Delta Air Lines is of course a very well run airline, and that largely comes down to competent leaders. It’s an interesting time when it comes to leadership at the airline, since it seems like we’re in a period where a lot could change.
Continue reading: Delta Announces “Next Generation” Leadership Changes, New President
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
There are many things I don’t love about Delta, but this long term leadership planning is an admirable trait and further evidence of long term strategic acuity.
Meanwhile, American is a ridiculous mess with no leadership accountability and a pliant board of sycophants.
Ben - I would say one of the biggest stories in aviation this week would be the whole AA catering meltdown at LHR?...reported by JonNYC
Oh, regardless of personal feelings about DL, it is such a well run airline.
Get ready for a next generation of Delta leadership dedicated to leveraging LLMs to personalize pricing and bleed people dry even more efficiently while continuing to present themselves as premium when they are, in fact, only the best of the worst (the big US 3).
Clocking in for Timmy’s 7 chapter book about why this is bad for AA, and Delta will someday be the only airline in North America via sheer exceptionalism.
So they just made their former head of D.E.I. their President? Nice.
Reactions to this should be - - - interesting, lol.
Not to mention, predictable.
I was just thinking that Ben has had a dearth of articles about the big 4 while other sites are going nuts w/ them.
Glad to know that I am still beckoned by the crowd...
It is precisely because many of these people aren't high profile other than Janki and to a lesser degree Carter - who often are on earnings calls - that I can't say much about them.
I have said, however, and I think it is still true that DL still heavily promotes from within and has a deep bench of talent - from which these have been drawn.
I also believe that DL is as strong as it is because they build cohesive strategy and then execute on its stategies much better than most companies.
As with every company they need to tighten and refine but, in reality, I don't think much will change in what DL sets out to do or accomplishes.
Not related: Bloomberg News
“Heathrow Faces Mounting Cancellations, Parked Planes From War”
The nickeling and diming of presumably the airline's best customers I find really annoying. Really someone buys a business class ticket and you want to charge them for a seat assignment?
Sure, do that to the passengers back in coach that purchased a ticket on your airline because it was the cheapest fare they found on Google flights. But someone that flys enough to be a top elite and has your co-branded cc and if they buy a "discounted" business ticket you want to Mickey Mouse them for a seat charge?
At least AA hasn't sunk that low-yet.
Correct- Delta is not as successful as it is because of luck. Post-NW merger, Delta has consistently operated its business to the best of its ability (knowing aviation is tough to be profitable/show growth) and virtually everything it does is fully thought through/calculated. That includes management training/succession planning so that Delta's management is capable of determining how to balance what's working now and what will be necessary five years down the road.
Ed Bastion the DAL CEO is 68 years old. Janki (57), the new COO, was at GE for 25 years and came to DL in 2021. Carter (62), the new President, came from a Minneapolis law firm in 2015. Laughter (55), the outgoing COO, who has been at DL for 30 years is getting the boot. Quite the managerial purge.
Mike Spanos (COO, left August 2024 after one year. Came from Six Flags)
Glen Hauenstein (President, retired February 2026)
Alicia Tillman (Chief Marketing Officer, departing March 2026)
William C. Carroll (Principal Accounting Officer, retiring March 2026)
John Laughter (EVP, COO and President of TechOps, retiring April 2026)
Ed Bastian has relentlessly focused on fluffing his own public image, with running an airline far seconday. Does any non-founder Fortune 500 CEO get such a constant stream adulating puff pieces? Maybe this guy elevated to president has focused on that and been rewarded.
Peter? Wait, like, MCE-Peter??
Interesting how Delta and United each have a President, separate from CEO; meanwhile, over at American... one role wasn't enough for AAyatollah Isom.
Thank you, Tim, for telling us how to think about this.
And both of the Presidents are lawyers who don't appear to be airline CEO material so one assumes they serve to minimize the jockeying and speculation.
It ain’t me! AA should hire whomever at Delta is now slightly miffed they entered a bake off.
So glad Hauenstein is gone. The guy was the biggest backstabber of the long-term, loyalty customer.
Maybe the best of the US Big 3, but still mediocre by any objective measurement. Especially while traveling in Economy. There is really no difference, except DL’s airfare usually being higher than the other two.
We'll take your commentary with as much accuracy as you demonstrated in your spelling of DL's CEO's name.
Commentary? Good luck to DL with a 25 year GE guy. See GE, MD, BA, HD, MMM & WX.
I buy business class tickets on Delta all the time and have never once paid for a seat assignment.
Well, at least, he isn't a Pratt and Whitney/RTX guy. UA has that guy in their back pocket.
Not
Someone from GE of late would be fine, but 1996-2021? Six Sigma! Probably better than the Six Flags to DL COO guy who only lasted for a year. Good luck DL.
Here’s one:
“So they just made their former head of D.E.I. (worldwide) their President?”
Pretty easy job in about 80% of the world. Lol
Seems to be silent here on the Tim Dunn front. I'm guessing he sees United and American "very badly beating" "his" so-called airline. I've tried to take dozens of Delta flights in my day yet they have always been Cancelled. Totally absurd! Tim - this Is undefensable. I'm surprised Tim Dunn isn't the new ceo/head of company?
you clearly define "day" a whole lot differently than most people.
DL's rate of cancellation for 2025 was below AA and UA; only WN did better.
but no one ever counted on you to make an accurate or factual statement
I didn't know commenters were required to spell correctly. At least @rebel isn't a sycophant. Did I spell that correctly?
Fact …. As LHR is a major global hub, yes, Heathrow is experiencing mounting cancellations, but they are targeted mainly at Middle East routes because of airspace closures and safety concerns. All none ME and Gulf transit flights are operating normally. Actually, the same issues are affecting major Asian hubs too, yes?
Easy to have a low cancellation rate when you just delay everything overnight. That's the Delta way!
except Delta also has the highest on-time ranking of any airlines operating in the continental US. Only HA did better and they will be gone as soon as HA's stats are rolled into AS, making DL the highest ranked US airline for on-time.
It's just so hard for some of you to admit that DL is the best run airline and business in the US airline industry but those are the facts.
DL didn't get to that point by any single exec and a few exec changes aren't going to change anything.
DL hasn't had any of its strategies blocked by the feds which would be the case with UA.
You are just jealous that DL didn't make mountains of strategic mistakes for decades and then try to fix them all in one fell swoop using anti-competitive strategies.
So. how many flights is UA going to have to cut at its HDQ hub?
It is reported today that the six U.S. soldiers who were killed by a drone strike in Kuwait, during the ongoing conflict with Iran, will be repatriated this weekend. My thoughts are with the friends and families of those affected by this tragedy.
I find it funny they make all this money and pay their board of directors millions but they forgot about how they froze the pension in 2005 and promised that they would make it right the retirees asked Bastian either give us our pensions back that we are owed and not crap your giving now and we should be in the profit sharing if u aren't giving us what our pensions should be he told msnbc we are looking into the pension fund still nothing also pre merger NW don't have the social security take away once u hit your age of receiving SS they are taking a large chunk from DL employees but not NW they made a deal with them