btonkid12345

I would agree with this if that was his stance from the getgo. It wasn’t, and he backtracked mainly when he realized how many black employees he had pissed off.

Ed’s primary home is in one of the most conservative and wealthy places in FL, if not the US: Palm Beach.

MCO Flyer

Palm Beach County is definitely not a conservative area lol.

btonkid12345

I didn’t say anything about the entire county.

I said the part of Palm Beach that Ed lives in is very conservative. True story.

As the Delta CEO, his stance should be reflective of the company and not his personal stance, but it doesn’t change the waffling and horrible messaging by DL throughout what happened in GA.

cmd320

Personally, I feel as the Delta CEO he should just keep his mouth shut and focus on the inner-workings of his crappy airline as opposed to shoving his nose into politics.

eneq

Yeah, from a very basic level (not factoring in lower fuel, labor, or materials costs), the math doesn't add up. While I think Ed is being overly optimistic with his revenue projections, I don't think he's THAT far off. DL has been charging some ridiculous rates for Y and F.

The Situation

I am traveling every two weeks now. DL's Y fares are consistently matched to competitors or cheaper than competitors. I just booked a flight for mid-May a couple days ago. A DL main cabin fare was $98 RT, AS was $117 for BE. I don't bother checking F fares, because I know only 1 or 2 seats will be filled with paid pax and its an easy upgrade. I am certainly aware that there are certain routes at certain times that have crazy prices, but I think these are fairly rare, and I would bet EB is cherry-picking these routes and applying it as a blanket statement.

Furthermore, I have no idea why companies continue to specifically and explicitly support/not support certain laws. In an era where people are so polarized and have strong opinions, what is there to gain other than upsetting half of your customers? Its not like those who support your opinion are going to give you twice the business to make up for those who you upset. And then, when you make the next misstep, you are going to lose those who initially supported you.

davedeboston

Wow tell us how you really feel!

Turns out that companies are increasingly staking out their respective views on social and political topics. And the topics are broadening in scope beyond causes with more ubiquitous acceptance such as support for veterans.

For some people, responses include railing against the seepage of social causes into places they previously did not have to confront these topics. As life is not as nearly as compartmentalized for everyone as it perhaps might be for you, expect to see more standing behind causes that matter for various brands. And less “keeping one’s mouth shut” to paraphrase what you said.

smartytravel

Removed comment

btonkid12345

Generally agree, from a business and stockholder perspective.

But from the perspective of certain stakeholders - including their many black employees in GA - I think this was difficult for DL to do.

Despite that, DL PR/Ed still made a mess of the messaging, regardless of the message.

It WOULD be nice if Ed would dedicate the necessary time to realizing that everything is imperfect, and trying to figure out what to best improve next, any NPS improvements he brags about aside. Like their terrible contact center wait times, as 1 example.

The Situation

That is why it is important to clearly and continuously state your values as a company and what you do for your employees and your community. If you continuously hammer that home, people will have a positive view of the company and they won't force you to take a position and stumble through the politics trap. I am sure RA, who had a legal background rather than an accounting background would have been more in tune to that. But then again, maybe they aren't doing as much for their employees or the community as they did under RA so maybe they should be forced to wade into the foray.

Aloha1

And just who are they surveying?? As a Diamond, I used to get a survey after every flight. Now, despite over 20 flights since 3/19. I have not received a single one. My guess is they are surveying the kettles who fly once a year and think it's great to have an empty seat between them.

Aloha1

You presume to know how employees of Delta think?? Really?? Ed blew it big time. He never read the bill and just knee jerked his reaction. Fatal management flaw.

Aloha1

The next CEO of DL ( hopefully soon) should come from Marketing. Never let a bean counter drive the bus.

Biscuittin

The pandemic has changed much, but Delta's strategy used to be to rely on drawing a revenue premium even over its non LCC/ULCC competitors. Will its current network allow that to hold? I don't see myself paying a premium to fly DL now that middle seat blocking is gone. With its poor on board service offering and notorious operational problems there isn't much reason to pay extra travel on DL over AA or UA unless their schedules work better. Or, for that mater, over B6, WN or AS.

Justin026

Why are we assuming that the end of middle seat blocking won't be accompanied by a return to a higher level of service? Both were imposed due to the health crisis; presumably, we would expect the restrictions to be withdrawn for the same reason?

Should all be pretty clear in about 3 weeks.