The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a pretty damning story about the culture inside Delta Air Lines’ flight attendant training center in Atlanta. One senior flight attendant trainer has been accused of harassing trainees, and when reported, the airline didn’t take much action, instead claiming the reports were unsubstantiated. Then when the company finally settled a lawsuit over this, the trainer was simply reassigned to another department.
In this post:
Delta accused of toxic culture in flight attendant training center
When people become flight attendants, they first go through a roughly seven-week training course, before they operate their first flights. This story initially dates back to June 2023, and involves a flight attendant trainee, who had passed countless exams, was FAA qualified, and was about to graduate.
Prior to the graduation ceremony, the trainees had to pass one final uniform check. This man’s uniform check was conducted by one of the male flight attendant trainers, with the trainee claiming he was told “your shirt is ruffled up here,” only to then have the trainer put his hands in the trainee’s pants, to pull down the shirt.
Now, the airline disputes those claims, though did reach a confidential settlement with the trainee in August 2025. Only after reaching a settlement, the trainer was finally moved to a position within Delta’s global communications video team.
You might think that’s an isolated incident, but at least three other current and former trainees also shared with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the same person had touched them inappropriately during training, between 2018 and 2024.
Each of them took their complaint to human resources expecting to be taken seriously, but they felt that they were just dismissed.
Delta emphasized how it “does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, bullying or other forms of intimidation,” and highlights an Ethics and Compliance HelpLine that allows employees to report concerns anonymously, pledging protection against retaliation and disciplinary action.
However, the individuals claim they were never proactively made aware of this, and weren’t even aware of the option to file reports that way. For that matter, Delta claims that these claims “were fully investigated and found to be unsubstantiated,” so it sounds like nothing would have come of this, anyway.
Delta takes care of employees, with major limits
In general, I think Delta does a good job taking care of employees, at least in terms of having a culture that puts customers at the center of what they do, and that includes rewarding employees for their shared success, through generous profit sharing.
The fact that Delta has more non-unionized workgroups than any other major US airline is also a clear reflection of the fact that at least a majority of employees in those groups are happy with the status quo, compared to the alternatives.
I will say, though, as an outsider, I definitely get the sense that the corporate culture at Delta is more driven by fear than at some other airlines. On some level that’s not surprising, since a union is in theory supposed to be a “last line of defense” when things go wrong, and when you don’t have that, things are more high stakes (not that unions even always prove useful in those situations).
But even from the Delta corporate folks that I know, they sort of have this fear of saying the wrong thing or of things getting out, in a way I haven’t found at many airlines outside of the Gulf region, for example. Again, that’s just my impression, so take it with a grain of salt. Among frontline employees, it also seems like we hear stories of terminations that are questionable at a higher rate than with other airlines.
Now, specific to this situation, a few quick thoughts, none of which are intended to diminish the accusations. First, I find it interesting how the accusations come from both male and female trainees. If this was sexually motivated, there are of course bi people out there, but more often than not, sexual harassment is targeted at people of one gender.
Furthermore, I think it’s worth pointing out that this guy worked at the training for many years, so four accusations over that period is obviously worth investigating and could amount to something serious, but we’re not talking about one accusation with every class, or something like that.
That being said, the accusations made are just inexcusable, and I’m not going to try to come up with any justification for them. I understand the concept of uniform standards, but that should be explained without touching others, and in particular, without putting your hands in their pants. That doesn’t strike me as being very complicated.
If this guy was just somehow really bad at physical boundaries, well, then he shouldn’t have that job in the first place. At least that’s my two cents. Is Delta’s defense literally just that this didn’t happen, and that there was no physical touch, or that the physical touch was fine, and wasn’t harassment?
If it’s the former, then I think the fact that three other people made similar accusations suggests that there’s reason to believe the claims.
Bottom line
A Delta flight attendant trainer has been accused of harassing students, including sticking his hands in the pants of a trainee during a uniform check. That wasn’t even an isolated incident, as the same person was accused of similar unwanted touch by multiple people.
Delta ultimately reassigned this trainer to another role while claiming the accusations were unsubstantiated, but also settled out of court. What’s also concerning is that Delta claims it has an anonymous reporting mechanism for this kind of stuff, while the employees claimed they weren’t even aware of that.
What do you make of these Delta flight attendant trainer harassment claims?
This happens at many airlines. I am cabin crew at BA, and there is one trainer at our Global Learning Academy that is notorious for messaging male new entrants on social media, and sending them explicit photos after their training with him was completed. I had him for my 787 conversion training, and he send explicit photos to around half of the men in our training group.
I know this was reported to BA,...
This happens at many airlines. I am cabin crew at BA, and there is one trainer at our Global Learning Academy that is notorious for messaging male new entrants on social media, and sending them explicit photos after their training with him was completed. I had him for my 787 conversion training, and he send explicit photos to around half of the men in our training group.
I know this was reported to BA, but I am unsure if he was penalized. Though, he is still in the training department, and I see him every year when I go back to the GLA for my annual SEP training.
Delta has a long history across multiple divisions of covering up harassment their leadership or employees that are highly favored for not questioning the system. A for supervisor had a long gistpry of reports and complaints against him and was on ever reassigned to other departments, even when the supervisor was caught red-handed by a PLM for admitti g treating an employee different the most that happened was a write up. Delta's leadership culture and...
Delta has a long history across multiple divisions of covering up harassment their leadership or employees that are highly favored for not questioning the system. A for supervisor had a long gistpry of reports and complaints against him and was on ever reassigned to other departments, even when the supervisor was caught red-handed by a PLM for admitti g treating an employee different the most that happened was a write up. Delta's leadership culture and holding leaders accountable in a way that shows care for the well being of employees is laughable at best. Delta and many other people falsely believe that a good outward reputation means Delta hasn't or can do no wrong.
This instructor was not reassigned…he was promoted to a manager position in corporate communications. This story is 100% true….i am an instructor and know many instructors have reported his doings.
The Flight Attendants have gotten out of hand. We should go back to calling them Stewardesses.
"Air Waitresses"
I respect appearance standards, but hands down the pants is unbecoming. Do they check for Irish pennants, too?
“In competitive news that matters, DL is restarting EWR-LAX next spring according to a trusted industry source.”
Are they going to use a 737-900 like others do on this route, Tim?
actually, an A321NEO according to sources.
The A321NEO in domestic configuration - for AA, DL, or UA -is by far the lowest unit cost aircraft for the market.
It is a great aircraft for DL to use to push its way into a market just as B6 leaves it and AS is reduced to a single daily flight.
"and AS is reduced to a single daily flight."
honestly, how stupid are you sTD? truly? How dumb are you?
Anyone can go to google flights in April 2027 and see 3x daily flights on Alaska on LAX-EWR.
Do you honestly have no ability to look things up that are this simple? Or are you truly this dumb?
In competitive news that matters, DL is restarting EWR-LAX next spring according to a trusted industry source.
As I have repeatedly said, DL has made huge gains against AA and WN as well as low cost carriers over the past decade and is now turning its attention to UA.
With UA's stated plans to launch JFK-LAX and SFO, DL clearly is taking the first offensive. As has been noted, DL has the advantage of gate...
In competitive news that matters, DL is restarting EWR-LAX next spring according to a trusted industry source.
As I have repeatedly said, DL has made huge gains against AA and WN as well as low cost carriers over the past decade and is now turning its attention to UA.
With UA's stated plans to launch JFK-LAX and SFO, DL clearly is taking the first offensive. As has been noted, DL has the advantage of gate space at LAX.
in addition to news from Aeroroutes that UA is cutting 5% of its capacity and 7% of its flights, the UA domestic growth strategy is not working.
DL not only sees opportunity to focus its competitive energy on UA not just domestically but also to Asia/Pacific.
this is getting fun!
Tell us about the training at Delta ? That was the story , n"est-ce pas ?
The comment by Dan is by far the most accurate.
every company and society with 100K employees has people that do things that are not appropriate. As someone noted, these types of accusations have been made about people at AA.
We don't even know if that is the case here; there have been accusations and the supposed secret settlement doesn't prove anything. At a non-union company, they could fire the person at will so there...
The comment by Dan is by far the most accurate.
every company and society with 100K employees has people that do things that are not appropriate. As someone noted, these types of accusations have been made about people at AA.
We don't even know if that is the case here; there have been accusations and the supposed secret settlement doesn't prove anything. At a non-union company, they could fire the person at will so there is really no basis for settling for someone that has been doing something wrong.
and the real threat is to DL if some of these employees/former employees did go to law enforcement esp. as a group. There is far more risk to DL if the accusations are true than to the specific person.
We simply don't have enough information to come to any conclusions and certainly based on generalizations.
none of which changes that the real news that matters is not an accusation but rather that DL is doing what I have said it would - turn its competitive focus to UA and esp. on the west coast.
Other airline hubs are the biggest opportunity for growth from LAX, DL has the gates, and UA has said that it would start JFK service which I have said at best would be a zero sum game.
on top of growing indications that UA's domestic growth plan is not working, DL's re-adding of EWR-LAX has far more implications for the US airline industry than accusations by anyone at any airline.
UA scores only three time in this diversional game, while AA only rates one score. Walter almost managed some on topic ramblings.
You don’t get to decide what news “matters” and what doesn’t.
Delta has 103,000 employees. I do not think you can make inferences about corporate culture based on the sample size described in the post. I do not care about Delta as I have never flown with them and do not plan to so. It is not, therefore, as if I am defending the management team. I just think drawing conclusions about anything related to management practices in general at Delta from this story is ill advised.
the fish rots from the head.
This is the Delta way. Ask them about a particular director at TechOps that rhymes with Phony Buller. HR turns a blind eye when it comes to GMs and higher.
Give us another hint for the rhyme ?
Ferris Bueller.
The same thing is happening at AA. A creepy male trainer in his 50s, stalking young guys, getting on their trips and asking for favours. Staff too scared to report.
way to call out and malign a specific person with no backing whatsoever.
As a man working on the ramp , a woman customer service employee walk by me and pinched my right nipple quite hard, laugh and walk away. The station manager also a woman told me I was making too big a deal of it when I complained. Imagine what would have happened to me if I did that to a woman employee.
A swift kick to a knee will straighten out anyone who does anything "feely" to a tae kwon do student .
The source link goes to the baby rats story.
Many newbie flight attendants think that they are attractive, and people want to admire them or want to have sexual contact with them. They need a mirror at home.
That old guy probably just thought that these young people are stupid at making uniform right.
If this person was an old lady, and she reached her hand into their pants, would they accuse her as well?
We all know the answer.
Everyone gets the same indoc. I am certain from the minute you walk in the door they ingrain in your head you have the power to call a safety time out. You have the power to report inappropriate behaviors. You sign a document acknowledging the rules of the road which specifically outline behaviors that are not tolerated.
The ethics hotline, sms, etc etc and ways to report are all laid out and echoed from the...
Everyone gets the same indoc. I am certain from the minute you walk in the door they ingrain in your head you have the power to call a safety time out. You have the power to report inappropriate behaviors. You sign a document acknowledging the rules of the road which specifically outline behaviors that are not tolerated.
The ethics hotline, sms, etc etc and ways to report are all laid out and echoed from the top down. We see it in emails all the time, in videos, and in statements.
To say “oh I didn’t know how to report this” is pure ignorance. Not justifying the handling of it, AND there are three sides to every story: side A - side B - and somewhere in the middle ….. the truth.
If they fired him, the story here would be "Delta discriminates against gay people", right? If they don't , it's "Delta looks the other way on abuse". If there were a union, the story would be...silence.
In any case, it's a cash grab. Fixed his shirt, maybe inappropriate, but scarred for life? Nope. Not unless you were already mentally unstable. I've been groped by both genders in various foreign countries, not a big deal. Get over it.
Who groped you at work, Mantis?
Why is location of groping worth $1M?
What does @Tim say ? "Delta settles out-of-court" ?
Hush your mouth A-Lert, please don’t awaken the wily Smaug. Mentioning “Delta” is Walter Mitty Dunn’s ‘gold’ …. :-)
This one is easy...
If the male trainer had been disciplined/fired he would have filed a complaint alleging that Delta discriminated against him because he's gay.
Delta didn't want the Alphabet Mafia making their lives miserable so they did what was easiest.
And that was to pay the "victims" and reassign the alleged harasser.
You're welcome.
100% correct.
Such an uninformed comment. No one knows the sexual orientation of the trainer. And gay people are not going to claim discrimination if they shove their hands down someone’s pants. You are pandering in unhelpful stereotypes and, of course the ever-accepting @George Romney is right there with you.
MALE instructor.
MALE trainees.
Either you didn't read the story or you're obtuse.
If trainee was a U.S. Marine , the trainer likely would have learned a swift lesson and a very sore jaw .
My lips are sealed and my fingers are retiring to a safe distance, thus avoiding the incoming!
Oof, and I thought the French were taking the heat; has it come north for you, too? (Oh, you meant our friend, who is about to go thermo-nuclear… time to put that Cold War era education to use. *gets under a school desk*)
Given it was settled out of court speaks volumes.