Georgia punishes Delta over NRA

Delta Air Lines Inc. showed no signs Friday of backing away from a decision to cancel fare discounts for the National Rifle Assn., despite a retaliatory move by Georgia state leaders that deprived the airline of a significant tax break.

Atlanta-based Delta released an internal memo that Chief Executive Ed Bastian sent to employees that insists the airline’s aim is to stay neutral in the gun debate roiling the country since last month’s deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school.

The memo appeared roughly at the same time that Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, signed into law a broad tax bill that GOP lawmakers had amended to kill a proposed tax break on jet fuel. The break would have saved Delta millions of dollars.

“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,” Bastian said. “Our decision was not made for economic gain and our values are not for sale.”

Delta said the discounted fares had been available for a short time and were only for NRA members buying tickets to attend the group’s 2018 convention in Dallas. Still, it triggered a showdown with pro-gun Republican lawmakers in Georgia. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle vowed to punish Delta for crossing the NRA and led the charge to eliminate the tax break on jet fuel.

Cagle, a Republican who is running for governor, defended the move against Delta, saying Friday that although the airline is a “beloved bedrock” of Georgia’s economy, the company’s message to conservatives was: “We find your views deplorable.”

Delta is one of the largest employers in Georgia, with 33,000 employees statewide. But the threat of losing a hefty tax break failed to budge the airline from its decision to distance itself from the NRA.