But this is why I will continue to fly Delta..Priorities! We are as isolated and distant from each other that I can ever recall. Currently, the exact extent of the climate change remains unknown, not least because there is still much that remains to be uncovered in the field of climate science. [2], After PWC, he served as vice president at PepsiCo, where he managed international finances for its Frito-Lay snack division until 1998, when he joined Delta Air Lines as vice president - finance and controller. The importance of supporting and keeping safe workers who may not be able to work from home. He never intended to do anything about the situation in the first place because its his rich middle eastern buddies that are involved so he uses Bastion absence as the focal point of the whole deal, what about the other guys that showed up? She concluded, He does care!. It has lost all credibility like Bastian. 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. "I got the Tesla because I live here in Sugarloaf, and I have to go down to the airport [for work]. Instead, Bastian studied accounting at St. Bonaventure University. She has covered airlines for about 20 years, graduated from Harvard and has a master's degree from Northwestern. You seem to have touched a nerve. We make decisions here, hundreds if not thousands of times a day, and we need to be really good decision makers. 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. But as Gary Leff (in his new Forbes column) reports, Bastian has now clarified the issue. I think I gave him the benefit of the doubt while just noting the ramifications of his choice. I think a lot of people were happy. "I wasn't making an environmental statement or a new age statement. He should be commended for putting his family first in this instance. personally and/or professionally, as well as individually as Ed or as a representative of Delta (as Deltas CEO)? 1. Youve got people who have to be there physically, who have to deliver physically. A 12-year-old girl stepped up to the altar at her mom's wedding to read out the exact number of days she felt like her stepdad had felt like her own father before He spent a cool $71,000 for his Tesla, in large part because it is U.S. built, incorporates U.S. technology, and is the result of U.S. innovation. A CEO that is committed to his job and his family. ED BASTIAN: We havent. Why didnt he just send someone to stand in for him ? Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen -, One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure, Next stop ARN! ADI IGNATIUS: Its all quite amazing to ponder from the outside. Wow I am amazed at the number of people on here defending Ed Bastians decision and criticising the tone of Matthews article. hes also running again this year. Editorial Disclosure: The editorial content on this page is not provided by any entity mentioned herein. He made the right decision. Bastien likely would have gone if he thought the meeting would be productive, but he made the executive decision that it wouldnt be and used his planned vacation as an excuse. Famous for its burgers, there are very few people in the world who have not heard of this business, Read More 20 Fun Facts You Didnt Know About McDonaldsContinue. But we also need to make certain that the application, in terms of the rollout, can be coordinated along with running a safe aviation system. Family comes first. And theres been such a great spirit about it. The meeting topic was Qatar Airways and Air Italy, two carriers Bastian has decried for years. And its been a topic of conversation ongoing. You do the math, but it begs the question of where he finds the time or energy. His father was a dentist and his mother was a dental assistant. Its really a very minimal amount, so we need the government to be good partners with us. If I am reading this correctly, the use of the word expensive was meant to imply cost to his airline/reputation by skipping the meeting. For the money he is paid sacrifices must be made; considering the 85,000 employees and pension funds that his every move affects. He is known to go against the grain, even in executive corporate venues. He also shares an inside look at these conversations and solicits questions for future discussions in a newsletter just for HBR subscribers. WebWe met at a wedding of our close friends (thank you, Lucy & Mike!) P.S. 5. He drives a Tesla to work. Every time he comes home he recognizes the responsibility he has to everyones flight safety including his daughters. We fly a noble mission in normal times, but in times of difficulty, its really important that you fulfill that mission honorably and with passion, and so it gives people a real purpose. He made his position on the matter that the company should file for bankruptcy protection corporate clear. You can decide for yourself after reading these 10 not-so-obvious facts about him. I think in some ways youre a paragon for what it means to lead a business through a challenging period. The information age is turning the world into another DARK AGE. Ed raised over $400,000. 10. Nathan, I didnt fault him for taking the vacation. Weve made a commitment as a company that by the end of the decade, a full 10% of our flying will be done using sustainable aviation fuels. The idea of primogeniture, where the oldest gets the bestest, is historically valid, and with 8 others to deal with it is likely he had his share of management moments. 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. 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. He has more than likely already been on multiple ultra first class vacations this year. So I think it would have been odd for Bastian to show up at this meeting to bump fists with the same union leaders he has recently battled with. I know Delta was one of the signatories in a letter to the White House that said this could potentially wreak havoc on the flight control systems. And I know theres a lot of controversy around the testing requirement, but if you could test at the end of day five that you no longer have the virus present, why are you asking businesses to keep their staff, their critical staff, away from the job for another 5 days? Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian was the best paid U.S. airline CEO last year. The illegal crossing were at a fifty year low until Trump came in. 7. Outside of banner ads published through the Boarding Area network, this compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site. The specific talking point is the wall being constructed along the U.S.-Mexico border. 4. Awards and recognition. I stand by my tile and have children. Bastian senses which way the wind was blowing and slipped out on the meeting knowing he would be unable to defend his illogical, protectionist arguments in person in from of Al-Baker and the President, and decided to spare himself the embarrassment. Keep in mind we just pointed out her runs marathons, but we didnt mention his age 58. 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. Im going to miss that. We want to encourage people to find out, to keep getting tested, and to continue to watch the signs to stop the spread, and the policy seemed like it was pushing people in the other direction. There is more to life than an endless list of meetings. However, the decision was made to lay off employees, cut expenses, etc. In terms of a spacious first class product, the @E, Nearly five years ago, I took a break from I, United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improv. Yes, apparently Mr. Bastain extends his patriotism to disagreeing with persons and policies that are, in his opinion, contrary to the best interests of the country. Six months later, at the request of then-Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein, he returned to the airline to serve as chief financial officer. ADI IGNATIUS: I want to get you a couple of questions from our viewers. ED BASTIAN: I called it the final kick in the teeth from the pandemic, Omicron, because if you recall we had a very, very busy Thanksgiving holiday. Domestically weve been able to keep the airways open throughout the entire pandemic, because were deemed by the government to be an essential service. Candid conversations on talent, tech, and the future of business. We can criticize Bastians hypocrisy in the sense that he has been the leading voice on the ME3 issue and he doesnt show up to this meeting, but at the same time, Bastian correctly realizes that if he wants to get anything done to advance his misguided viewpoint, a meeting with Trump probably isnt going to be the best venue to do that. A lot of people had put off traveling to that point. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. (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. Im sure one of them maybe could have fit this into their agenda !? He ran his first marathon in 2014. Based on your credentials and recent-enough graduation, I dont think youve had the experience of being locked in a contentious battle with someone, only to have them demand you be present when youre unavailable and declare victory or impose punishments. Gays father, a retired world champion rodeo cowboy, is a hobbyist pilot. You can comment when you have children of your own that regularly get second priority behind work. And we still, to this day, we have a lot of questions that we dont have the answers for, but people respect the fact that were honest with them. Then came the financial restructuring led by Bastain, bringing the company back to profitability and respectability. And Im interested in how tough its been to retain talent. He left Delta and came back. A man who takes a little vacation time, and gets villified for it, compared to the CEO of the country who seems to always be somewhere in New Jersey or Florida playing golf. Secondly, we carry, at Delta, millions of people a week. Very few have. He has portrayed this as a huge concern over the years. I have no issue with him passing on the last-minute meeting. But there is another angle to this. Not one to mince, Read More 10 Things You Didnt Know about Celtics Owner Wyc GrousbeckContinue, When you think of robotics, metal parts, springs, and bolts probably come to mind. This man has himself defined the issue that the meeting was to address as a critical issue that represents an existential threat for the business he runs, and after literally years of shrieking and whining about this issue and millions spent lobbying the current administration he decided to miss an absolutely essential meeting on the topic at the White House. I just hope he has the same attitude when other employees say no due to family obligations. And were excited when we all came back last June, to be together, and we see real strength in that collaboration. Everyone on that is wearing a mask. You reflect on what you learned, you reflect on what youre going to be doing. The power of purpose and connecting employees with a larger mission, Ways business can work closely and productively with government. I am not a Delta fan or Ed-apoloigist. ED BASTIAN: First and foremost, headquarters is not in charge of anything. And there is still another point that if I were Bastian, it would have caused me to avoid this meeting like the plague For him to make an apeearance at a meeting to complain about Qatar Airlines owning 49% of air Italy and how the subsidies that the Qatari government is providing to Qatar airways and, in turn, to Air Italy is costing Americans jobs all while Delta Airlines owns 49% of Virgin Atlantic (a U.K. company), 49% of Grupo Aeromexico (a Mexican owned company) as well as 8.8% of AirFrance-KLM (a French-Dutch company) probably would not have been too great of an idea. Your article is written in constant defense for yourself that you do not blame him for anything, yet you elevate inconsequential details like how much he spent on his family who unconditionally has supported as he leads Delta. Bastian kept his word by running the New York City marathon two years ago, raising funds for the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. I think the problem with the whole tone of this article from the headline down is that it suggests Bastians only choice was between vacation and attending this meeting. This guy in the WH is so thin skinned he probably thought the song was about him Of course he has the right to take a vacation with his family, but having made his choice in this case he has certainly lost the right to keep banging the drum about this issue. I have heaed about that meeting and have also heard that Bastian had missed it. Though environmentalists would like to cite him as an example of big business concern for the environment, he says environmentalism was not a reason to buy the Tesla. And the White House is involved, as you mentioned. My guess is he knew it was going to be a dog and pony show with no real results, especially with a president that is more interested in growing trump properties overseas than with issues at home. The majority of Deltas workforce doesnt have the option of working from home. 6. And we look forward to getting through this latest variant, Omicron, very, very soon according to the doctors. Im just wondering why this was an either-or situation. Weve been relatively, I wouldnt say unaffected, but the numbers are really quite low for us. Theyre buckled into their seats. Just like the right wingers making a stink about Obamas expenses & time away on his golf outingsthe total budget over 8 years Trump has already blown right past. "My Tesla is great," Bastian said during a breakfast talk held by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce last week. Trump is easily manipulated and I wouldnt sacrifice a vacation with my family to go to a meeting with him. Mr. Bastain didnt found Delta Airlines but he was critical to its financial recovery after, ironically, returning to Delta in 2004 upon the request of then-CEO Jerry Grinstein of Delta. Why couldnt another executive fill in gor him. He shouldnt be allowed to take even a day off until he can get his company in a full, upright position again!! So one guy didnt show up so he throws the baby out with the bath water. What does CEO did was absolutely the right thing. We were hearing early on that, while its highly contagious, the impact seems to be a lot less than the original virus, and the guidance with respect to quarantine and isolation had never changed from the very first onset of Covid almost two years ago. And is there a digital strategy that aims to focus at the customer experience and direct sales as well? He had childhood visions of becoming a major league baseball player. Glad to see someone stick up for their family. why is this even news worthy, https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2019/07/30/trump-delta-ceo-anger/. Our brand is strong. 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. That truly undermines his argument. But when he finally had the chance to address the issue with the U.S. President and confront the CEO of Qatar Airways, he was a no show. Fellas instead of debating the minutiae here and bulldozing the author with your infinite wisdom I know that you are still encouraging or requiring passengers to wear masks. Skift Take.. Internationally it is largely a requirement, to get into many countries around the world, you need to be vaccinated, including our country. So its hard to see how an accountant by trade becomes CEO of an airline, but when you start thinking about what makes accountants successful, its people that are able to read financial statements, read financial data, and be very, very comfortable in analyzing and finding good solutions from the data. Certainly, a lot of people have asked about it. 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. Thats fair, but as someone who owns a company, you should also know that there are times when being present at an in-person meeting might run counter to your own objectives. I am so excited tha, I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair. Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. 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