I have airport people asking me about the art of blogging all the time. Everyone seems to be interested in doing it, but no one knows how to get started or how to run a blog.
One of my must-read blogs is Flight Blog, written by Kent Boyd on behalf of Springfield-Branson National Airport. Boyd does his blog on top of his regular PR/marketing duties, making him a hard-working man.
A recent post answered a question from a reader on what the airport was doing to go after low-cost carriers that may also consider flights out of Branson Airport, currently under construction. Boyd offered a detailed answer and even outlined the distress that LCCs, along with the rest of the airlines, are in because of continued high jet fuel prices. Flight Blog is simple, but effective.
Another favorite is the Akron-Canton Airport's CAK Blog, which I think is the first "official" blog created by an airport that I can recall. There are regular posts from airport director Fred Krum, our good friend Kristie Van Auken and customer service director David Regula.
And I have to give a big thumbs up to the Goodwill Ambassablog blog run by San Diego International Airport and overseen by Steve Shultz of the Public, Community & Customer Relations Department. I like the fact that Steve decided to share the burden with 5 other staff members, who all have distinctive voices and seem to be having a whole lot of fun.
And I would be remiss if I didn't mention Airport Check-In, the new blog for ACI-NA president Greg Principato. He recently used the blog to take on the Business Travel Coalition's report on airports they think are in danger of losing flights, here and here.
It's interesting to see what airports and the industry are doing to reach out directly to their customers and constituency. TnT will continue to keep track of these efforts as they develop.