Delta CEO: Airline 'gained a lot of fans' for NRA stance

[Support The NRA]

Delta dealt with multiple storms in the last quarter, but CEO Ed
Bastian said the company weathered them all and "gained a lot of
fans" in the face of its biggest blast: cutting ties with the
NRA.

Bastian spoke on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Thursday about Delta Air
Lines Inc.'s (NYSE: DAL) strong quarterly results, booking
demands, rising jet fuel prices, and the company's decision to
cut ties with the National Rifle Association following the
Parkland, Fla. school shooting. (See video above)

Bastian was asked about his confidence in Georgia for businesses
after Georgia legislature yanked a tax break on jet fuel sales
that primarily benefits Delta following the company's decision
in February to end its contract on discounted fares for NRA
members. Bastian said he has "great confidence" in the state and
Gov. Nathan Deal, much like the CEO did in a public memo
released on March 2.

"We felt the state legislature was pushing us with respect to
some of our business practices to a place we weren't comfortable
going and we pulled back," Bastian told CNBC. "As I said in my
note, we're not for sale and I think Georgia is a great place to
center business. We affirmed in my note that we're going to stay
headquartered here in Georgia. This is home, and it's always
going to be home for Delta, as far as I'm concerned."

When asked about the impact on his business and advice he'd give
to other companies taking these types of politcally charged
positions, Bastian said:

"In my years in this industry, I've never seen a topic that's
delivered as much emotion as this one. And I've received tens of
thousands of emails on both sides of the issue. Over the last
month on this, I'd say 75 percent, if not more, have been
positive; have been supportive of the stance we take. People
respect the fact that we make our own decisions and stand by
them, and we're not selling out relative to political interest,
and I think we gained a lot of fans."
The political climate hasn't been Delta's only concern as
powerful winter storms in the first quarter of the year cost the
Atlanta-based airline $44 million, according to the earnings
report released today. Still, Delta reported record revenues,
which Bastian said were driven, interestingly, by international
travel, which outpaced domestic revenues.

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2018/04/12/delta-ceo-
airline-gained-a-lot-of-fans-for-nra.html