Delta COO Mike Spanos to Depart Carrier

Delta Air Lines chief operating officer Mike Spanos is to depart the company effective Aug. 31, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. He is leaving to take a position at another company, according to a memo Delta CEO Ed Bastian sent to employees Friday morning, and that the carrier shared with BTN.

The Wall Street Journal originally reported the story. 

Spanos has been in his role just over one year, and his departure comes about a month after Delta struggled to resume normal operations after the CrowdStrike IT outage in July. The carrier, which canceled about 7,000 flights over five days, has estimated its cost from the outage at $500 million.

Delta does not currently plan to replace Spanos, who approached Bastian earlier this summer, prior to the IT outage, to say he was considering other opportunities, according to the memo. EVP and chief customer experience officer Allison Ausband and EVP and chief of operations and president of Delta TechOps John Laughter, who each reported to Spanos, will now report directly to Bastian.

“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 wrote. “Importantly, we’ve seen significant reductions in injuries during the first half of 2024 versus last year. He also partnered closely with our finance and commercial teams to improve our asset utilization and go-forward strategy.”

Spanos joined Delta June 12, 2023, with no prior aviation background. He previously was president and CEO of Six Flags entertainment and had spent more than 25 years at PepsiCo and the Pepsi Bottling Group in various positions.

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