My letter to the president of Delta Airlines [View all]

I just emailed this to Edward Bastian at Delta:

Dear Mr. Bastian,

First, thank you so much for having the integrity to do what you did. The goodwill Delta will receive from this will be huge.

But now that the Lt. Governor of Georgia has countered by indulging in a (probably illegal) attempt at extortion -- which is probably just a way to try to set a legal precedent anyway -- I'd like to share what I would do next if I were you. Not that you haven't (probably) thought about it already.

I would set up a media campaign explaining briefly why you cut ties with the NRA, but then go right into the Lt. Gov's threat and say right up front that innocent lives are worth more to your airline than the tax credits you may lose. In other words, push the idea of integrity. Besides the fact that you can write off the advertising campaign as a business expense, the goodwill, again, will be priceless. And I think it would carry far more weight if you personally delivered the message.

Again, thank you for showing the US that some corporations still care.

***

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I then received an "Address not found" error message. So I don't know if they cut off his email or what. It's disappointing, but maybe some of you might want to follow up with a similar letter.

BTW, this has nothing to do with liking Delta or not.