I think I gave him the benefit of the doubt while just noting the ramifications of his choice. So they did. They needed to show up and perform their responsibilities, taking care of our customers, and taking care of our airplanes, and making certain that the world keeps moving. I think Matthew also points out the possible issues with the excuse given and honestly we will never know if this was a legitimate excuse or a ploy to garner sympathy for skipping a meeting he found distasteful and a probably waste of time given the likely outcome. ED BASTIAN: My pleasure, Adi, good to be with you. ED BASTIAN: Were very focused on data and analytics. Could he have made last-minute arrangements to attend said meeting and meet up with his family mid-vacation? 4. Your industry has its own specific needs, but I think we all need to get used to the idea that were going to be leading through crisis. He spoke about the challenges he faced in keeping Delta going. Was everybody thrilled? As you mentioned, were a very visible industry. Its a huge deterrence to travel. Pleased to say at Delta, there are very, very few. A lot of companies arent there. Im just wondering why this was an either-or situation. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel. Fine. As I tell our people, we didnt have a choice. Six months later, at the request of then-Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein, he returned to the airline to serve as chief financial officer. And fortunately, the CDC took our input. The first time he stepped on to an airplane was after he graduated college at 25, flying to the Interview with Price Waterhouse in New York City. Six months later, Delta's then-CEO Jerry Grinstein asked him to come back as chief financial officer of the airline. What a scumbag. What has it been like to try to guide a business through all this? I ask them to do a lot of things. ADI IGNATIUS: We billed this show as: who could be more on the front lines of the challenges that we all face (to maybe lesser degrees), that this pandemic has brought, than someone keeping an airline going. Ed Bastian was born on June 6, 1957 in Poughkeepsie, New York. Ed Bastian is married to Anna Bastian and they have 4 kids. Ed Bastians daughter Brittany Bastian got married to Nathan Gannon in August 2020 in a wedding ceremony held in Georgia. Our hiring brand is strong. Not like he cant change his flights lol. Glad to see someone stick up for their family. However, over the course of the next couple of weeks, certainly by the second week in January, things are pretty much back to normal here at Delta. Shame on the Author. I am very disappointed that you even felt the need to write an article, considering how much of a following you have, of this nature in the first place. They change out the full air with environment within a plane every two to three minutes while were in flight. Unfortunately that meeting was set up at the very last minute as I was heading out of the country with my family on a long scheduled one week vacation that would have caused me to cancel the vacation with my family. I just hope he has the same attitude when other employees say no due to family obligations. Still, we cannot deny what an expensive vacation this truly was, at least in terms of optics. Every time he comes home he recognizes the responsibility he has to everyones flight safety including his daughters. ED BASTIAN: First and foremost, headquarters is not in charge of anything. It was a tough two weeks on the cancellations front, but for the last ten days we havent had more than just a handful of cancellations a day, due to staffing or Omicron, out of over 4,000 operations that we fly. WebBrittany Bastian and Nathan Gannon's Wedding Website - Zola. Let him take the responsibility that goes with it ,,,he should resign ,, what a slacker,. To the North, Delta recently negotiated a deal to buy 75 Canadian Bombardier aircraft but has run into another Trump wall as the government assessed Bombardier with a 220% duty for allegedly dumping product, an accusation made by Boeing. This meeting was not about a disaster in the airline community and a planned family vacation as a CEO are hard to do. His first reaction was Ed missed the meeting bc he dont like me 10. As the firstborn of 9, he learned to manage people early in life. So theres a full playbook and, just like the auto industry, is going to take us several decades before we get there, but we follow what happened in the autos, and theyve been on a 20-year journey of electrification and using clean transportation. The question I have is about impact. We are as isolated and distant from each other that I can ever recall. That card is played way too often by liberals. And testing requirements. Rally Kid Graces fearless spirit and selfless mission to help others, despite her own struggles, moved Bastian deeply. The airplane is the cleanest place you can be. I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. Bastien has clearly made the decision to distance himself from Trump by any means possible. A father of 4, he splits his time between Atlanta, where Delta Air Lines is headquartered, and Florida. And we got their big award for that because of data analytics and the intelligence that our people have at their fingertips to make good decisions for people and provide great quality operations. He went to work for accounting firm Price Waterhouse in New York. I cannot believe this many business travelers cannot see this. It's a Model S, which starts at $71,000. Were in whats classified as a hard-to-decarbonize industry, because 98% of our emissions, our footprint, is jet fuel, is a fossil fuel. He was 54 when he ran in the New York City Marathon, not bad for a guy who also runs a major airline (on the side?). about how cows eat cabbage, why dont you go play with your kids? It gets me in the HOV lane all the way down." And by the way, if you come down with Omicron and youre forced to isolate for 10 days during a holiday period, that almost seemed punitive to people during that period of time. ", "Bastian on list of candidates for Delta CEO job", "5 things to know about Delta CEO Ed Bastian", "Poughkeepsie native named CEO of Delta Air Lines", "Metro Atlanta Chamber Announces 2021 Chair And Launches New Digital Tool To Promote The Region", "Q&A with Ed Bastian, 2017 Most Admired CEO", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ed_Bastian&oldid=1138857092, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 12 February 2023, at 01:00. Domestically weve been able to keep the airways open throughout the entire pandemic, because were deemed by the government to be an essential service. @chasgoose has the best comment and most sensible. The colonial #architecture of #mumbai is stunning. Matthew has to get a real life. Im not going to impugn the motives of Delta CEO Ed Bastian. But there is simply no denying how incredibly costly his recent family vacation turned out to be. Bastian took some some heat ( and not just from me) for refusing to modify his travel plans to meet with President Trump and other airline CEOs in the White House. Were there some that couldnt come back? Am sure work would cover?! The air filtration systems are the highest quality. He left Delta and came back. So its an issue for our government. I think the figure was that 8,000 Delta employees have contracted Covid within the last four or five weeks, lots of flight cancellations, not just for you, but for the industry. Do something for them or the country. Maybe he just didnt feel like talking to a racist that daycant blame him, No matter what your intention was but this was unnecessary and makes you appear petty. About 20,000 people took the opportunity to retire in the latter part of 2020, so we needed to supplement our team, and weve been hiring all across the board, from pilots to flight attendants to technologists to aircraft mechanics to reservationists, airport workers, you name it. And as a statement of unity we all came back to the office starting last June, [with a] requirement to be back into the office, to ensure that were all together, were all navigating this challenging environment. The airline had to adapt to a seemingly endless series of dire, pandemic-related challenges. 02.27.23 Best Of Clark: Retirement Compromise / Retail Saving Secrets. Family and down time is critically important for everyone. Edward Russell. It might have also been the reason he decided to go into accounting when he went to college at St. Bonaventure University instead of playing baseball. As for Delta, and while its pilots are unionized, flight attendants, mechanics and other support staff do not belong to a union. Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. And the main topic they wamted to discuss in this meeting -how Qatar Airlines investment in Air Italy is costing American jobs- (what a stretch) should further validate that this was all union! Ed Bastian demonstraits true leadership traits in everything he does for the Delta family, unlike many other US Airline CEOs. The power of purpose and connecting employees with a larger mission, Ways business can work closely and productively with government. This is due to the writers lackluster ability to grasp any concept greater than a shiny headline for their editor (if there is even one). The problem is in the US we put work before family and it is ruining society. "I've got a 12-year-old, our youngest, so she's got designs on college and everything. Not just for the airlines, but also for the express package carriers and the UPSs and the FedExs of the world that are also using those airways. Keep in mind we just pointed out her runs marathons, but we didnt mention his age 58. Mathew, I have been reading your blogs for a number of years now and Ive never commented on any of them even when I have felt that you are all reaching on your writing . In fact, some would argue the very first artificial intelligence applications came through the airline industry back 30 or more years ago through use of revenue management technologies. And we are having those conversations to create commercial opportunities for the energy producers to invest in SAF and the airlines to make sure that were going to be good partners and purchase and procure those, because today the cost of buying one gallon of a sustainable aviation fuel is upwards of 5 times the cost of one gallon of jet fuel, and its not a commercial opportunity at the present stage. For several days, Delta refused to comment further on the CEOs absence beyond stating that he was traveling. This is his personal decision and literally has nothing to do with his other decision to miss the Trump meeting at which his presence would have had no material immediate, or long-term impact. Certainly, finding a seat on an airline willing to get him where he needed to be would not have been a problem. How has the use of data analytics helped Delta stay ahead of the curve in the industry? ED BASTIAN: We havent. Delta CEO Ed Bastian and Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith pose for photos at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. And theres been such a great spirit about it. And the majority of our people were very happy to be back. I am so excited tha, I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair. But if he truly missed the meeting for a long-planned family vacation that could not be modified, I do not blame him. However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world. And you think about the world needing air travel. You can read Bastians full message here. WebBTC/USD Realtime Price and Historical Chart. [5] In 2000, he was promoted to senior vice president finance and controller. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners. Skift Take.. Can you talk a little bit about that as an example of private sector-government interaction? And our purpose here at Delta is to ensure that no one better connects the world. bitcoin-friendly.com (BTW, if it is not about the cost of the trip, why put expensive in front of every word you use to describe it when, in fact, you dont know if it was. We had a very, very large early retirement opportunity for our people as voluntary. ED BASTIAN: One of the most important things Ive already mentioned is about communications, about staying very, very close to your team, to your people, to being authentic, to being transparent. But dear @flysas , next time if I a, Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be rac, Another room with a beautiful view #hyattregenc, Enjoying #shanghai with @onemileatatime from the i, From my front gate to my boarding gate in 15 minut, @malaysiaairlines #747 out of retirement and in se, View from my 61st floor room at the beautiful bran. I mean, your background is as an accountant, as an auditor, as a finance guy. As we operate a very, very complex and sophisticated scale company on a global basis, 24/7. ED BASTIAN: First and foremost, its always difficult to decide that. In other words, how has Bastians absence from that meeting added to his costs (expensive vacation?) WebJoc Pederson is married to his longtime girlfriend Kelsey Williams in January 2018 and they have a daughter called Poppy Jett. Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss Delta's earnings beat, new pilot contracts in the works, and paying down debt to open up more free cash He drives a Tesla to work. ADI IGNATIUS: Beyond that, how do you choose the social issues, political issues that youll get involved in personally, and how do you manage and protect a brand reputation as you do? Founder and Managing Partner of REES Capital, Amy Rees Anderson, now a contributor to Forbes wrote a blog titled, Companies dont have to be perfect but they do need to fix it when they screw up! Soon thereafter she received a phone call from Mr. Bastain who has read the blog and wanted her feedback on her particular experience. We werent the only one, a number of companies did as well, because we saw the effect it was having within our team and within our people, and our people were looking up to us asking, After all weve been through over this last year, two years, and the challenges coming out after the George Floyd situation in the middle part of 2020, and the commitments that we made to continue to push forward and fight to ensure that everyone has equal access, everyone has equal opportunity, and do our very best to promote an equitable and diverse workplace, as well as community, how can we sit by and be silent? So that was a tough one, but youve got to be very, very careful in terms of which issues you choose. I wouldnt cross the street to meet Donald Trump, no matter the meeting agenda. Please view our advertising policy page for additional details about our partners. Internationally it is largely a requirement, to get into many countries around the world, you need to be vaccinated, including our country. ADI IGNATIUS: Ed, I want to thank you for being on the show. Whoever Matthew is he has no understanding of family life when one has a high level professional life (as do I). [7] In 2007, he was appointed to president, a position he held until assuming the role of CEO in May 2016. Bastian took some some heat (and not just from me) for refusing to modify his travel plans to meet with President Trump and other airline CEOs in the White House. He also shares an inside look at these conversations and solicits questions for future discussions in a newsletter just for HBR subscribers. I really appreciate it. If it was truly an existential threat to his business he would have found a way to make the meeting. Ed has been talking about saving american jobs since he became the Delta CEO literally putting up constant messages to employees and asking them to write their congressman and sign petitions. Need more examples set like this. American business executive and Delta Air Lines CEO, "St. Bonaventure grad to take over for Delta Air Lines CEO Anderson as he retires", "Edward Bastian Restructures Delta Into The "Winningest" Airline", "Ed Bastian to Succeed Richard Anderson as Chief Executive Officer of Delta Air Lines", "Can new Delta CEO Ed Bastian continue the airline's success? Georgia Power proposes steep rate increase for customers - How it affects what you pay, Results from the Tuesday special election for the Georgia Legislature, Refugees and their advocates see a champion in Jimmy Carter. At least one question has come in: did you ever consider requiring proof of vaccination, the way some restaurants do, or Broadway shows do, as a condition for flight? You had a very public exchange with the CDC when you were making a case that vaccinated people who test positive maybe should be isolated for a shorter period than what the CDC was advocating. Staffing all in the right places. His athleticism apparently extends to his family life. He deserves 1 week away with his family. I think its going to be a great technology. It's a wonderful vehicle. How does that background inform your leadership style, now that you are CEO? I know that you are still encouraging or requiring passengers to wear masks. Why couldnt another executive fill in gor him. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. And is there a digital strategy that aims to focus at the customer experience and direct sales as well? He said he believed a plan to cut jobs, salaries and benefits wasn't going to work and that the company needed to make the decision to file for bankruptcy protection. 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