Web 2.0, Meet World 2.0

Web 2.0's hallmark — consumers taking over the online marketing process — is spilling over into real life, if a recent incident is any indication.

In late June, 52 airline passengers in China refused to deplane when their flight failed to take off. After the passengers stayed on the plane for nearly nine hours, the airline booked them all on another flight.

This was similar to Web 2.0 in the customers' expectation that they, and not the marketer, were in control of the experience. If this is, in fact, an offline trend and not an anomaly, expect a lot more conflicts as consumers exercise influence in a variety of in-person situations.

Now consider frequent-flier programs. Miles are ubiquitous these days and airlines have cut back the number of seats available for participant rewards. This is a recipe for customer frustration.

AApplause, a 2-year-old program from American Airlines, gives travelers influence over at least one aspect of their experience: the quality of service they receive. (American is awfully fond of attaching double A's to its branded programs, such as AApplause and AAdvantage. The carrier even refers to its flight attendants as AAngels. However, it's less aapt to do so with concepts such as AArrival delays.)

Here's how AApplause works. Top American Airlines AAdvantage program participants are given a small number of recognition coupons with their mileage statements. When they receive exceptional service from an airline employee, participants write their own name, program number and flight number, along with the employee's name and ID number, on the coupons. A completed coupon gives the American employee a chance to win 20,000 frequent-flier miles.

AApplause isn't nearly as generous as S.O.S. (SomeOne Special), a forerunner effort American axed several years ago, quite possibly when it realized “S.O.S.” was a poor choice of acronym for a rewards program. Under its terms, coupons could be redeemed for gift cards. There are tales of flight attendants earning washer/dryer combinations or items from housing supply stores as a result of their outstanding service.

With a little tweaking, AApplause eventually could give frequent fliers an enhanced sense of ownership of American — or, indeed, any carrier that adopts a program like it. Truly savvy airlines might figure out ways to reward both employees and passengers, such as by matching whatever prize is earned by an employee with something similar for one of the people who made the recommendation.

Is the system abused? You bet. Travelers cut deals with flight attendants, swapping AApplause coupons for a jump to the head of upgrade lines, extra drinks or other amenities. No doubt these abuses will continue. But they'll be offset by customers' conviction that they have some say in the quality of the product.

Ownership is a hell of a reward. And unlike increasingly unavailable airplane seats, it's always available to fliers.

For more of Richard H. Levey's Loose Cannon columns, visit http://directmag.com/opinions-columnists/loosecannon/index.html.