September 11 marks an important day in American history. This day also marks an important turning point for the airline industry. Seven years after that tragic day, there are still remnants of the changes made in airline security. On Thursday at the Park City Club, the Dallas Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America hosted speaker Beth Harbin, Southwest Airline’s director of strategic public relations .
The presentation was part of PRSA’s monthly luncheon program in which public relations professionals from corporations and agencies across Dallas network and learn important aspects of the business. It seemed only fitting that on the seventh anniversary they bring the primary spokesperson for the nation’s fourth largest airline of a presentation on how she and the airline industry dealt with the tragedy that Sept. 11 brought.
Hardin recalls that when she first heard the news of the second plane hitting the towers, she knew the events would have a huge impact on the airline industry.
“But I had no idea how big it would actually be,” says Harbin. “Nowhere does it say in the strategic plan what to do when terrorists attack the nation closing down the entire industry for four days. [The events] turned our industry into a weapon of mass destruction.”
She also remembers the moments when Southwest employees stood still waiting to hear back from five planes that were still unaccounted for as all planes were being grounded. “I remember just exhaling after we heard from the last plane,” says Harbin. Then her work began.
Regaining public and employee confidence in the airline industry seemed close to impossible in the days that followed the attacks, yet this is what Harbin was faced with. She worked closely with the airline’s CEO and other top employees to open phone banks and put up stranded passengers in hotels. By Sept. 14 of that year, Southwest had two thirds of their 2600 regularly scheduled flights up and running. Southwest was also the only major airline that did not lay off employees in the tough economic times that followed the attacks. The airline has also continued to be a part of Fortune Magazine’s Most Admired Companies Top 10 list even after 9/11.
Although Southwest may have nearly perfectly accomplished the tasks they were faced with seven years ago, the airline and Harbin are faced with more difficulties, including the high fuel prices that are driving up airline ticket prices across the industry.
Harbin addressed the issues by stressing to her audience the importance of keeping close ties between top employees and the public. These close ties, she says, create costumer loyalty. One way the airline is currently accomplishing this is through employee written blogs from every field of the airline. From the vice president of communications and strategic outreach to the senior multimedia specialist to a structural mechanic everyone is blogging on the Southwest Airlines “Nuts About Southwest” blog site.
“Reputation management is everyone’s job,” says the public relations director, a motto that has gotten her through even the toughest times.
To find out about the Dallas Chapter of PRSA visit prsadallas.org.
