The airline has changed its Twitter bio to "a big social media team costs money, so we put our feed on Autopilot to save you cents on every ticket." While most airlines globally are ramping up their social media customer service teams, Spirit has decided to do the exact opposite. However, the "autopilot" approach is actually a step up for Spirit in terms of interaction, as they had previously only used Twitter as a means for outgoing communication without ever replying to specific tweets.
Tweets to the account are now responded to automatically (or at least the airline insists they are), typically with a relevant response to a question or statement. Occasionally, Tweets are accompanied with the autopilot character performing the act in question, such as hauling checked bags.
@grichie96 @d_brink AutoReply//TJ893_[Bags]: Buy bags early and online to save http://t.co/hMksMLEyxN pic.twitter.com/5wAqdW6Po2
— Autopilot (@SpiritAirlines) July 22, 2014
While Spirit may be going for the laugh factor in this recent change, the new "autopilot" responses are actually answering questions to the airline with reasonable accuracy and speed, something other airlines have struggled with. Responses are short and include a link for more information, and are also tagged with relevant topics such as bags, legroom, general, "frill control," or even "H8" for tweets that respond to, well, hate directed its way.
Whether Spirit's new take on social media and public relations will be enough for people to see past its "race to the bottom" style of business has yet to be determined, and once that flight pushes back from the 28 inch seat pitch is still 28 inch seat pitch no matter how you spin it.
