Delta COO of 15 Months to Leave Airline

After 15 months of working as chief operating officer at Delta, Michael Spanos is leaving the company at the end of August.

A Form 8-K filed by the Atlanta-based carrier with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday states that Spanos will depart the company effective August 31. With his departure, Spanos will receive the benefits provided under Delta’s officer and director severance plan and existing award agreements under its performance compensation plan.

In a memo sent to airline employees and published by Fox 5 Atlanta, Delta CEO Ed Bastian confirmed Spanos’ plans to depart. Bastian said that earlier this summer, Spanos told him he was considering opportunities outside of Delta.

“Since joining Delta, Mike immersed himself with our frontline teams, prioritizing safety first and always,” Bastian said in the letter. “Under Mike’s leadership, he has helped to advance Delta’s performance over the past year, and we continue to lead the industry across all operating metrics.”

Bastian stated that Delta has seen a significant reduction in injuries during the first half of 2024 versus last year under Spanos’ leadership. He also said that Delta does not currently plan to backfill Spanos’ role.

Spanos is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former CEO at Six Flags Entertainment amusement parks. Bastian did not specify in his memo what company Spanos is joining.

Delta made headlines this summer for its poor handling of an industry-wide IT outage caused by a faulty software update. The airline has been fighting a public relations battle after threatening legal action against CrowdStrike and Microsoft, which Delta holds responsible for $500 million in losses during the incident.

• Author
• Recent Posts

AirlineGeeks.com Staff

AirlineGeeks.com was founded in February 2013 as a one-person blog in Washington D.C. Since then, we’ve grown to have 25+ active team members scattered across the globe. We are all here for the same reason: we love deep-diving into the fascinating realm of the airline industry.

Latest posts by AirlineGeeks.com Staff (see all)

• Why Air Canada Pilots May Strike Soon - September 10, 2024
• Envoy, AirlineGeeks Celebrate National Aviation Day With Simulator Experience - August 19, 2024
• Catch AirlineGeeks’ Live Broadcast From Oshkosh July 22-26 - July 9, 2024