that it would be on the world’s radar screen on not just how it manages the tragedy but also how its aviation industry would be assessed as the new government focuses on new growth areas in the maritime and aviation sectors.

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The Search for the Missing AirAsia Plane

With the loss of contact between QZ8501 and the Air Traffic Control, Indonesia immediately put into operation its Search and Rescue (SAR) operations. The Basarnas, under the leadership of Air Marshal Bambang Sulistyo, in coordination with the Ministry of Defence, deployed its national and regional resources, to locate the missing plane.

Indonesia’s neighbours, especially Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, also promised assistance and provided some air and sea assets in the search effort in the Java Sea between Belitung and Kalimantan islands. Some 30 ships, 30 aircraft and seven helicopters were involved in the search operation. Other than Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, India, Thailand, France, China and the United States also promised assistance.

Nothing was detected until some 50 hours later when the first debris was spotted by the Indonesian Air Force in the Karimata Strait, southwest of Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan. This was some 100-200 kilometers from the aircraft’s last known location in the Belitung region in the Java Sea. Later, Bambang Soelistyo would confirm on 30 December that the debris was from QZ8501 and three bodies were recovered on the first day of discovering the debris, starting the slow but painful process of extricating the rest of the bodies. Soelistyo also believed that the shadow of the plane spotted by the Indonesian Air Force was that of QZ8501 even though the plane and most of the bodies had not been recovered. Equally critical would be the recovery of the Flight Data Recorded and Cockpit Voice Recorder, the black boxes that would give some idea of what happened in the last few minutes before the plane crashed.

Assessment

First, weather was likely the main culprit that brought the plane down. With an experienced pilot in control and no foul play suspected, this would not be the first time that a civilian plane had crashed, as say happened to Air France  Flight 447.

On 1 June 2009, an Airbus 330 flight with 228 passengers plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in its Rio De Janeiro to Paris flight. While part of the wreckage was recovered within five days, it would take another two years, in May 2011, for the black boxes to be recovered.

Later, the official report concluded that the crash was likely due to the temporary inconsistencies between airspeed measurements (caused by the aircraft’s pitot tubes being affected by ice crystals, causing the autopilot to disconnect, leading the pilot to react incorrectly, leading to the aerodynamic stall from which the plane could not recover.

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There is a high possibility QZ8501, caused by the severe thunderstorms, might have experienced a similar aerodynamic stall, leading to a lack of speed or flying at too sharp an angle that it could not get enough lift, that led to its crash.

Second, all the key stakeholders involved in the crash, viz, Indonesian key political leaders, including President Joko Widodo, Vice President Yusuf Kalla, Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs,  Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno, Minister for Transport, Ignasius Jonan, the Indonesian Military (Army, Navy, Air Force), Basarnas and even the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) under Rear Admiral Mamahit, did and said the right things.

The same is true of Air Asia under the leadership of its CEO, Tony Fernanades. The Indonesian President and Vice President, on being informed of the discovery of debris and some bodies, immediately flew to Surabaya, to meet with the grieving relatives and promised all assistance in the recovery effort. The same promise of assistance was made by Tony Fernandes, who promised to provide all assistance, including to fly all the relatives to the spot where the plane crashed so that a proper closure could take place for the departed.

Third, Indonesia also benefited greatly from international support, especially from its Asean neighbours, with Singapore and Malaysia playing a leading role in this, offering not just sympathy but also deploying their military assets to assist in the search efforts. Other friendly countries were also involved in helping the search effort. This highlighted the positive image Indonesia has and the goodwill it had gained in the past and how the international community viewed the largest Muslim nation in the world.

Fourth, as this was Jokowi and his government’s first real crisis since taking over the government in October 2014, one can confidently conclude that despite the tragedy, the new leadership did well. It demonstrated that it was in control and command, and that there was no immediate blame game.

Rather, in a crisis of this nature, the focus was on locating the plane and if possible, any survivors, and once the crash site were ascertained, to go for all out recovery efforts, with domestic and international assistance. One of the great strengths of the Indonesian crisis management effort was the strength of character of the first responders as well as the transparent manner the whole operation was undertaken.

The media was involved immediately making this also a ‘media search and rescue’ effort rather than being hidden from public view. Here, the one fault, probably out of enthusiasm to share the gruesome discovery, was TVone’s blunder of exposing the corpse of a dead passenger, which must have

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caused shocks to the already distressed relatives, a discretion all media outlets must exercise. Also, poignant was the strength of character of the nation as a whole, with even the opposition which controls Parliament, generally being restraint and placing their support behind the government’s recovery effort. How long this ‘peace’ will last remains to be seen.

Fifth, it would the interesting to delve into the many unanswered questions that would have to be looked into. Why did the plane crash? Did it really crash off Belitung or somehow, it veered eastward nearer towards the coast of Central Kalimantan? What exactly transpired between the Captain and Air Traffic Control when permission was requested to fly out of the thunderstorms to a height of 38,000 feet? Was there a delay that caused the pilot to fly into the storm that eventually resulted in the stall? Did lightning or a severe turbulence damage the plane causing it to crash?

A Crisis Managed

While many questions remain unanswered, from a preliminary assessment, this is not just Air Asia’s first tragic crash; it is also a terrible human tragedy. According to Tony Fernandez, this has been his ‘worst nightmare’. The tragedy aside, for the world’s fourth largest nation, the manner it managed the tragedy also informs us that there are highly capable people in the country that are capable of managing crisis situations and this should not be forgotten.

From the President, down to the ministries, especially the key defence establishment, to the various state agencies such as Basarnas to the public at large, and the international community, this has been a crisis well-managed thus far. For a more detailed analysis, we should await more information to ascertain what exactly happened and how well Indonesia manage the human tragedy. 

FEASIBILITY STUDY

All team members who are dispatched to an accident sites should be briefed or trained on how to interact with the personnel they will encounter. Team members should avoid impromptu interviews or expressing opinions or conclusions about the accident or the company’s products or position on the crisis. Rather, they should report the facts and identify the people they observe in the field, as well as those authorities on whom they rely for information. To maximize communication between the team on site and the team at headquarters, there should be a clear reporting structure and instructions on when to inform management Regardless of the specific roles assigned to individual members of a ground or go team, however, all team

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members should be well versed on policies regarding photographs and videotapes of the events following a catastrophe and on taking notes on what they observe at the scene. If team members come into possession of wreckage or other evidence following an accident, the wreckage should not be disturbed or moved. There should be a protocol for documenting the wreckage and any inspections that take place.If a team member creates field notes, they should be neutral in content and without opinions or conclusions. Emails should be created carefully and should also be neutral intone. Assume that all documents created in the wake of an accident will be produced in subsequent litigation. Document retention and e-discovery issues similarly should not be overlooked. Team members should gather and secure all documents that may be immediately relevant; those documents relating generally to the flight, the aircraft, and any component parts your company might have on the aircraft should be gathered and preserved first. Aircraft maintenance records, operations and maintenance manuals, and training records should also be assembled. Preservation of electronic media should be discussed and coordinated by technical and legal personnel versed in the relevant issues. Longer term, documents relating to the design, manufacture, and sale of component parts should be gathered and analyzed. Involving counsel in this process will be beneficial. Also, consider holding mock drills for your teams in order to assess the preparedness of assigned personnel and the effectiveness of the plan. Evaluate and reevaluate assignedpersonnel annually, even if no emergency occurs in the interim. And make sure the roster of assigned personnel is current, to avoid any holes inadvertently created by attrite. Special care must be used in developing any public message ,because factual information in the early stages will be incomplete and may be unintentionally misleading. To avoid this Careful, deliberate, and prompt fact gathering is crucial. Often, facts are acquired in small bites over time, and jumping to conclusions can lead to misleading.To avoid this pitfall, set up a chain of command for assembling and reporting information from various on-site personnel and first responders. They, in turn, must pass along that information in a like manner.In a crisis, the goals of the in-house communications department and any public relations campaign should be consistent problem, consider retaining a crisis management firm to work with the in-house communications department to develop a communications plan before a crisis situation arises. Another factor to consider is whether to have a designated company spokesperson for emergency situations. If your company values a spokesperson, identify one or two individuals who can consistently put forth an appropriate face and presence on behalf of the company. Whoever is chosen must be able to adequately explain (and defend) the company’s position or the status of an investigation. The spokesperson must also understand the potential legal implications of any interviews that are given. When law enforcement or other government officials request interviews of company witnesses, outside counsel should

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help prepare the individuals for their interviews. If possible, counsel should attend the interviews to make sure they proceed fairly. Understand in advance the ground rules for recording and videotaping the interviews. Review any statements closely before electing to have the individuals or spokesperson sign them. Assume that every word articulated by the company spokesperson will be used (and mischaracterized) by an adversary in open court as a purported admission by the company in subsequent litigation.The role of the company spokesperson should not be assigned lightly or assumed without appropriate guidance, consultation, and training. In the rare circumstance where a lawyer is chosen as the spokesperson, make sure privilege-waiver issues are analyzed and any potential consequences understood.Through this thesis we have attempted to answer our research question; How did Air France, Spanair and SAS differ in the way they communicated and acted towards their stakeholders during and after the crisis following a fatal airline accident, and which actions have been taken to help restore the airline’s reputation and legitimacy? After analyzing these three airlines we come to the conclusion that in many aspects, such as their procedures and order of actions during the first 24 hours after the accident they responded in similar ways. They followed similar steps in their actions and communications, such as giving press conferences on the day of the accident and publishing many press releases during the first hours of the crisis. This is however something that might be due to the fact that airlines always must be prepared for these kinds of events and they all have crisis plans and teams ready that spring into action when needed. One important difference between the airlines is that Spanair communicated less information through the channels that we have analyzed compared to SAS and Air France. Spanair was also already experiencing bad press due to previous technical failures at the time of the accident. Adding the fact that Spanair lied about the events leading up to the accident did not help their situation. In comparison, Air France and SAS upheld a high level of transparency through the crisis situation, and also these airlines communicated a clear connection between the accidents and future improved safety procedures through their annual reports. Air France excelled compared to the other two as the only airline that communicate safety information on their website today, stating that their improved efforts were a direct result of the AF447 crash. Communicating how persistently the airline is working to improve flight safety is a clear strategy that especially Air France and SAS have used in their efforts to improve their legitimacy and reputation after their airline accidents. While it was not the topic of our thesis, Air France‟s comment that stakeholders desired information and transparency and the negative effects of Spanair‟s lying during their crisis communication indicates that transparency is an important aspect during crisis management. Identifying key individuals with defined roles for accident response is also an important

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pre-crisis task. A good starting point for crisis management is to assemble a “headquarters “or executive team, who will be charged with high-level decision making. While serious accidents can have a devastating impact on an aviation company, lesser events can be equally damaging. Aviation companies can suffer serious repercussions, and may even be put out of business, if they are cited for safety violations. This especially is the case if aircraft are grounded because of safety concerns. An example is a California-based aircraft operation and maintenance company that collapsed when it lost its largest customer, the United States Forest Service, after company aircraft failed safety inspections. While less likely to cause an aviation company to fail, a wide variety of other incidents can cause reputation damage that can result in embarrassment to the company and diminished revenues for a period of time. Examples include non-safety related regulatory violations, labor problems, or bizarre or inappropriate actions by a member of a flight crew. In all cases, effective communication can help to keep a bad situation from becoming a reputation disaster. Ineffectual or inappropriate communication, on the other hand, can cause a situation to spiral out of control, potentially causing irreparable damage. Serious aviation events are comparatively rare. That fortunate fact, however, means that when they do occur, it is quite possible that the company will not be adequately prepared to respond. Too often a company has a crisis response plan, but it is little more than a seldom-read chapter buried in an operations manual. Failure to respond quickly and effectively, however, can have dire consequences. addition to the “headquarters team,” smaller “ground” or “go” teams should be considered. These teams should comprise individuals charged with traveling to the accident site and addressing the immediate factual investigation, as well as the media and emotional issues at the scene. Specific individuals should be assigned, for example, to interface on site with law enforcement, families, the media, and personnel from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) particularly in the event that “party status” is allowed. These individuals should be properly trained and experienced with the applicable NTSB rules and regulations, with the design and manufacture of any potentially relevant product, and with any other issue that may arise at the site. The ground team could also include one or two individuals who are responsible for closely monitoring developments in any accident investigation. For example, a member of the team could be responsible for attending briefings or gathering information from FAA, law en forcement, or medical personnel at the scene and reporting these developments back to headquarters

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EXPECTED OUTCOME Almost every company has a reputation risk exposure and is well advised to think ahead about how it will respond in a crisis. Aviation companies face particularly strong reputation challenges with potentially severe consequences. An aviation accident typically happens suddenly with very little if any advance notice. An accident also is likely to be a newsworthy event in which everyone in the vicinity with a mobile phone becomes a potential news cameraperson. Thanks to social media and the 24 hour news cycle, news of the event can spread very rapidly and likely will be covered for an extended period of time. An aviation company that is not prepared to move quickly to seize control of a crisis situation risks irreparably damaging its reputation, which can threaten the company’s continued viabilityEven a very well managed aviation company with a spotless safety record can suddenly be thrust into crisis mode. Aviation executives certainly hope they never have to set their crisis management plans into motion, but if they must, those with a well-developed, up-to-date, and thoroughly rehearsed

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plan at least can have the confidence that they are in a strong position to not only manage the crisis successfully, but also to protect the hard-earned and all-valuable reputation of their company

1.There should be a responsible balance between fact confirmation and disclosure to the public.

2.Conference calls and updates should be held at regular intervals to discuss progress and share information.

3.Protocols for confirming information and releasing facts to the media and the public should also be considered. 4.Posting messages to the company’s web site about the crisis and the steps that are being taken proactively to address the issues can be perilous when fact gathering is incomplete.5.While toll-free numbers may give customers and family members an opportunity to express needs and concerns that they have, the personnel manning those lines must be knowledgeable and updated constantly and consistently. 6.The importance of advance and thorough preparation for addressing an aviation crisis cannot be overstated, as it will help a company deal with adversity if and when the real event occurs.7. Corporate executives and their in-house teams should not face such an extraordinarily stressful event alone or unprepared; there are many resources available to help put together an effective crisis management plan.

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References: 1 Flightworks http://www.flightworks.com/ charter/quality

2 OneSky Jets http://www.onesky.com/ safety.cfm

3 Luxury Air Jets http://www.luxuryairjets. com/flights_charter.php

4“Is there life for airlines after crash?,” AviationGeeks .

5“Flash Airlines Accident, http://www.b737.org.uk/flashair.htm

6Sandra Arnoult , Managing Through a Crisis, Air Transport World .

7 Frank Taylor, Crisis Management for Airports and Airlines, 8 James E. Lukaszewski, “Seven Dimensions of Crisis Communication Management:

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