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Tag Archives for delta air lines.

Delta’s Lawyers Tell The Government Air Travel Is Unsafe and Should Be Limited. Say What?

Apr 30 2020

Delta lawyers submitted a filing to the Department of Transportation in which they make the case that travel is unsafe and flights should be limited if at all possible.

That’s not the position Delta takes in public or emphasizes with employees. But it’s a convenient argument to make when they’re trying to reduce their service obligations under the federal airline bailout.

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Delta Denies Discussing Big Sale Of Miles To American Express To Raise Cash

woman outside brick building
Apr 23 2020

The Wall Street Journal had reported that both Delta and United were in talks to do this again with their credit card partners, but Ed Bastian appears to deny this is the case. There was some reference during the airline’s earnings call that the government could take part of SkyMiles as collateral for a subsidized CARES Act loan although nothing was definitive.

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Delta Just Ordered 10 Airbus A350s, As It Prepares To Take Government Bailout Cash

first class seats
Apr 14 2020

Delta Air Lines is losing $60 million a day and not paying over a third of its employees who took leaves. It has parked the majority of its fleet. And i’s preparing to accept billions of dollars in government bail out cash.

Yet last week it appears to have placed an order for 10 Airbus A350s. Airbus announced the order, but refused to confirm the airline involved.

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United and Delta Discussing Big Discounted Mileage Sales to Chase And American Express

credit cards
Apr 13 2020

In the years following 9/11, as airlines struggled, and again during the financial crisis airlines pre-sold miles to their credit card partners at a discount in order to raise cash quickly. United and Delta each pre-sold miles, the former for about $500 million and the latter twice totaling about $1 billion. American did it too with Citibank. These ‘cheap miles’ paved the way for banks to offer big bonuses to consumers both for acquisition and for ongoing spend.

These conversations have started again as a way to raise cash.

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Delta Wants Employees To Keep Virus Test Results Secret, While American Crew Raid Planes For PPE

Apr 10 2020

Delta Air Lines has instructed flight attendants testing positive for COVID-19 to “refrain from notifying” people they’ve worked with, and not to post to social media about it. Now they say they won’t punish anyone who violates their directive.

Meanwhile American Airlines flight attendants are reportedly resorting to raiding catering carts and emergency kits for masks and gloves.

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Delta Sky Magazine Lays Off Its Entire Staff

Delta’s current inflight magazine Delta Sky launched in 2009. The magazine was outsourced, published by MSP Communications. It used Delta’s brand, was distributed on Delta aircraft, and Delta’s media team promotes it on the Delta.com website. It’s always been presented as Delta’s.

However writers were not Delta employees. Now they’ve lost their jobs.

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Delta Reduces Ground Employee Pay 25% Through June, Places 17,000 Employees On Voluntary Leave

delta plane
Mar 25 2020

Delta CEO Ed Bastian sent an internal memo to employees outlining the seriousness of the situation faced by the airline and the steps they’ve taken to date – and informing non-flying personnel that they’ll have their work days refused 20% – 40% through June, resulting “in a 25 percent savings in payroll over the next 90 days.”

Currently 17,000 employees – including 7000 flight attendants – are taking unpaid leave with benefits. This helps scale down the operation by “over 70 percent; parking more than 600 aircraft.”

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Delta Eliminating Europe Flights, Parking 300 Aircraft, and Asking For Government Subsidies

Mar 13 2020

At the beginning of the week airlines knew the novel coronavirus impact on their business could be large, but no one was taking this as seriously as United. That’s changed. Delta has sent a memo to employees outlining unprecedented changes to their business in light of drying up revenue.

Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian says that they’re receiving more cancellations than new bookings, and that “the demand fall-off is unlike anything we’ve seen” as a result they are “moving quickly to preserve cash and protect” the airline.

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How Delta Is Cutting Back As Travel Dries Up In The Current Environment

woman outside brick building
Mar 10 2020

Delta has suspended share buybacks and is reducing pension contributions. They have instituted a hiring freeze and are offering voluntary leave to employees with an eye towards reducing staff count through retirement. They are “[p]arking aircraft, and evaluating early retirements of older aircraft.”

They’re also starting to implement $500 million in capital expense reductions, and they’re cutting flights.

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