Delta to end other group discounts

CEO: ‘Politically divisive’ groups’ deals on fares will be reviewed.

Caught in a maelstrom over his company’s decision to cut ties with the National Rifle Association, Delta Air Lines chief executive Ed Bastian said Friday that his intention had been to “remain neutral” and “remove Delta from this (gun control) debate.” Delta, he said, is now planning to end discounts “for any group of a politically divisive nature.”

The declaration from Bastian came the day after Republican lawmakers in Georgia honored their threat to punish the Atlanta-based airline for ending the NRA’s group discounts; those legislators overwhelmingly approved a bill that was stripped of an earlier provision that would have granted a $50 million sales-tax exemption on jet fuel to Delta.

In a memo issued to Delta employees and shared with the public, Bastian said he was “troubled” by the legislature’s action, as well as Delta’s position at the center of a national controversy.

“I know it is not comfortable to be caught in a highly emotional debate,” he wrote, adding, “We are at our best when we bring our customers and our world closer together.”

The airline had been under attack from gun-rights activists since Saturday, when it abruptly discontinued flight discounts to the NRA’s annual convention and asked the gun-rights group to remove the information about the perk from the convention material.

As the #BoycottNRA movement spread, NRA members — including some Georgia lawmakers — wondered why Delta wasn’t discontinuing any of those discounts, too. Now, Bastian said, it will drop them.

“Our people and our customers have a wide range of views on how to increase safety in our schools and public places, and we are not taking sides,” he wrote. “Our objective in removing any implied affiliation with the NRA was to remove Delta from this debate.”

Bastian wrote that “while Delta’s intent was to remain neutral, some elected officials in Georgia tied our decision to a pending jet fuel tax exemption, threatening to eliminate it unless we reversed course. Our decision was not made for economic gain and our values are not for sale. We are in the process of a review to end group discounts for any group of a politically divisive nature.”

In the days since the showdown between Delta and Georgia Republicans began, top blue-state politicians have encouraged Delta to relocate its hub from Atlanta.

In his memo, Bastian wrote, “… our home is Atlanta.”