Skift Take
Airports need to be present for guests who are visiting for both pleasure and business.
With over 70,000 guests expected to attend the 28th edition of South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW), Austin Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) is on deck to inform and entertain flyers.
According to Jason Zielinski, spokesperson Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, they have a homegrown approach to engaging travelers, that has served them well on Twitter. “We grew our Twitter followers by 84% from October 2013 to October 2014 [organically],” said Zielinski. Part of this growth was due to how proactive they were in larger conversations — during peak travel months March, June, and July — like #SXSW.
The airport welcomed en route and in-market delegates with a photo of its festive baggage claim area and a link about concurrent events, travel, and security tips. In addition, they retweeted travelers who were excited about Austin as a destination, barbecue, and SXSW.
A day before SXSW’s kickoff, ABIA tweeted about their 16th annual SXSW music showcase schedule to inform guests of the local bands they’ll be able to see and hear as they start their journey at the airport.
These shows are separate from its regularly scheduled performances that are part of its Music in the Air program from Monday-Friday for ticketed passengers only.
Friday, March 13 was the official day that the SXSW started and in a one-day reprieve, the City of Austin allowed Uber to pickup passengers at the airport temporarily for 45 days, while Lyft already had the green light (Uber hasn’t cooperated with the airport to get approval for its service there).
They tweeted about it as soon as it was public Friday evening with a link about the temporary agreement. Zielinski said, “This is a customer service decision on the part of the airport to provide our passengers with options during a very busy time.”
Passengers can now use both @Uber & @lyft as temporary 45-day agreement is reached with @AUStinAirport http://t.co/AkJLz6LBba
— Austin-Bergstrom (@AUStinAirport) March 13, 2015
When we say #SXSW starts as soon as you step off your plane @AUStinAirport, we're not kidding! http://t.co/bq570GkQGN pic.twitter.com/BrIdHsaSiV
— Austin-Bergstrom (@AUStinAirport) March 12, 2015
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Photo credit: City of Austin announced that Lyft and Uber can pickup passengers at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport for the next 45-days. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport / Twitter