In today's world, technology and social media can give huge benefits to many companies, including airlines. United Airlines recently committed to heavily utilizing Facebook and Twitter as means of communicating with their passengers.

On March 21, passenger Marybeth Cadotte was aboard a United airplane when the plane experienced mechanical issues. She tweeted the predicament at United's twitter handle and received a reply minutes later. They tweeted, “We hope to have you on your way soon.” United followed her case to ensure she had a successful end result. Soon after a mechanic showed up to the scene and Cadotte was off to catch her connecting flight. “The United app crashed, and people were on their phones talking to United. Twitter was definitely the way to go", said Cadotte.

This is just the beginning of large companies adopting social media as a way to connect with their consumers. Social media platforms provide customers with a magnified voice that can have a huge impact on a company's reputation.