It’s been over two weeks since a Crowdstrike IT outage crippled airlines and hotels around the world. In the days that followed, all of the airlines and hotels were back up and running except for one. The “On-Time Machine” as it is known in frequent flyer circles went into a full operational meltdown with its systems still down and rews out of place three days after the outage.
The airline’s operation continued to struggle early into the next week as the airline cancelled more than five thousand flights and stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers. It wasn’t until Wednesday, after Delta CEO Ed Bastian landed in Paris for the Olympics, that the airline began to return to normal.
Needless to say, the frontline employees had a terrible, no good, very bad week as they dealt with It problems and very angry passengers. From the reports I heard, employees were equally frustrated but everyone seemed to remain civil with one another, after all, it isn’t the gate agent’s fault the computer system is down.
As an aside, I’m writing this while watching the Olympics and a Delta commercial is currently playing in the background with the narrator stating “No matter who you are, time is our most precious resource.” Self awareness anyone?
Delta Rewards Employees While Continuing to Pass the Blame
As first reported by xJonNYC on Twitter/X, in a memo to employees, the Atlanta based carrier thanked its employees, acknowledged the struggles faced, and rewarded them with two positive space passes to any destination the airline serves worldwide.
For those who aren’t familiar, airline employees are able to travel for free on a space available basis. This means that, if there’s a seat available on a flight at the time of departure, an employee can have it for free. You’ve likely seen gate agents clear the standby list prior to boarding when traveling.
Positive space passes allow employees to guarantee their seats when booking, just like us non-airline employees are able to do at booking. This allows them to plan a trip without having to worry about flight loads.
DL to employees: pic.twitter.com/cxkOtXpGpa
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) August 2, 2024
While the airline thanked its employees, in the same memo it indicated its plans to sue Crowdstrike and Microsoft. Instead of admitting any wrongdoing, Delta continues to deflect any blame for the issues that the airline experienced on its vendors. Though, every other airline that uses Crowdstrike was back up and running in a couple of days. I think it’s highly unlikely that the airline does sue Crowdstrike and, instead uses the threat to pressure the company into a settlement.
Summary
Delta has rewarded its employees with two positive space passes for travel anywhere in the Delta network. This is a token of gratitude in response to their hard work in the face of adversity. While it is nice to see the airline reward its frontline employees who had to bear the brunt of the outage issues, I wish the airline would take responsibility for its part in the operational meltdown instead of blaming everything on Crowdstrike.
