Social Media Fail: The Twitter Beef Conundrum Between Airbus and American Airlines

The customer is king – it’s actually an unwritten law. So it’s best to try not to attack him directly – especially on social media. This has now happened in the United States. But this was clearly a big mistake.

«AmericanAir – We were told three hours ago that our delayed baggage would be at DCA [Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport] They will arrive and we will be contacted when that happens. They were supposedly on the floor for an hour and didn’t call. What’s up?” – This tweet was not posted by any passenger. It is from the Airbus US Twitter account.

Unauthorized user

Airbus usually uses the channel for company news along the lines of “We have been producing in the United States for ten years.” So a tweet like the one sent by American Airlines is quite unusual. Airbus again deleted the post, but not without such media Techtime become aware of it.

“An unauthorized user has somehow gained access to our Twitter account,” the company explained in a follow-up post. They want to change all passwords immediately and tighten precautionary measures.

Hello everyone- An unauthorized user has somehow gained access to our Twitter account. We change passwords and take necessary extra precautions.

– Airbus in the United States (AirbusInTheUS) April 6, 2023

Of course, speculation immediately surfaced on Twitter as to who this user might be. Since the tweet did not contain any profanity or explicit messages, some believe that the unauthorized user is someone from the Airbus team who forgot to switch from the company account to their Twitter account.

Hack in India

Hacks are usually more straightforward. Last September, for example, Indian low-cost carrier Go First suddenly surprised people with a new name on Twitter. Go first become dynamic.eth. Instead of the airline’s blue and white logo, the airline presented its nearly 200,000 followers with a picture of Vitalik Buterin, a Canadian programmer considered one of the founders of the Ethereum cryptocurrency.

After a few crude tweets, it became apparent that the official Twitter account had been hacked, with the culprit apparently being an Ethereum cryptocurrency supporter. Go First confirmed the incident and promised to clear it up as soon as possible.