Delta Air Lines has lost its president and chief operating officer, Fred Reid, who joined Richard Branson's planned low-fare start-up, Virgin USA in April.
Reid had been widely expected to be named to succeed Leo Mullin, who took an early retirement from Delta in January. However, non-executive board member Gerald Grinstein took over Mullin's chief executive slot, and Reid began reviewing his options. Market perception is that Grinstein, 72, is a relatively short-term leader for Delta, although the length of his tenure is uncertain.
Grinstein said he would fill Reid's position internally and would himself take on Delta's drawn-out pilot concession negotiations. Grinstein drew on a sports metaphor to express confidence, saying: "Looking ahead, Delta has great talent and a deep bench, which we will use to fill in behind Fred."
Reid, who gives Branson's start-up "instant credibility" in the words of one analyst, will be based in a Virgin USA office in New York while the carrier chooses an operating hub from among three US cities: Boston, San Francisco or Washington DC.
The Virgin USA job is a totally new challenge for a man with mainly legacy carrier experience at Delta and Lufthansa, but he will relish the chance to create a company without the baggage of the past.
DAVID FIELD WASHINGTON
Source: Airline Business
