An update for Delta customers from CEO Ed Bastian (July 24)
Delta CEO Ed Bastian shared the following message Wednesday morning as the airline continues to recover from the impact of last week's CrowdStrike outage.
As CEO of Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian leads 100,000 global professionals who are building the world’s premier international airline, powered by a people-driven, customer-focused culture and spirit of innovation.
Since the CrowdStrike outage late last week, Delta’s team of the best professionals in the business has been working around the clock to restore the reliable, on-time operation you’ve come to know and expect when you fly with us.
While our initial efforts to stabilize the operations were difficult and frustratingly slow and complex, we have made good progress this week and the worst impacts of the CrowdStrike-caused outage are clearly behind us. Delays and cancellations were down 50% Tuesday compared to Monday, and we anticipate cancellations Wednesday to be minimal. Thursday is expected to be a normal day, with the airline fully recovered and operating at a traditional level of reliability.
I know the last few days have been difficult. To our customers who were impacted, I want to thank you for your patience and apologize again for the disruption to your travel.
We understand how important travel is in your lives, and we remain committed to taking care of those whose flights may still be impacted, with meals, hotel accommodations and ground transportation offered through vouchers and reimbursements. We’re also providing impacted customers with Delta SkyMiles and travel vouchers as a further gesture of apology.
I also want to extend my thanks and gratitude to Delta’s amazing team of 100,000 aviation professionals, who have been working tirelessly to take care of our customers and ensure their safety in a challenging operating environment.
We will continue to keep you informed via delta.com and the Fly Delta app for the latest information on your itinerary.
I’ve received emails from many of you who are understandably frustrated with the pace of progress and the difficulty in getting the service you deserve. I’ve also received many notes of encouragement and support commenting on the heroic efforts of our people, who are working under trying and stressful conditions. Thank you for your feedback, as well as your patience and understanding.