Breaking: Delta CEO Richard Anderson To Retire

By: Ben Schlappig

Published: February 3, 2016

26 comments

Via Scott Mayerowitz at the Associated Press, Delta’s CEO, Richard Anderson, will be retiring on May 2, 2016, which is the day he turns 61. The airline’s president, Ed Bastian, will be taking over as CEO. Meanwhile Glen Hauenstein, the airline’s executive vice president, will be appointed president.

Richard-Anderson
Richard Anderson

There’s no denying that Richard Anderson has done an amazing job leading Delta since 2007, when the airline had just exited bankruptcy protection. He was in charge when Delta merged with Northwest, when Delta bought a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, etc. Delta has transformed into one of the most admired and profitable airlines in the world, and Richard Anderson has been in charge all along.

He hasn’t just been a conventional leader either. Under his leadership, Delta has countered so many industry trends which other airlines have followed. And for that he deserves a lot of respect.

At the same, I’ve never seen someone running such a successful company also have such a victim mentality. Whether it’s whining about the Gulf carriers or slots at Haneda Airport, Anderson has been singularly focused on the success of his airline (which in and of itself is fine), and he has considered anything standing in the way of that goal to be unfair. It just seems a bit disingenuous to play the victim mentality when you’re running the world’s most profitable airline… that’s all.

Bottom line

It’s the results that count, and there’s no denying that Richard Anderson has been an amazing CEO. Delta is a leading global carrier and a role model other airlines look to, and he’s certainly leaving on a high note. Ed Bastian is brilliant as well, and I’m sure he’ll do great things for Delta. Based on having heard Ed Bastian speak a couple of times, he also seems a bit more soft spoken and reasonable, which I think will be good for the airline.

Kudos to Richard Anderson on an amazing career — he’s certainly leaving on better terms than than Jeff Smisek left United.

Now I’m just wondering if Qatar Airways’ CEO, Akbar Al Baker, will be invited to Richard Anderson’s retirement party. 😉

What do you make of Richard Anderson’s retirement — are you happy or sad to see him go?

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Kevin Guest

February 6, 2016, 6:15 pm

No doubt that Anderson has done a great job at Delta, though as a diamond member since inception and years of platinum before that, I long for a return to the Mullin/Coggin days. Guess I'm too selfish.

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Tachyon_OGG-SBA-IAD Guest

February 4, 2016, 9:30 pm

Maybe they'll give him a gold-plated, but clapped-out, old Hummer as a retirement gift-- to honor all the CO2-spewing gas guzzlers that were his signature addition to the DL fleet. Don't worry, though, they'll re-do the interior so as to take his mind off the fact that he's traveling in a design conceived when LBJ was in office. Just like those DC9s that dominate the Delta fleet today...

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Shirley White Guest

February 4, 2016, 4:43 pm

I look forward to learn what Mr Bastian's vision will be. Hopefully, he will address the egregious fares that we suffer in the Metro Detroit area. As they operate about 85% of the flights out of Detroit we are never able to take advantage of the air promotion fares offered in other markets. I believe that we have the highest fares for a Delta hub anywhere. Up until this year my husband and I were Platinum Medallion flyers however as retirees we just could not keep up with all the changing requirements. If you use your miles they give you the worse routing. As we have traveled throughout the world, the Sky Club at Metro is one of the worst clubs we have ever been in. Meager offerings of almost nothing. Really pathetic.

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Ken Guest

February 4, 2016, 4:33 pm

Smisek and Anderson are out. Let's hope Parker copies them.

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Derek Guest

February 4, 2016, 4:02 pm

@RealKeeper, I am not going to get into a political debate, but I will say only that you simply do not understand what the views of the Tea Party movement are. You are free to disagree but your characterization is not even remotely accurate. I will generally agree with Lucky's assessment of Anderson's tenure. He has done wonders with Delta, especially given the period early in his tenure. I will disagree that he has a victim mentality. His responsibility is to look out for Delta and its shareholder first and foremost. To that degree he is supposed to compete fiercely. Whether he thinks that is fair or unfair is not really the point. As I have blogged and commented here, I think Delta raises some fair points about the competition of the Middle East big three. (http://www.debriantravels.com/blog/2015/11/3/delta-emirates-in-a-war-of-words-over-atl-dxb-route) Are all his points correct? Not necessarily, but they are not necessarily incorrect or a manifestation of victimhood to the degree that he has some points that merit consideration. That being said, I do not agree with the use of government to interfere with competitors except where there is a truly uneven playing field. If his points ultimately are found to not hold water, despite my fondness for Delta as an Atlantan, I would 100% oppose leveraging the power of government to distort free market operations. I simply disagree that his and Delta's claim are without merit.

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