It is worthwhile to note that ATW and Delta have not exactly been 'friends' lately. Just recently, the ATW editor got called out by Delta's counsel on her not-very-well supported editorial on Delta's reason for cancelling ATL-DXB


This portion I have to strongly disagree with. What Richard Anderson has done at Delta that is almost unheard of in the airline industry to date is to run the airline like a real BUSINESS. He is absolutely right to try to set Delta up to compete not only against other airlines, but also other industrials. For investors, the airline business has long been the butt of jokes..it became accepted that airlines were low margin/low return investments. But why should they be? Airlines rely on the same investors as those who take to IBM or Apple or Google, so why should they not be expected to perform? Prior to RA's tenure at Delta, you hardly ever saw airlines publish metrics such as 12 month trailing ROIC, and now, virtually every US carrier shows it in their financials.

Another "revolutionary" thing he has done is the attempt to control (or at least have some influence) over his supply chain. The oil refinery, the pitting of Airbus versus Boeing, the "talking down" of airplane prices (777 for example), etc., all point to this. This goes in tandem with his belief that this is business, first and foremost, not a billionaire boy's club (as has been the tradition of airlines with their manufacturers/suppliers).

He has also set Delta up to be a viable/sustainable business over the long term. All those on FT who often say "wait till the next recession, the airlines will come begging" have not been paying attention to what RA and his team at Delta have been doing over the course of the last few years. Besides the significant debt reduction, network planning for $100 oil even when it's currently at $35, etc., his fleet strategy is going to help Delta adjust capacity very easily. Delta has currently 50 international airplanes and over 100+ domestic airplanes that it can park immediately because they are fully owned and depreciated; that's not even counting the next bunch that would be close to full depreciation, which can be parked at very little cost.

At the end of the day, RA has been a phenomenal BUSINESS LEADER at Delta. Leaders cannot be "nice" and "likeable" to all - simply not possible when you face millions of stakeholders with different priorities and objectives. And remember, when people complain about others being "egotistical" or "self-centered" or "megalomaniacal", they themselves usually are the same way because they can't get their way with the person they're criticising.