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Earlier today, I wrote about how Delta Air Lines has bungled its recovery efforts and not come forward with a clear, genuine apology to the passengers that have been stranded around the world while its crew scheduling software was being updated. Now, it has come to light that Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, flew to Paris last night for the Olympics.
.@Delta statement on Ed Bastian trip to Paris pic.twitter.com/T9elRqMnOP
— David Shepardson (@davidshepardson) July 24, 2024
Delta Air Lines is a huge sponsor of the Olympic Games. In May, I wrote about Delta’s new Olympic-themed livery on one of its Airbus A350 aircraft. When questioned about its CEO’s flight to Paris, Delta provided the following statement to the media:
Ed delayed this long-planned business trip until he was confident the airline was firmly on the path to recovery. As of Wednesday morning, Delta’s operations were returning to normal. Ed remains fully engaged with senior operations leaders.”
This is a bad look. Delta still has passengers that have been waiting days to get to their destinations. Business trips, vacations, and family obligations have all been ruined. The optics here make the CEO seem out of touch and this will not sit well with people. The airline is recovering and having its best day since Thursday with “only” 47 flights cancelled and around 400 delayed today. This is reminiscent of when United CEO, Scott Kirby, flew private from Teterboro Airport (TEB) last July in the midst of a meltdown at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) (more here). While not the same as Kirby flying home to Colorado, Bastian supposedly had to fly to Paris to meet with other executives around Delta’s Olympic sponsorship. While this is a legitimate business activity, the public relations team should have had him out in the airports versus flying overnight to Paris.
@Delta your CEO is a coward. The embodiment of greed, lack of empathy and a worm hardly fit for dirt. How dare you treat your crews and customers like this while #edbastian sits carelessly in Paris. @FAANews Delta should be penalized to no end. #disgusting #corporategreed pic.twitter.com/aBznjRUHRl
— Don Reno Intreglia (@RenoIntreglia) July 24, 2024
People are now calling for the CEO to be fired or resign. We’ll see how this all shakes out.
Anthony’s Take: Delta’s CEO flying to Paris is a bad look. The airline has not fully recovered and Bastian should have been out on the front lines and not heading to the Olympics, sponsorship or not.
(Featured Image Credit: Delta Air Lines.)
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2 comments
I don’t think it’s a bad look, he has business in Paris? Whether he’s in his office in Delta HQ or working remotely from a office/hotel desk in Paris, I don’t think he’s any more/less effective at resolving the operational issues they are crawling out of. It’s interesting as it seems people read this and assume his visiting the Eiffel Tower or browsing street markets in the 4th, but people expect him to be behind ticketing counters and re-booking flights? I’m sure he has quite a capable team resolving issues. In the end, people will say what they wish, but let’s see if they throw their business to the friendlier skies of United or American, or there is always Spirit and SWA. Lol.
It all comes down to priorities. Does Bastian care more about passengers (spoiler alert: no) or does he care about flying off to the Olympics while passengers continue to get hosed? This is about as clear as it gets that Delta desperately needs actual leadership rather than what Bastian is showing. He needs to resign.