Aerospace eBusiness

Yesterday was a really exciting day for the Aerospace industry with the fantastic first flight of the Boeing 787. After more than two years of delays, the beautiful bird finally took off and she was majestic. The event was covered worldwide in the main press and television, but many of us were simply riveted to our computer screen and iPhones for play-by-play of the action at Everett.

After the first flight of the Airbus A400M last week, this was the second such event where Twitter was a great source of up-to-the-minute information. FlightGlobal’s @flightblogger started posting the night before and delighted us with stories, pictures and even video of the event. Reading him made you feel like you were almost there. We got weather updates, a look behind the scenes, and even a detailed flight plan! Right before the flight, many of the folks lining both sides of the runway were posting updates and pictures. In total, the #787 and #787FF hashtags recorded over 2500 posts on Twitter in a span of 24 hours. Although CNN and FoxNews had live video streams (with ATC!!), their journalists were not well versed in the matters surrounding the event. Boeing also had a live webcast featuring seven different cameras but most of what was reported there had already been posted of Twitter earlier.

When the moment arrived, I had the CNN and Boeing videos side by side on my screen, as well as the twitter feed at the bottom. My very own news desk! I could feel the excitement build in my stomach as I saw the plane started to taxi (from two different angles) and could hear the cheers from the crowd. The Twitter posts were coming fast and furious from all corners of the world, in many different languages! This was an historical event and everyone in this great industry was overjoyed. @VictoriaOnAir posted what many felt: “So, did the eyes water as she took off :O) we cried like babies, here.”

As the flight continued, we could follow the aircraft’s every heading, altitude, and speed change live on Flightaware.com, and when ZA001 headed back to Boeing Field early because of weather, we were all ready to see the landing live online! In the evening, Randy Tinseth, Vice President, Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes posted a nice entry on his blog with great photos and informative links. All in all it was a remarkable and unforgettable day. And yet, I cannot stop wondering if Boeing missed a HUGE opportunity.

In the age of social media and instant communication, why didn’t Boeing take charge of online coverage and capitalize on this event (and the rest of the flight test program) to upgrade its imagine as well as inspire future travelers and young generations of Aerospace engineers? The industry always talks about attracting new talent, so what better image than this revolutionary aircraft taking off to foster new dreams?

Here are four things Boeing could have done to take advantage of this milestone:

1. Take charge of Twitter. Set up the hashtag early and start sharing information directly from the “horses’ mouth”. Select a few key personnel to share their behind-the-scenes adventure: ramp engineer, flight planner, program engineer, etc… They could each send one or two posts a day with a couple of exclusive pictures to create early buzz. Then on the day, they can take 30 seconds to send an update: “787_Ramp_Bob: ZA001 pushing back!” Set up a Twitter List of all the partners on the program and encourage them to share their views from a supplier and customer point of view. Finally, taking a page out of NASA’s strategy (see @Astro_Mike), even have a couple of posts from the pilots during the flight (i.e. relay them by radio! No distractions in the cockpit, please). Continue the stream of information throughout the test program. I guarantee many will follow.

2. Reach out to the fans. Set up a 787 FaceBook fan page and select 10 Boeing employees aged 30 or less to run it and share their adventures. Give them Flip cams and have them post videos and notes as well as answer questions. Young people want to “hang” with other young people. Show them Boeing is a hip and cool place to work. Run a video contest on YouTube for a 30 second clip about “Why I can’t wait to fly on the 787!” First prize: two seats on the first delivery flight! Again, take a page out of NASA and invite 50 non-professional bloggers to cover the event. NASA did that for the launch of STS-129 and it was a resounding success. Word of mouth is the best publicity one can get!

3. Use the technology. The Victoria Secret fashion show had its own iPhone App for a two-hour television show. Why wouldn’t the nine months 787 Test Flight Program have one as well? News, photos, videos, merchandise, job postings, contests can all be part of it. Again, coming across as a “modern” company is crucial to attract new generations. Finally, don’t try to do it all yourself. Boeing should partner with Flightaware.com to continue to show test flights. Partner with local tourism bureau to make it easy for people to witness the planes by providing tips, hotel and restaurant info, and up to date take-off/landing info.

4. Educate the students. Over the next nine months, multiple test aircrafts will take part in a grueling flight program with almost daily developments. Why not partner with educational publishers or local universities to develop high school lesson plans around the program. Think about the subjects that can be covered: math, physics, geography, environment, history, and information systems. Students want to see that what they learn is relevant to the real world. This airplane is very relevant and it may well inspire them to join the Aerospace industry.

So I wish we could have done this yesterday, but may be it is not too late. Many of these ideas can still be applied by Boeing and others (are you listening AIA?). I look forward to seeing what comes next and how the Aerospace will continue to venture online in 2010.

But I am not holding my breath. Are you?