News and notes from around the interweb:
- Why Delta Wins When Others Fail “Company Breakdowns” with Erik Torenberg
In this episode of Company Breakdowns, host Lorenzo Bertolini sit down with Gary Leff, aviation expert and writer of View from the Wing. Gary shares invaluable insights on Delta Airlines’ 100-year transformation from a crop dusting operation to America’s premium carrier.
The conversation explores how Delta disrupted the traditional airline model through strategic airport slot acquisitions, turning maintenance into a profit center, and building an exceptional loyalty program that generates billions in high-margin revenue. They discuss how Delta created lasting competitive advantages in one of travel’s most challenging industries.
- Enterprise Car Rental status match through February 2027
- A year ago an article got a tremendous amount of play, “The day I put $50,000 in a shoe box and handed it to a stranger I never thought I was the kind of person to fall for a scam.” Patrick McKenzie spent an inordinate amount of time tacking down the truth of the story.
- Three men rented a car on Turo to get to a baby shower. Then the police arrived (HT: Jonathan) Not Hertz!
- Will Boom successfully build a supersonic airliner? Evaluating the chances of success.
- Japan Airlines award chart changes June 10, 2025 big increases to JAL first class awards.
I truly cannot understand why anyone thinks Delta is so wonderful. My experience with Delta has never been good. I make my travel plans online and I am pretty good at weeding through all the steps to complete my purchase. However, their Customer Service, their Operations people and their inflight personnel are among the worst I have ever encountered, short of Spirit or Frontier, both of which I studiously avoid. I have had the seat I paid for, arbitrarily changed because I did not board with my group. The reason for that was their inbound connection was delayed. However, I was spoken to in an extremely rude manner and told to board now or not, it was my choice. Then the Flight Attendant who directed me to the seat I was now given, was extremely rude because she then had to find a place for my small carryon bag because there was no seat in front of me to put it in. Then upon arrival, I did not know what she had done with my bag so she was again upset she had to retrieve it. No thank you, Delta, you are on my no fly list. Incidentally this was not the only disastrous experience with Delta Airlines for me, just the worst of the few times I have had to use them.
Great video! I’s a powerful example of how true innovation, driven by thought leadership, can deliver exceptional financial results. Delta successfully transformed its maintenance division from a cost center into a profit center, all while placing a strong emphasis on employee satisfaction and fostering a positive internal culture. That investment in people has translated directly into happier customers.
Meanwhile, as Parker and Isom were busy stripping out seatback entertainment and turning AA domestic first class into something that faintly resembles a bleak hospital waiting room, Bastian was doubling down on premium experiences, investing heavily to enhance the passenger journey. That strategy has paid off enormously.
What sets Delta apart is its relentless pursuit of new revenue opportunities… but only when they also improve the customer experience. In almost every way, Delta stands as the complete antithesis of American Airlines.
Regarding Boom, the author’s discussion is informed and fair. I don’t have high hopes for Boom.
Delta has a monopoly in their four biggest hubs. – Solved it for you.
Tim! Where’s Mr. Dunn?! Sir, Delta’s getting good press at VFTW! Huzzah! Keep Climbing!
Honestly, I’m happy to see it. I can be sarcastic on here sometimes, but this is not that.
What it comes down to is DL found a way to boost profitability from non customer facing activities. Like taking a/c maintenance and turning it from a cost center to a profit center. Better utilizing it’s huge hub advantage at ATL. Yes, the airline also focused on brand image like having PTSs on all mainline narrow bodies (sans 717s) and wide bodies. And that might help but not like the non flying stuff.
When it comes down to it the difference between UA, DL and AA isn’t all that great. Crews are hit or miss albeit more miss with AA. In flight amenities about the same. DL does a better job of communicating, AA can often be a dumpster fire. No plane at the gate 5 minutes before boarding, flight still shows on time and gate agents way too busy gossiping with crew to even think passengers might want to know what’s going on.
Delta has to be careful it doesn’t get a super-ego
Domestically, (most of the time) DLL is superior to AA and UL but internationally it is another story because they are competing with a higher class of airline
Their fleet in inconsistent to the point where their 767’s (which dominate their NYC market) are virtually unflyable in Business class
Gary proves he usually knows why the airline industry operates the way it does; he just loves to stir the pot at times to generate page clicks.
Without watching the YT video now, it seems Gary got it right.
American,
unlike your or my anecdotes, customer service metrics are tracked by multiple organizations including the DOT; DL consistently is at the top of the US airline industry. They aren’t perfect but they are measurably better than their competitors.
John,
And you don’t think that AA’s position in MIA, CLT, PHL and DFW is not the same or more?
Or that UA has as large or larger market share in EWR, IAH, IAD and SFO – all of which are larger markets by revenue than the combination of ATL, DTW, MSP and SLC.
It’s hard for those of you that want to throw stones to grasp but DL does as well as it does because it has a much more engaged and compensated workforce which produces a higher level of service.
chunk,
and yet DL has managed to grow to 15% more flights from NYC’s 3 airports, is growing and is now the same size as UA in terms of passengers boarded from NYC. It helps that DL, like AA and B6 actually serves LGA, JFK and EWR, something UA can’t say.
@Tim Dunn — Well said, sir. I’m flying DeltaOne yet again, tonight (on one of those older 763s that @wdchuck apparently cannot handle). Will ‘cheers’ to you fine gents!
Very insightful video, thanks for doing it and sharing Gary — many lessons to learn beyond the airline industry — go Delta!
Cheers, safe travels @1990!
@L737 — Thank you, friend. Same to you, for whenever your next trip is!
You guys are losers
@Timm,
I’m not an AA fanboy:
DFW – SouthWest with DAL
MIA – JetBlue, Spirit, and SouthWest at FLL
PHL – Their number 5 hub
ORD – SouthWest at MDW, United at ORD
CLT – Their one hub with zero competition.
And what is AA’s consistently top hub, CLT. DL has zero secondary airport pressure, unlike AA.
Delta moved money from the budget of the frequent flyer program and invested it into product instead. Better product is what wealthy people want, and are willing to pay for.
Delta may be widely derided for their SkyPesos, yet have the highest customer satisfaction and highest profitability driven by their product quality.
“an exceptional loyalty program” – Is this a joke? Skymiles has been a laughingstock for many years. I was a fervent Delta loyalist until their constant devaluations embittered me.
john
even though AA has competitor hubs/strengths in metros where AA has hubs like Dallas and S. Florida, AA is still the largest carrier in those metros.
CLT is a smaller local market than DTW or MSP or PHL and similar in size to SLC. AA just pushes enormous amounts of connecting traffic through CLT which has nowhere near the capacity that ATL has. in contrast, DL rebuilt SLC w/ very nice facilities.
The reason why AA struggles w/ revenue is because it lost its relevance in major competitive markets such as NYC, CHI and LAX.
In contrast, DL has grown in NYC and LAX at AA’s expense and there is a halo effect for those markets on the rest of the US.
As much as Gary loves to talk about why AA’s NYC presence isn’t as bad because of the credit card benefits of that market, that also explains why DL has grown as much as it has in NYC; they understand the value of the NYC market both from a passenger and credit card/loyalty program perspective and have played to win. AA has been on and off again with NYC and PHL and keeps hoping they can litigate their way back to being significant in NYC while DL and UA actually operate flights – DL about 15% more than UA
Delta people are great but their processes and systems break down quickly when IROP happens, then all hell breaks loose (e.g. Cloudstrike last summer). They need to focus on making those processes and systems more stress-tolerant and robust, then customer satisfaction and profits will improve even more.
I didn’t realize “journalists” were still required to use the word “disrupted”.
Delta didn’t “disrupt” anything. They kept doing what they always did, changing emphasis up or down on one thing or another. Over time, they changed with changing circumstances but they didn’t “disrupt” anything, In fact, NOT disrupting anything has been their hallmark.
PeopleExpress “disrupted” the airline industry. American Airlines, with AAdvantage and Super Saver fares “disrupted” the airline industry.
@Tim Dunn
I’m not denying AA has fumbled LA, NY, Chicago, SFO,and Boston so badly it should be borderline criminal.
AA management is beyond inept, and their inability to get a revenue premium through AAadvantage or premium seating is laughable.
My point was DL has “functionally” zero pressure in their top four hubs either directly or indirectly through a secondary airport or major competitor. Just look at Delta pricing from their hubs, they consistently charge almost double for similar markets and stage length.
AA only gets that kind of advantage in CLT.
@John — AA is doing just fine in NYC, namely thanks to their newer lounges, like Chelsea and Soho at JFK T8, new Admirals Clubs at LGA B and EWR A. Those all compete just fine with Delta One and Polaris, former, and any new SkyClub or UnitedClub, latter. Even SFO has a decent Admirals Club, but AA just doesn’t fly to many places from there. The real issue is their dated aircraft (especially in First/Business, and their lack of IFE on single aisle aircraft), and the need to update older Flagships (looking forward to when PHL is finally upgraded). If AA can finally update the interiors on the 777, 787, and a321T, and do better meals, like to B6 Mint standards, then they’ll recover premium travelers, fast. Until then, it’ll be a lot of bitching from us. Oh, and they’ll never ‘fix’ CLT—we just have to accept that ‘L’ there (at least they got rocking chairs..)
@L737 — The flight was excellent. 10/10. Would fly again.
@Eh — If flying DeltaOne makes someone a ‘loser,’ then please, by all means, I’d like to be a ‘loser’ as often as possible—feel free to be a ‘winner,’ like, go ahead and ‘rawdog’ your next travel experience (abstain from all frequent flyer benefits, skip priority check-in, no PreCheck, take off your shoes, take out your laptop no lounge, board last, take the last-row middle seat, no recline, no in-flight entertainment, no food or water, and don’t you dare get any rest, get off last, no Global Entry, and walk home in the cold rain).
John
You don’t understand where Delta’s revenue comes from
Delta gets more local revenue in NYC than any other hub except ATL. Delta succeeds in competitive and strength hubs. AA does not. UA is like DL except UA’s strength hubs are its coastal hubs plus IAH minus LAX. United’s strength hubs have far more local revenue than DL’s. UA is weak in general in domestic interior US hubs which is the opposite of DL
1990
AA can’t and doesn’t win in NYC because it doesn’t have the volume or size. The network is the product to a large extent and AA comes short where they need to win
How did AA do in NYC and BOS when they were aligned with JetBlue? Were they more on par with Delta, revenue wise, in these markets? It appears they are trying to get the NEA up and running again.
@1990 – Glad to hear it! Hoping to check DeltaOne off the travel bucket list soon
Rob,
the majority of traffic in the NEA which was carried on B6 operated flights was ticketed on B6 aircraft. Revenue sharing even in international JVs still depends on what each carrier contributes.
AA simply won’t be allowed to have JVs with other domestic carriers just because they can’t develop their own networks and compete with DL and UA.
AA wants a precedent; the DOJ wants to maintain its precedent that domestic JVs are mergers on the revenue side.
If AA wants a merger of revenue, it needs to subject itself to not only a full revenue of a merger but also to take on all of the costs of another carrier and make them AA’s costs. B6′ network simply won’t work at AA costs.
AA is simply trying to get the juice w/o the squeeze.
DL has succeeded at building hubs where others have failed because DL is a master at winning over revenue that other airlines fail at…. Eastern and AIrTran at ATL, Florida and the East coast, AA at BOS, NYC and LAX, B6 at BOS and NYC…
@Tim Dunn – Delta’s success in New York is first and foremost dealmaking for slots [the US swap DCA<->LGA, the UA deal for JFK, getting back the WestJet remedy slots from the US deal] and second an exercise in branding. They spent heavily to ‘win New York’. Largely they established themselves a presence where other airlines cannot legally compete. Capacity is capped, and they have theirs.
The NEA increased capacity, drove down price, and generated competition. The District court said that divvying up markets is per se illegal, but it’s not at all clear that’s the best read of precedent. The appeals court said there wasn’t an obvious error that the judge made, so refused to reverse. The Supreme Court probably won’t hear the case, but if they do they’d be highly likely to reverse.
DOT can grant antitrust immunity to US airlines partnering with international ones, but not to domestic airlines, an artifact of history codified into the Airline Deregulation Act [since IATA used to be granted anti-trust immunity to set international fares]. DOT approved the deal, it was pro-consumer, but an aggressive antitrust program by the Biden administration overturned it.
The net effect was for the government to further protect and entrench Delta’s position. Smart? Sure. But anti-consumer for sure and not really consistent with 50 years of antitrust law.
Gary,
no, the NEA did not increase capacity over what it was supposed to be. AA didn’t use its slots at LGA and JFK for so many years that they were threatened w/ losing them so AA and B6 reactivated a bunch of slots. The increase in capacity was because AA thought they had a plan to use the slots that they were supposed to be using – by having B6 use a bunch of them.
If you can’t figure out the difference between a joint venture between a domestic and foreign carrier on global markets and one between two domestic carriers, I can’t help you.
A JV between 2 domestic carriers is a merger. If AA wants to use B6 to help fly domestic routes, it can apply for a merger.
It also will have to pay the cost of bringing B6′ operation up to AA salaries – which is what will sink any possibility of success.
arguing what the Supremes will do for a case that you know they won’t take is immaterial. They will not try a case that B6 has said they did not want to pursue even if they do now. AA wants the Supremes to set a precedent but that is not the way the law works.
and, yes, DL has played chess w/ NYC slots for 15 years while AA and UA and B6 have been playing checkers. It is not a surprise that DL
Yes, Delta was
and, yes, DL has played chess w/ NYC slots for 15 years while AA and UA and B6 have been playing checkers. It is not a surprise that DL is gaining share in NYC while AA, B6 and UA are shrinking.
@Tim Dunn –
“Gary,
no, the NEA did not increase capacity over what it was supposed to be. AA didn’t use its slots at LGA and JFK for so many years that they were threatened w/ losing them so AA and B6 reactivated a bunch of slots. The increase in capacity was because AA thought they had a plan to use the slots that they were supposed to be using – by having B6 use a bunch of them.”
You have no idea what you’re talking about. But even there, you’d be proving my point. AA was taking advantage of every slot waiver because it was too undersized to compete in NYC without the partnership. The partnership increased seat capacity by making it worthwhile to operate the slots, which increases supply of seats and drive down price.
But what I was talking about and is absolutely true is that the partnership led to UPGAUGING. They were using bigger aircraft, which meant more seats.
And in fact, more seats was explicitly a condition of DOT approval, without which the airlines entered into a binding agreement to give up slots. There was a real penalty if they did not increase supply of seats.
Gary,
the whole genesis of the NEA was AA’s inability or unwillingness to use the slots it had all the way back to 2018 and before.
AA added flights back as part of the NEA and upgauged SOME flights but they did not come close to matching what DL and UA were doing in NYC.
AA and B6 cooked up the NEA as a means to use the slots and convinced the DOT to approve it based on slot usage.
The DOT did not give approval for the JV and revenue sharing which they were not allowed to do which is why the NEA was struck down by the DOJ and courts.
We get that you are trying desperately to paint AA as the victim of government interference in the free market but it is YOU, not me, that can’t see the big and factual picture.
You and I both know and agree that – w/o being able to figure out a way to be relevant in NYC, AA cannot compete with DL and UA on a systemwide basis. You just think that a resurrected NEA is the way it will happen while I know that won’t happen