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Delta Air Lines to leave Airlines for America

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Delta Air Lines
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Airlines for America (A4A), the trade association for the leading U.S. airlines, today announced a pending membership change, as Delta Air Lines stated its intent to leave the association effective April 26, 2016.
A4A President and CEO Nicholas Calio said the move by Delta was not unexpected as the carrier has not been aligned with other A4A members on a few key industry positions, including the need to modernize and improve the nation’s air traffic control system.
“As an association we work collaboratively in the best interests of our members and the customers and communities they serve, and are most effective advocating for the traveling and shipping public when we speak with a unified industry voice,” Calio said.
Calio said the pending change will not distract A4A and its members from the continuing work of fighting higher taxes and unnecessary regulations while pushing for updated infrastructure along with the vast array of technical and regulatory issues that A4A’s councils and committees regularly address.
“We have been and will continue to be more effective as an industry advocating for our customers and employees with a unified voice in Washington, and we are committed to working with A4A to achieve reform at the highest levels, including air traffic control,” said Doug Parker, Chairman and CEO of American Airlines and Chairman of the A4A Board of Directors.
Added Calio: “With FAA reauthorization, we have an opportunity to address delays that cost $30 billion annually and implement transformational change to the air traffic control system that would mean greater efficiency and a better travel experience. We remain focused on that work to modernize our system and make flying better for the two million people who rely on it every day.”
Calio also thanked Delta CEO Richard Anderson for his work as Chairman of the A4A Board. Anderson most recently served as Chairman for the first two years of Calio’s tenure at A4A.
“Under Richard’s chairmanship, we were able to change the way A4A operates, moving it to a consensus-driven organization that has the ability to speak with one voice,” Calio said. “We thank Richard and all of the many Delta employees who serve on A4A councils and committees who actively work to address issues that affect the entire industry and our customers.”
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Delta TechOps become certified Rolls-Royce Trent Engine MRO

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Delta_TechOps_Logo
ATLANTA – Oct. 26, 2015—Delta TechOps, the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business of Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), and Rolls-Royce are teaming up, bringing advanced jet engines from Rolls-Royce to a 100,000-square foot expanded engine shop at Delta’s Technical Operations Center in Atlanta.
Rolls-Royce has named Delta TechOps an approved maintenance center for Trent civil aircraft engines to better serve jet engine customers throughout the life cycle of Rolls-Royce engines for the upcoming generation of aircraft. Delta TechOps will add the Trent XWB and Trent 7000 commercial jet engine types to its MRO portfolio.
“Today’s agreement ensures that thousands of Delta TechOps’ jobs are secure in the decades ahead,” said Richard Anderson, Delta’s Chief Executive Officer. “Rolls-Royce jet engines will not only power Delta’s international fleet of the future, but now TechOps will be available to support many other commercial operators in the Americas and beyond.”
Design work of the expanded engine maintenance facility at Delta’s Technical Operations Center in Atlanta will commence in 2016 with construction expected to begin in 2018. The expansion will include space for all aspects of engine overhaul work including a new test cell, a massive concrete installation where stationary jet engines are run at full thrust. Expanded refurbishment areas for blades and vanes, rotors and dozens of other engine components are also planned.
“We thank the City of Atlanta and Mayor Kasim Reed for championing Delta people and working with us to complete this important deal with a world-class manufacturer like Rolls-Royce,” Anderson said. “Delta is proud to call Atlanta home and remains committed to working with and investing in the City of Atlanta, in academic institutions like Georgia Tech and injecting millions of payroll dollars in the local economy.”
Eric Schulz, Rolls-Royce, President – Civil Large Engines, said, “We are excited to announce Delta TechOps as a new independent Approved Maintenance Center as we continue to develop a competitive and capable overhaul network. We know that Delta TechOps will deliver outstanding performance on their own engines and those of other customers.”
Delta TechOps currently overhauls more than 600 jet engines every year at its Atlanta and Minneapolis/St. Paul facilities. Technicians conduct highly technical, specialized work with industry-leading turn times, ranging from a few days to more than one month. Engine components are disassembled, overhauled, fabricated, reassembled and evaluated by state-of-the-art non-destructive testing that inspects components for imperfections in addition to full-thrust runs in test cells.
Measuring more than 2.7 million square feet, the Atlanta Technical Operations Center drives maintenance and operational reliability for Delta’s fleet of more than 800 aircraft and MRO services for more than 150 operators worldwide, including airframe and component maintenance, a variety of logistical and support services, and engine work. It has served as a primary base for Delta TechOps since the 1960s, adjacent to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport where Delta runs the world’s largest hub airport operation.
Delta Air Lines serves more than 170 million customers each year. Delta was named to FORTUNE magazine’s top 50 World’s Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the fourth time in five years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for four consecutive years, a first for any airline. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 318 destinations in 58 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 800 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products and services, and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground.
Delta TechOps

Delta Air Lines responds to Hillary Clinton

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Delta Air Lines
Delta (DAL – Get Report) is taking Hillary Clinton to task for her views on airline pricing.
In a column on the Web site Quartz, Clinton wrote that capitalism isn’t working and cited examples: pharmaceutical companies raising prices by 5,000% overnight and gouging patients, high-speed broadband pricing that is far higher in the U.S. than elsewhere, and airline fares that have not fallen despite oil price declines.
What’s wrong with this list? Ben Hirst, Delta’s executive vice president for corporate affairs and special counsel, said airlines shouldn’t be included because fares have declined relative to inflation for years and today are 7% lower than they were a year ago.
It is one more case where Delta, far more than its peer airlines, is willing to speak out on political issues. Delta’s positions have been all across the political map, from supporting President Obama’s position on immigration and supporting gay rights to opposing unionization and seeking changes at the Export-Import Bank.
In the column, Clinton wrote: “Over the past year, oil prices have fallen from over $100 a barrel to under $50, and the price of jet fuel has dropped more than a dollar per gallon.
“But the four major airlines — down from 10 airlines just 15 years ago — are charging as much as ever for tickets, even as they hit travelers with extra fees, for everything from checking a suitcase to picking a seat when they fly home at the holidays,” she said.
Clinton decried corporate consolidation, noting that two-thirds of public corporations operated in more concentrated markets in 2013 than in 1996, that “declining union membership means workers have less bargaining power to improve wages and benefits,” and that “additional corporate revenue is going to stock buy-backs and executive bonuses.” She promised to beef up anti-trust enforcement, among other steps.
Hirst responded Tuesday on Delta’s Web site. He said that Clinton “is correct when she writes ‘It’s good for our economy when companies prosper by innovating, creating new products, and investing in their workers.’ But she is wrong to use the airline industry as an example of where that’s not what’s happening.'”
Not only are fares 7% lower today than they were a year ago but also in 2014 airfares averaged about $400 including fees, down $50 from the average fare 15 years ago, adjusted for inflation, he said.
Moreover, 15 years ago, the airline industry was not financially viable, he said.
“The fragmented airline industry of 15 years ago not only produced higher fares for consumers. It led to $65 billion in airline losses over the next nine years, and 142,000 lost middle-class jobs,” Hirst wrote. “Strapped for cash, airlines were unable to invest in customer service and the flying experience suffered.”
But now, he said, thanks to mergers, “the large airlines are more competitive, more innovative and better employers. Delta’s profits last year enabled over $3 billion in profit-sharing and retirement contributions for our 80,000 employees. Industry employment has steadily increased since 2010.” Also, airlines are investing billions in new aircraft and improved technology.
“Concentration may be a problem in some industries, but airline mergers brought financial stability to an industry which desperately needed it,” Hirst said. “Thanks to consolidation, at Delta we are doing exactly what Secretary Clinton prescribes for American business — innovating, creating new products and investing in our workers.”
The Street