I’m 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. The meeting topic was Qatar Airways and Air Italy, two carriers Bastian has decried for years.
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.
For several days, Delta refused to comment further on the CEO’s absence beyond stating that he was traveling. But as Gary Leff (in his new Forbes column) reports, Bastian has now clarified the issue.
In Bastian’s Own Words
In a video to employees, Bastian states that he was on an international family vacation.
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. My family makes a lot of sacrifices with Delta. I ask them to do a lot of things. I wasn’t about ready to ask them to cancel a long-scheduled vacation.
Fine. I just made the decision to fly 16 hours in economy class instead of business class for my family. It made business sense to fly home on a much different routing, but life is not just about business.
I get that Bastian works hard all year, his family is also busy, and this trip was likely very carefully planned. Perhaps they went to a nice hotel or home whose reservation could not easily be moved. Maybe there were reservations at Michelin-starred restaurants that could not be rebooked.
With a salary of $15MN last year, Bastian has all the money he ever needs. But he doesn’t have unlimited time…time once again becomes a precious commodity.
But then Bastian downplayed the importance of the meeting, telling employees it “was not about the whole Middle Eastern issue, it was really very limited to Qatar and the Air Italy situation.” Well, yes, but that is exactly the issue that he has consistently maintained represents an existential threat to the U.S. airline industry. That truly undermines his argument.
CONCLUSION
Perhaps Trump still would have decided against the U.S. carrier had Bastian been there. Perhaps his absence was a strategic ploy for a second meeting with the “chief spokesperson” at the table for the U.S. side. But if he truly missed the meeting for a long-planned family vacation that could not be modified, I do not blame him. Still, we cannot deny what an expensive vacation this truly was, at least in terms of optics. You can read Bastian’s full message here.
> Read More: Dense, Dimwitted Logic From A Deliberately Deceptive Delta CEO
> Read More: Fascinating New York Times Interview With Delta CEO Ed Bastian
image: Delta
Really, you are giving the guy a hard time for going on a planned family vacation. Clearly you have no family. I will fly Delta more often knowing he made the right decision and put family first.
I think I gave him the benefit of the doubt while just noting the ramifications of his choice.
I have no issue with him passing on the last-minute meeting.
This meeting was not about a disaster in the airline community and a planned family vacation as a CEO are hard to do. So this is not a problem for him to miss. I’ve been there and you miss more time with the family then then you get. the higher position you take you know its not easy street but its also helps to provide for your family better.
glad he took that vaca. I’m sure his right hand could have dealt with it.
Whoever Matthew is he has no understanding of family life when one has a high level professional life (as do I). The problem is in the US we put work before family and it is ruining society. Matthew has to get a real life.
I wouldn’t cross the street to meet Donald Trump, no matter the meeting agenda.
We have too many “talking heads” telling people what they can and should decide for themselves. It’s a disease that is killing off what little decision making people still do in this world of “group think”. The information age is turning the world into another DARK AGE.
Family first. He did the right thing. Some things have to take priority. Happy wife happy life.
People are reacting like as if this guy is low level manager who only gets 2-3 weeks a year. He has more than likely already been on multiple ultra first class vacations this year. I have no sympathy for this guy. For the money he is paid sacrifices must be made; considering the 85,000 employees and pension funds that his every move affects.
Shane on you! He should be commended for putting his family first in this instance. Kudos to him for not abandoning his plans with his family for the last minute meeting.
This is a classic Trump ploy DISTRACtION
He never intended to do anything about the situation in the first place because it’s 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? Do something for them or the country.
This guy in the WH is so thin skinned he probably thought the song was about him
His first reaction was Ed missed the meeting bc he don’t like me
So one guy didn’t show up so he throws the baby out with the bath water
If trump is so damn good at dealing things they why need Ed. As a matter of fact i do recall that trump was considering a saudi base company to run our ATC dept. So please quatar and Emirates have been over stepping their bundaries. Service is good but their employees suffer.
I’m just wondering why this was an “either-or” situation. Could he have made last-minute arrangements to attend said meeting and meet up with his family mid-vacation? I know it’s not the optimal solution, but it would have been a third solution. Certainly, finding a seat on an airline willing to get him where he needed to be would not have been a problem. 😉
I have heaed about that meeting and have also heard that Bastian had missed it,
The question I have is about impact…. In other words, how has Bastian’s absence from that meeting added to his costs (“expensive vacation”?) personally and/or professionally, as well as individually as “Ed” or as a representative of Delta (as Delta’s CEO)?
Rhebway I see it, and while sevral airline executives did attend, this was not an airline led meeting. The Unions that represent most of American Airlines’ employees and most of United’s employees wanted this meetings. 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”!
As for Delta, and while its pilots are unionized, flight attendants, mechanics and other support staff do not belong to a union. 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.
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….
Why does it matter how much money he spent on a vacation? 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. 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.
I am not a Delta fan or Ed-apoloigist. But this post doesn’t offer your readers any value.
I said it is not about money, but about time. Not sure what your point is.
Time for work or time for family.
Making time for family should win especially when it is one week long planned.
Makes me a happy Delta status flier. Next reservation for me – Delta if they go there.
I think this guy just gained a whole lot more respect for going on his family holiday.
Don’t they have phones?
Jees, if you were going for DB of the Year then, good news, you’re in the lead. I am willing to bet big money you do not have a family. (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 don’t know if it was.)
Try reading this:
https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2019/08/05/united-singapore-san-francisco-economy-class/
Your headline seems disingenuous then.
Be honest in your writing and you won’t take so much criticism.
You can comment when you have children of your own that regularly get second priority behind work.
I stand by my tile and have children. Perhaps you can try reading the article more carefully?
I think the problem with the whole tone of this article from the headline down is that it suggests Bastian’s only choice was between vacation and attending this meeting. Clearly if Bastian had thought it was important, he would have been there, it’s his job that he gets paid a ton of money to do (I made far less money than he did when I worked at a Big Law firm, where I was expected to be available 24/7 and cancel vacations/doctors appts/whatever at the drop of a hat if I was needed by the partners, so I have to believe the CEO of Delta would also be expected to be as available when necessary). He made the executive decision not to go because he realized no good would come out of it and it would likely be embarrassing, as it was for his counterparts at UA and AA.
This article was clearly written to drive views to your site. Otherwise there would be no point, as you seem to be too ignorant to understand the scope of what a CEOs role is. Ed Bastian demonstraits true leadership traits in everything he does for the Delta family, unlike many other US Airline CEOs. He deserves 1 week away with his family.
There is no mention in this article about how clear Delta’s stance has been in recent years towards carriers in the Middle East. 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).
Be better.
Take it easy, Ed.
It’s not even a credible excuse. No serious person takes Bastian’s story at face value. He chickened out when he found out his nemesis would be there, and now he’s trying to appear all self righteous. What a scumbag.
If hé wants to be CEO. Let him take the responsibility that goes with it ,,,he should resign ,, what a slacker,.
Maybe he just didn’t feel like talking to a racist that day…can’t blame him
Or eating drive-thru fare.
No matter what your intention was but this was unnecessary and makes you appear petty.
We are aware of your feelings about UA and DL so please be
above this.
Thanks
That card is played way too often by liberals. It has lost all credibility like Bastian. Being pro-enforcement of illegal immigration laws, as Obama was, does not make one racist.
Obama deported more people than Trump. The illegal crossing were at a fifty year low until Trump came in.
Way to go, Ed Bastian! Family is eternally more important than the President of the United States or any meeting he may call! Thank you for recognizing that. My esteem of Delta just went up!
Really, what’s the big deal?
Mathew, you kind of paint this guy as a slacker. Glad to see someone stick up for their family.
Why not send an underling?
I took a 4 week Eupope vacation recently.
If i worked at a corporate job, I’d never get that much time off at one time.
There is more to life than an endless list of meetings.
I just hope he has the same attitude when other employees say “no” due to family obligations. But if he’s like most of his peers, I’m guessing that isn’t normally an excuse.
I fly Delta exclusively and almost always do my peers scowl me about it. Delta since it’s inception has been sound. This CEO showed moxy and told the world why he works..for his family if I have to spell it out. Doing the things primarily out of staying out of the news is pure cowardice. Now..doing it showing the world that he is in control and knows what it truly important..that is showing brass ones and dubbing the President to boot..that’s a fatherly and Manly ( not dissing women here) . But this is why I will continue to fly Delta..Priorities! Delta CEO….got em and lives by em!
He should not miss the meeting imo. Not like he can’t change his flights lol. Do a weeek later. Am sure work would cover?!
Why couldn’t another executive fill in gor him. Let’s face it Delta now has a million (yes over the top) evp’s, svp’s , vp’s and directors. I’m sure one of them maybe could have fit this into their agenda !?
Very disappointed by this article. Ed Bastian devotes lot of time to the Delta family and as this is a long planned vacation with family and the meeting is last Minute meeting.
As a supervisor in the transport industry I too have only 2 week vacation time a year to spend with my family!
Why should Ed allowed to enjoy this in business class or not like other employees of the airline?
Nathan, I didn’t fault him for taking the vacation…
Matthew do you hear an echo? You seem to have touched a nerve.
Fellas instead of debating the minutiae here and bulldozing the author with your infinite wisdom
about how cows eat cabbage, why don’t you go play with your kids?
He made the right decision. Family comes first.
Bravo! Family and down time is critically important for everyone.
The question is do we “Live to work” or “work to live”. (Personally) I think he made the right choice here and I respect him for that. Family comes first.
Good for Ed. A CEO that is committed to his job and his family. 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. Now for the CEO of AA?? He shouldn’t be allowed to take even a day off until he can get his company in a full, upright position again!!
I want to start by saying that I completely disagree with Bastian’s criticism of the ME3, but I wouldn’t reschedule anything for a meeting with Trump either. Say what you will about Trump, but his word means nothing, and being present would have just been embarrassing for Bastian as it was for his counterparts at UA and AA. Trump can rant all he wants about the fact that Bastian wasn’t there, but his presence wouldn’t have changed anything, especially since, despite the US not pushing back on the continued Saudi led ban on Qatar Airways and Qatar airspace, Al Baker was in the room and knew best how to deal with someone like Trump since he’s used to dealing with the authoritarians who lead the Qatari government.
This meeting was clearly not in good faith, and even if it was, you can’t trust anything Trump says past the point he leaves the room. We have seen time and time again how he will say one thing in a meeting and then completely change his mind once senior WH staff who actually care/have a viewpoint on the issue at large get in front of him themselves or by sneaking materials that push their agenda on the issue into his briefing documents or by going/getting someone to go on Fox News to do the same. Trump is easily manipulated and I wouldn’t sacrifice a vacation with my family to go to a meeting with him.
We can criticize Bastian’s hypocrisy in the sense that he has been the leading voice on the ME3 issue and he doesn’t 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 isn’t going to be the best venue to do that.
@chasgoose has the best comment and most sensible. I agree entirely with your opinion in this article.
Thank you! To the extent Bastian wanted to push his misguided agenda forward, the best way to do that was not showing up. It had nothing to do with whether or not he was going on vacation.
Kudos for a top exec really showing work life balance.
Need more examples set like this.
Shame on the Author. Shame on you sir.
During the meeting, Trump complained, “Ed’s not here’s. Maybe we should compare vacation time taken between Ed & Trump.. Trump’s interest is with the Middle East, not this country.
Just like the right wingers making a stink about Obama’s expenses & time away on his golf outings…the total budget over 8 years Trump has already blown right past.
Oh the hypocracy…
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. He has portrayed this as a huge concern over the years. You’re telling me that he bailed on this meeting? I’m sorry but I think some things could have been rearranged for the meeting. Someone needs to ask him where the I.T. jobs for Delta are going because it’s not in America, they have had plenty of layoffs in the last few years with jobs going overseas.
Family comes first lord have mercy. why is this even news worthy
Ask President Trump:
https://liveandletsfly.boardingarea.com/2019/07/30/trump-delta-ceo-anger/
You barely make cogent points about the travel industry, maybe you should stay out of politics and industrysince they are clearly over your depth. 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. Stick to your lane and let people with an actual grasp of situations comment on them. Now tell us, who’s nuts do you prefer when you fly?
Nailed it!
Why didn’t he just send someone to stand in for him ?
Ed’s really did great things for all the families of Delta employees who will pay the price for his dissing the President and his fear of being in the same room with Al Bakr. He knew his arguments were drivel and he would be exposed for the crony capitalist fakir that he is.
Wow, there are some seriously off-base people on here. 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. I cannot believe this many business travelers cannot see this. My assumption when I read the headline was that it was either “too expensive to change his plans, or an expensive result happened due to not changing his plans (such as damage to reputation”. It was fairly easy to read the article and determine it was the latter. 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 think you lost your audience when you compared refusing to bend to what amounts to little more than a power-play and authoritarian behavior to you choosing to fly economy instead of business on a 16 hour flights. No, Matthew. No.
Based on your credentials and recent-enough graduation, I don’t think you’ve had the experience of being locked in a contentious battle with someone, only to have them demand you be present when you’re unavailable and declare victory or impose punishments. You’re a lawyer, yes? Would you be ok if opposing counsel was allowed to schedule a last-minute hearing while you were on a flight to a planned destination, only to declare victory because you “refused” to show up?
What a moron for writing this, do you live to work or work to live? Holiday with your nearest and dearest is so much more important than a meeting with Trump or any other meeting come to that. I think that there is more than a hint of jealousy about the CEO salary compared to this 3rd rate journalist.
Wow I am amazed at the number of people on here defending Ed Bastian’s decision and criticising the tone of Matthew’s article.
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. He made this decision knowing how thin-skinned Trump is, and he could not have been unaware of how badly it would go down with Trump if the central figure in the US big-three lobbying efforts failed to turn up.
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. If it was truly an existential threat to his business he would have found a way to make the meeting. Period.
Personally I think it’s clear this “vacation” was just an excuse. 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.
I think more likely is that Bastian realizes that this meeting was a waste of time because Trump’s has an affinity for authoritarians like Al-Baker and the Qatari government (despite his refusal to press Saudi Arabia to lift their sanctions on Qatar) and his word is worth nothing.
I disagree with Bastian’s protectionist take on the ME3, but I wouldn’t have canceled my vacation either as this meeting was never going to advance that cause.
If the (so-called) President was going to take the issue seriously, then his absence might be questionable; however, since we know (and Bastien knew in advance) that Trump was just going to defend his foreign cronies, the absence is not relevant. Why show up for a sham meeting, even if he had no other plans????
Mathew, I have been reading your blogs for a number of years now and I’ve never commented on any of them even when I have felt that you are all reaching on your writing . Are you married and do you have a family? Do you understand how the Trump administration has been playing heads of state and heads of companies for the last two years? 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. When you have acquired the level of following that you have, you should act a little more responsibly in writing things. What does CEO did was absolutely the right thing. He was a smart man, knowing that he needed to keep his family vacation, and knowing that it was going to be utterly useless sitting in front of the current president to discuss this.
Sorry you disagree Arun, but as someone who owns a company and is forced to travel often for in-person meetings, I cannot stress how important personal presence is. I cannot fault Bastian if his plans were unmovable, but it is not every day you have the chance to make your case to the White House (no matter who is in the office).
That’s 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’m obviously anti-Trump, but at the same time, Trump humiliated the CEOs of UA and AA, who were also present at that meeting. Bastien likely would have gone if he thought the meeting would be productive, but he made the executive decision that it wouldn’t be and used his planned vacation as an excuse. Bastien has clearly made the decision to distance himself from Trump by any means possible. He wasn’t going to be available for that meeting regardless.
Also, when you are the CEO of a major US airline like Delta, it’s probably not that hard to get a meeting at the White House (at least with a normal president) if it were really necessary.