Communication Lessons from a Delayed Flight

Flight delays are among the most dreadful aspects of traveling, and an inconvenience travelers want to avoid. Although often unavoidable, the difference between a nightmare travel experience and a minor inconvenience often comes down to communication. We can learn much about public relations, and specifically crisis management, through difficult experiences, such as a flight delay where hundreds of strangers are stuck in tight confinements on an uncomfortable plane for extended periods of time.

During a recent holiday flight from Florida, I faced repeated delays due, initially, to the plane arriving late to the gate. Although the airline successfully boarded the plane quickly, we waited on the runway an additional 90 minutes and arrived at the destination an hour past originally scheduled. While certainly not an ideal situation, the captain did a fantastic job of managing the situation by updating and informing passengers throughout the delay, announcing routinely the steps being taken to get us to our destination. The continuous interaction and professionalism made the 90-minute runway stint much more bearable.

The pilot’s approach to managing the delay exemplifies key tenets of strategic communication, particularly in difficult situations:

Transparency is your friend. 
This is particularly true in tense situations where a lack of transparency only serves to exacerbate anxiety. Whether it be an airplane full of frustrated travelers or stakeholders of an enterprise embroiled in controversy, open and honest communication is your greatest ally in gaining or re-gaining trust. The great thing about transparency is that it does not need to be complicated or lengthy: straightforward, to the point and concise is the most effective path to transparency. 

Timeliness is critical. 
Time is of the essence when managing a crisis. Hesitation, delays, stalling – whatever term fits best – will inevitably breed distrust, if not all-out panic. Think of it as cleaning up broken glass: the faster you remove the dangerous shards, the less chance of someone slicing an appendage. Indecisiveness and hesitation, on the other hand, will almost always make a bad situation much worse. 

An update of “no update” is better than no update at all. 
Although not the most profound concept, this may be the most easily presentable and overall useful tool in your crisis management arsenal. People need reassurance, even if that reassurance consists of nothing more than a positive tone. For instance, on a delayed flight, the pilot is likely to announce every few minutes: “We are diligently working on the problem and expect to be back in the air shortly.” Coming from the presumed leader, this simple non-update virtually guarantees the audience (aka passengers) will patiently wait for the next update with high hopes.  

In sum, it’s far more productive to immediately and consistently inform people that you and your team (also a useful concept to add to the equation) are diligently working on a solution to the problem. Silence in a crisis will almost certainly breed resentment, frustration, or worse, even among the most laid-back group of people. An open line of communication – even if providing no quantifiable update – often proves to be more valuable than offering nothing or, obviously, negative information. 

Very few people enjoy being in stressful situations, and even fewer relish being placed in a position of managing those situations. But crises are inevitable in every walk of life, leaving pretty much everyone involved feeling helpless. Public Relations is the art of communication that creates positive narratives in negative situations. By adhering to the three principles of transparency, timeliness, and consistent updates, almost any crisis can be effectively managed until it has been resolved.