Unconventional moves—from employee profit-sharing to the purchase of an oil refinery—have made the U.S. carrier an industry leader again.
At Delta we understand the perils of the traditional airline business model. The industry has in recent decades been known for short-term thinking, destructive decision making, and poor employee relations. However, in 2007, after emerging from bankruptcy, our company decided that we would be different.
Delta already had the right culture and values and the right people, including directors with diverse expertise. We knew that with the right strategies, we could break away from our competitors. We could see a clear path through the woods.
The first step was to adjust—along with other airlines—to new market realities. We would need to add scale and expand our geographic reach by merging with another U.S. carrier and partnering with foreign ones. We would need to revamp and reorganize our fleet and airport operations. And we would need to change our pricing model. We did all those things. But we also realized that conventional moves would not be enough. To come back on top, Delta would have to further strengthen its culture and pursue more-innovative strategies.
We started, just after our two-year restructuring, with an employee profit-sharing program that continues to differentiate us from our peers. Each year 10% of earnings before taxes and management compensation is paid out in bonuses. A year after our 2008 merger with Northwest Airlines, we added a stock ownership plan—also unique in the industry—that gave our pilots, flight attendants, ground crew members, and support staff 15% of the company’s equity.
We have reclaimed our reservations system, becoming the only U.S. airline to own and control this key operations data. We have deepened our foreign partnerships by buying a minority stake in three overseas carriers—Aeroméxico, Brazil’s GOL, and the UK’s Virgin Atlantic—and strengthening our existing alliance with Air France–KLM. We have also moved toward vertical integration (and better management of fuel costs) by acquiring an oil refinery—a decision that shocked both aviation and oil industry observers.
Thanks to these new ways of thinking about our organizational structure and operations and our determination to get employees invested—both literally and figuratively—in running a top-notch airline, Delta is now one of the healthiest, most profitable airlines in the world, with some of the best performance rankings (including on-time flight arrivals, cancellation avoidance, baggage handling, and customer service) in the industry. We have also returned to the S&P 500, underscoring our standing as a leading U.S. industrial transport company.
After many years in the wilderness, Delta is a leader again.
Emerging from Bankruptcy
In 2004 this future was hard to imagine. Delta was in Chapter 11, along with many of its biggest competitors: United Airlines, US Airways, and Northwest. Gerald (Jerry) Grinstein, formerly the CEO of Western Airlines and then the chairman of Delta’s board of directors, came out of retirement to manage the restructuring. Almost immediately he tapped Ed Bastian, now Delta’s president, and Glen Hauenstein, now the executive vice president of network planning and revenue management, as pivotal players in the company’s evolution. In April 2007, when the company was solvent again, he asked me to join the board, and in September of that year I accepted the honor of becoming chief executive. The directors offered to combine the CEO role with the chairman’s seat (the two roles had been split in 2004), but we decided that dispersed power at the top, together with an active board of directors, is the healthiest way to run a global organization.
Delta is a big, complicated operation, and I don’t have all the skills necessary to manage it well, so I need help from really smart people, such as Ed and Glen, who are great partners, and our chief operating officer, Gil West, who is an expert at the intricacies of getting our airplanes to take off and land on time. Many hands do indeed make lighter work, and a diversity of viewpoints leads to more-informed debate.
Innovative thinking to revive a bankrupt airline
ย้ายกระเป๋า — จากพนักงานกำไรร่วมกับการซื้อของการกลั่นน้ำมัน — ทำผู้ขนส่งของสหรัฐอเมริกาเป็นผู้นำอุตสาหกรรมอีกด้วยเดลต้าเราเข้าใจภัยของโมเดลธุรกิจสายการบินดั้งเดิม อุตสาหกรรมในทศวรรษที่ผ่านมาล่าสุดเป็นที่รู้จักในระยะสั้นคิด ตัดสินใจทำลาย และสัมพันธ์ดี อย่างไรก็ตาม ในปี 2007 หลังจากล้มละลาย บริษัทตัดสินใจว่า เราจะแตกต่างกันเดลต้าแล้วมีวัฒนธรรมด้านขวา และค่า และ คน รวมถึงกรรมการที่ มีความเชี่ยวชาญที่หลากหลาย เรารู้ว่า มีกลยุทธ์ด้านขวา เราสามารถทำลายจากคู่แข่งของเรา เราสามารถเห็นเส้นทางชัดเจนผ่านป่าขั้นตอนแรกคือการ ปรับตัวกับสายการบินอื่น ๆ — กับความเป็นจริงตลาดใหม่ เราจะต้องเพิ่มขนาด และขยายถึงภูมิศาสตร์ของเรา โดยผสานกับผู้ขนส่งอื่นของสหรัฐ และพันธมิตรกับคนต่างประเทศ เราจะต้องปรับปรุง และจัดโครงสร้างการดำเนินงานของกองเรือและสนามบิน และเราจะต้องเปลี่ยนแบบจำลองการกำหนดราคาของเรา เราทำสิ่งเหล่านั้น แต่เรายังรู้ว่า ย้ายปกติจะไม่เพียงพอ การกลับมาอยู่ด้านบน เดลต้าจะมีเพื่อสร้างความเข้มแข็งของวัฒนธรรม และติดตามกลยุทธ์นวัตกรรมเพิ่มเติมWe started, just after our two-year restructuring, with an employee profit-sharing program that continues to differentiate us from our peers. Each year 10% of earnings before taxes and management compensation is paid out in bonuses. A year after our 2008 merger with Northwest Airlines, we added a stock ownership plan—also unique in the industry—that gave our pilots, flight attendants, ground crew members, and support staff 15% of the company’s equity.We have reclaimed our reservations system, becoming the only U.S. airline to own and control this key operations data. We have deepened our foreign partnerships by buying a minority stake in three overseas carriers—Aeroméxico, Brazil’s GOL, and the UK’s Virgin Atlantic—and strengthening our existing alliance with Air France–KLM. We have also moved toward vertical integration (and better management of fuel costs) by acquiring an oil refinery—a decision that shocked both aviation and oil industry observers.Thanks to these new ways of thinking about our organizational structure and operations and our determination to get employees invested—both literally and figuratively—in running a top-notch airline, Delta is now one of the healthiest, most profitable airlines in the world, with some of the best performance rankings (including on-time flight arrivals, cancellation avoidance, baggage handling, and customer service) in the industry. We have also returned to the S&P 500, underscoring our standing as a leading U.S. industrial transport company.After many years in the wilderness, Delta is a leader again.Emerging from BankruptcyIn 2004 this future was hard to imagine. Delta was in Chapter 11, along with many of its biggest competitors: United Airlines, US Airways, and Northwest. Gerald (Jerry) Grinstein, formerly the CEO of Western Airlines and then the chairman of Delta’s board of directors, came out of retirement to manage the restructuring. Almost immediately he tapped Ed Bastian, now Delta’s president, and Glen Hauenstein, now the executive vice president of network planning and revenue management, as pivotal players in the company’s evolution. In April 2007, when the company was solvent again, he asked me to join the board, and in September of that year I accepted the honor of becoming chief executive. The directors offered to combine the CEO role with the chairman’s seat (the two roles had been split in 2004), but we decided that dispersed power at the top, together with an active board of directors, is the healthiest way to run a global organization.Delta is a big, complicated operation, and I don’t have all the skills necessary to manage it well, so I need help from really smart people, such as Ed and Glen, who are great partners, and our chief operating officer, Gil West, who is an expert at the intricacies of getting our airplanes to take off and land on time. Many hands do indeed make lighter work, and a diversity of viewpoints leads to more-informed debate.
Innovative thinking to revive a bankrupt airline
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