Airline Brands Struggle with Social Care, Rely on AI Agents for Improvement

Strategic Insights -

Airline brands have been experiencing a significant decline in customer engagement on X, with the overall volume of customer service inquiries directed at them plummeting from nearly 40 per month at the start of 2024 to fewer than 12 interactions per month in May 2025. The industry's social care strategies are in need of improvement, with 74% of customer service inquiries sent via a direct message on Facebook, Instagram, and X left unanswered.

Key Takeaways:

  • 74% of customer service inquiries sent via direct message on Facebook, Instagram, and X were left unanswered, highlighting a significant opportunity for improvement in airlines' social care strategies.
  • Response rates to customer questions left in the comments section on Instagram posts increased 14% between 2024 and 2025, with 68% of questions still not receiving a response.
  • Airline brands witnessed a significant shift on X, with only 22% of customer questions answered on the platform, down 15% since last year.
  • The number of customer service-related direct messages on Facebook answered by an airline brand's AI agent more than doubled between January and June of this year.
  • Airline brands are leaning into AI agents to boost their social care efforts, with AI agents responding to customer service inquiries in real-time on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
  • The industry's social care strategies are in need of improvement, with 77% of customer service issues on airline brands' Facebook pages associated with customer service issues.
  • 55% of negative comments on airline brands' Facebook pages are associated with flight operations, and 52% involve compensation and refunds.

Statistics:

  • The overall volume of customer service inquiries directed at airline brands on X dropped from, on average, nearly 40 per month at the start of 2024 to fewer than 12 interactions per month in May 2025.
  • Response rates to customer questions left in the comments section on Instagram posts increased 14% between 2024 and 2025.
  • The number of customer service-related direct messages on Facebook answered by an airline brand's AI agent more than doubled between January and June of this year.
  • Nearly 70% of negative comments on airline brands' Facebook pages are associated with customer service issues.
  • More than 55% of negative comments have to do with flight operations, and 52% involve compensation and refunds.

Sources:

  • Emplifi, a leading customer engagement platform, released a report highlighting social care trends and insights from the world's leading airline brands.
  • The report is based on social media data collected from January 1 to June 6, 2025, across 38 leading global airline brand profiles using Emplifi's analytics platform.
  • Emplifi's analytics platform examines engagement trends, response rates, and customer sentiment on Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).