It’s been a rough week for Delta CEO Richard Anderson, who’s embroiled in a global controversy for implying that the Gulf airlines had some complicity in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. His original comment was:
“It’s a great irony to have the United Arab Emirates from the Arabian Peninsula talk about that given the fact that our industry was really shocked by the terror of 9/11 which came from terrorists from the Arabian Peninsula that caused us to go through a massive restructuring.”
The airline has now apologized (kind of, sort of, a little bit), taking the slightly passive aggressive “we’re sorry if anyone was offended” route. Yes, Delta, people were offended, so just own up to it. Here’s what the airline — not the Delta chief himself — said through its public relations arm:
He didn’t mean to suggest the gulf carriers or their governments are linked to the 9/11 terrorists. We apologize if anyone was offended.
Anderson’s original comments occurred on CNN correspondent Richard Quest’s show “Quest Means Business,” and the news cycle quickly fed the fire as part of an ongoing spat over alleged subsidies to Gulf airlines that would violate U.S. trade agreements.
Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker responded in an interview with Quest that Anderson should study the difference between “equity” and “subsidy,” and points out that U.S. airlines received government assistance in an intervention after 9/11. Al Baker also urges them to “improve and compete” rather than blaming the Gulf carriers for product shortfalls.
Coverage from Quest Means Business
Quest also spoke with Emirates CEO Tim Clark, who called the allegations “unfortunate” and that Anderson “crossed the line” with his 9/11 comments.
If they are going to make allegations about subsidies…the least they could have done is to supply us with that report. I cannot comment on anything we haven’t seen. And I do not believe that Mr. Anderson’s comments are representative of the whole of the airline industry of the United States. Frankly, we’re doing a good job. People value what we do. The value proposition is an exceptional one.
Prior to Anderson’s flap, Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum also added to the commentary, telling Bloomberg that U.S. airlines just need to provide a better experience so the traveler chooses them over the competition.
We agree: Instead of focusing so heavily on its Arabian competition, perhaps Delta would do better not angering its loyal fliers with devaluations and random removals of award charts. We really don’t care about unfair competition, especially when the competitors from the Gulf are so far superior to their American counterparts. Hopefully the U.S. airlines can find a competitive streak that will lead to an improvement of the general state of aviation in America.