Delta CEO Ed Bastian is offering employees two free travel passes to thank them for their hard work during last month’s massive disruptions caused by a botched CrowdStrike software update. The chaos stranded thousands of customers and crew members.
Key Points
- Flight Cancellations:
- Over 5,000 flights canceled between July 19 and July 24
- More cancellations than in all of 2019
- Financial Impact:
- Incident cost Delta about $500 million
- Equivalent to 40% of Delta’s second-quarter profit
Disruptions and Recovery
- Cause:
- Software update took thousands of Windows machines offline
- Industries affected included healthcare and banking
- Response:
- Delta had to manually reset 40,000 servers
- Crew-tracking platform issues contributed to cancellations and disruptions
- Over 4,000 flight attendants picked up more than 6,100 trips, receiving extra pay
Employee Appreciation
- Free Travel Passes:
- Two “positive space” passes for confirmed seats
- Different from standby flying, which is subject to seat availability
- CEO’s Message:
- Ed Bastian apologized for the disruptions, calling them “unacceptable”
- Praised employees’ efforts as “heroic”
Union Response
- AFA-CWA Organizing Committee:
- Criticized the offer of free passes as insufficient
- Called for more significant changes to prevent future disruptions
Legal Action
- Against CrowdStrike and Microsoft:
- Delta plans to pursue legal action to recover losses
- Law firm Boies Schiller Flexner hired for the case
- Company Responses:
- Microsoft declined to comment
- CrowdStrike claimed no knowledge of a lawsuit
Additional Measures
- Refunds and Reimbursements:
- Delta processed thousands of requests
- Investigation:
- U.S. Department of Transportation investigating the disruptions
Summary Table
| Issue | Details |
|---|---|
| Cause of Disruption | Botched CrowdStrike software update |
| Flight Cancellations | Over 5,000 flights from July 19 to July 24 |
| Financial Impact | $500 million, 40% of Q2 profit |
| Employee Compensation | Two free travel passes (positive space) |
| Union Criticism | Passes deemed insufficient by AFA-CWA |
| Legal Action | Plans to sue CrowdStrike and Microsoft |
| Customer Compensation | Thousands of refunds and reimbursements processed |
| Investigation | U.S. Department of Transportation |
Conclusion
Delta’s operational disruption has been a significant challenge for the airline, affecting both customers and employees. The company’s response, including free travel passes and legal action, aims to address the immediate issues while seeking long-term solutions to prevent future problems
