PEOPLE AHEAD OF PROFITS
How Delta charted a safe path through the pandemic
By Julian Ryall
For airlines, 2020 was little short of an unmitigated disaster. Industry statistics show that, compared with the previous calendar year, international passenger demand collapsed 75.6 percent—the sharpest contraction in aviation history—with domestic demand down 48.4 percent. Figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) also indicate that in 2020, demand for air cargo decreased 10.6 percent on the year, the largest year-on-year demand drop since IATA began monitoring cargo performance in 1990.
And, while a good amount of the news surrounding the coronavirus pandemic that has emerged in March has been positive—with the number of new cases falling markedly in many countries, vaccines being administered, and the effectiveness of the drugs higher than anticipated by the experts—the outlook for the aviation sector is still fairly bleak.
Bookings for future travel made in January, for example, were down 70 percent on the figure for the same month last year, putting further pressure on the cash positions of many airlines and, potentially, impacting the timing of the anticipated recovery.
Bright Spots
Amid all the doom and gloom gripping the industry, however, some bright spots stand out. One of the very brightest has been the commitment demonstrated by Delta Air Lines, Inc. to ensure that its customers and employees are protected and still able to fly to the destinations that they need to reach.
“We had a really good 2019 and things were looking positive—and then the pandemic broke out and, like everybody, we had to make some difficult decisions on short notice,” said Victor Osumi, managing director and president of the Atlanta-headquartered airline’s operations in Japan.
“In February, the airline hired world-renowned cardiologist Dr. Henry Ting as chief health officer—a first for a US airline. "
“I can say that 2020 was the most difficult in the company’s history, and that just underlines how badly the pandemic has impacted our business,” he told The ACCJ Journal.
Delta very quickly grasped a number of fundamental challenges associated with the pandemic. These included that there was a good chance it would not be a minor outbreak and that it could linger for some months—a prediction that, unfortunately, was correct—and that it had the potential to change the face of commercial air travel forever.
Safety First
Osumi said the airline’s relative success during the difficult days of the pandemic are the result of “the efforts of everybody at the company,” combined with exacting cost discipline, listening to the needs of customers, and taking the opportunity to implement changes that provide a better and safer flying environment.
“Delta has always put people ahead of profit, but we applied that even more in this situation,” said Osumi.
In April 2020, Delta opted to improve passenger safety by blocking middle seats in three-seat passenger configurations, even though the measure meant a sharp decline in passenger numbers. The airline is the only US carrier to have announced that it is continuing that policy, and will do so at least until April 30, to ensure that passengers can plan and book their spring travel.
In a statement, chief customer experience officer Bill Lentsch said: “We want our customers to have complete confidence when traveling with Delta, and they continue to tell us that more space provides more peace of mind.
“We will continue to reassess seat-blocking in relation to case transmission and vaccination rates, while bringing back products and services in ways that instill trust in the health and safety of everyone on board. That will always be Delta’s priority,” he added.
In January, the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) and aviation marketing consulting firm SimpliFlying Pte. Ltd. announced that Delta had earned the Diamond rating for airline cleanliness and safety. The rating, which means the airline has achieved hospital-grade cleanliness and sanitation levels, is the highest in the industry and was part of a new and independent study of standards at airlines.
Announcing the award—and citing his own experiences—APEX CEO Dr. Joe Leader said, “Delta Air Lines’ Diamond-level focus on continuously advancing customer health safety has been a shining example through Covid-19.
“Beyond Delta’s certification, I have consistently witnessed their flight attendants’ commitment to safety and care on dozens of flights with my family during the pandemic,” he added. “Polite mask checks over nose and mouth occur like clockwork on each pass. On our Delta flight last week, the lead flight attendant added that they would be regularly checking and cleaning the lavatory for added customer safety.”
Clean Team
Osumi points out that Delta launched the airline’s first Global Cleanliness Division, putting in place no fewer than 100 layers of protection across aircraft and ground facilities to ensure a safe experience for customers and employees alike.
Known as the Delta CareStandard, the measures include blocking middle seats, regularly sanitizing high-touch surfaces, requiring masks throughout the journey, and replacing onboard industrial-grade high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters twice as often as recommended.
“Delta launched the airline’s first Global Cleanliness Division, putting in place no fewer than 100 layers of protection across aircraft and ground facilities."
Delta is also collaborating with the Mayo Clinic and RB, the manufacturer of Lysol, and has deployed teams of “clean ambassadors” charged with installing hand sanitizer stations and Lysol Disinfecting Wipes at customer-facing areas on aircraft and in airports.
That attention to detail is critical, said Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying.
“Delta Air Lines has raised the bar for health safety in the industry by initiatives such as [adenosine triphosphate] devices to assess the surface cleanliness, antimicrobial LED lighting above lavatory sinks and countertops, and oversight by a dedicated management team,” said Nigam. “Taking such hospital-grade measures in ensuring health safety will help bolster trust among travelers.”
In February, the airline hired world-renowned cardiologist Dr. Henry Ting as chief health officer—a first for a US airline. In his most recent role as Mayo Clinic’s enterprise chief value officer, Ting became familiar with Delta both as a long-time Medallion customer and, more recently, a primary Covid-19 advisor who helped shape Delta’s response since the early days of the pandemic.
Reassurance
In Japan, Osumi starred in an informational video that was filmed at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport, but shown at all airports in Japan from which Delta flies. The video was also made available through social media channels.
“We wanted to explain the measures we have taken to our customers and thought this would be the best way of getting the message across,” he said. “We wanted to show just how safe flying is now, as well as the security and health measures we have implemented, including with the cooperation of the airport.”
In another initiative, the airline has conducted webinars with partner companies to explain the new safety steps that have become standard. A Delta pilot is involved in communicating that message during these events.
As well as looking after its customers, Delta has gone out of its way to take care of its own people, Osumi emphasized.
The company was able to avoid involuntary furloughs of US employees by offering generous voluntary separation and early retirement programs, periods of voluntary unpaid leave, job sharing, and other initiatives.
The airline also introduced an extensive program through which to test employees for the virus, while simultaneously helping to ease the strain on the health system by offering free flu shots to all US-based staff. In addition, all Delta employees diagnosed with Covid-19, exposed to the illness, or designated as high-risk were the subject of pay protection programs.
Diversity and Inclusion
Away from the impact of the pandemic on its staff, the company also took steps to address racial inequality in society, with a commitment to double spending with Black-owned businesses and to double the number of Black officers and directors by 2025.
Other initiatives include enhanced employee inclusion training and joining forces with organizations that advance equity and justice, such as the non-profit Operation Hope, which promotes financial literacy, and OneTen, a coalition of 37 CEOs from diverse industries who have come together to upskill, hire, and advance one million Black individuals in the United States over the next 10 years into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement.
As a direct consequence of these changes, Delta Air Lines was in 2021 recognized for the fifth consecutive year as one of the best places in the United States to work, ranking seventh on a list of 100 large companies—the highest position Delta has ever reached.
Preparing for Recovery
In March, Delta is operating 11 flights a week between Japan and the US—primarily connecting Tokyo with Atlanta, Detroit, and Seattle—and that number will rise to 15 in April. The airline’s Nagoya–Detroit route is scheduled to resume in April, with Osumi saying it is important that the two nations’ auto industries be connected again.
Delta’s routes linking Tokyo with Honolulu, Portland, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis remain on hold, he confirmed, but will resume as soon as conditions permit.
In preparation for that, Delta will open its latest Sky Club facilities at Haneda to ensure “the best possible customer experience,” Osumi said, while upgraded aircraft are also being introduced to the fleet.
“The events of 9/11 changed the way we fly today, with security requiring that we examine laptop computers and not take drinks bottles air-side of an airport,” he said. “And it is the same now. We have introduced more than 100 safety measures because we see the longer-term vision and we want to be the industry leader.
“We also see this challenge as an opportunity to build awareness of just how safe it is to fly and about flying with Delta,” Osumi added. “The industry will bounce back, and we are confident that we have done everything to build trust and confidence in Delta so that we will be ready.”
Victor Osumi
Managing director and president of Japan operations Delta Air Lines, Inc.
ACCJ Governor
THE JOURNAL
Vol. 58 Issue 3
A flagship publication of The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ), The ACCJ Journal is a business magazine with a 58-year history.
Christopher Bryan Jones, Publisher & Editor
