American Airlines, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt are social media stars, report says

What travel companies best use social media? American Airlines is tops among airlines on Facebook and Twitter. For hotels, top spots go to Ritz-Carlton on Facebook and Hyatt Hotels on Twitter.

The data come from Engagement Labs, which bases its findings on more than just the number of followers an airline or hotel may have.

The company’s eValue social media scores look at levels of engagement with users, the company’s impact or reach, and how quickly companies respond, a report released Thursday says.

I checked out American Airlines’ Facebook page to see what made it so good.

There was a fantastic post about American Airlines pilots Scott Byrne and daughter Jen who were flying together as first officer and captain for the first time Thursday.

“Watching my dad has always inspired me to become a pilot,” Jen Byrne was quoted in the post. “I loved all of the traveling we used to do, so this is a childhood dream come true.” That received more than 18,000 likes.

The rankings also serve as a guide to which airline or hotel is likely to respond to you on social media, whether you’re in a jam or not.

Here are the other airlines that best use Facebook:

2. Island Air (which serves the Hawaiian Islands)

3. Delta Air Lines

4. Frontier Airlines

5. Hawaiian Airlines

6. Sun Country Airlines

7. Southwest Airlines

8. Alaska Airlines

9. JetBlue Airways

10. Allegiant Travel

Airlines that best use Twitter:

2. United Airlines @United

3. Alaska Airlines @AlaskaAir

4. Sun Country Airlines @SunCountryAir

5. Allegiant Travel @AllegiantTravel

6. Delta Air Lines @Delta

7. JetBlue Airways @JetBlue

8. Southwest Airlines @SouthwestAir

9. Frontier Airlines @FlyFrontier

10. Virgin America @VirginAmerica

Among hotels, top Facebook performers are Mandarin Oriental hotels, which came in second, followed by Country Inns & Suites by Carlson, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and Sheraton Hotels and Resorts.

Among hotels, top Twitter performers are Ritz-Carlton hotels, second, followed by Trump Hotel Collection, Loews Hotels and Radisson Hotels.