Jetrader - November/December 2008 - (Page 8)

Q&A Chief Executive Officer Delta Airlines, Inc. J etrader: How long have you been in commercial aviation, what roles have you been in and with what companies? Richard Anderson: I became the CEO at Delta Air Lines on Sept. 1, 2007, after serving as a member of the Board of Directors. I entered the industry in 1987 at Continental Airlines, where I was staff vice president and deputy general counsel. In 1990, I began a 14-year career at Northwest Airlines where I was the vice president and deputy general counsel; senior vice president of technical operations and airport affairs; executive vice president and chief operating ofﬁcer; and from 2001 to 2004, as chief executive ofﬁcer. Prior to joining Delta, I was executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group and served as president of UnitedHealth’s Commercial Markets Group. Currently, I also serve as a director of Cargill Inc. and Medtronic, Inc. J: How did you initially get involved in the aviation industry? RA: I lived across the street from Ben Hirst, general counsel of Continental Airlines. Eventually, I joined Continental’s legal department. Then I went to Northwest in 1990 as deputy general counsel. J: You left the industry in 2004 to join UnitedHealth Group. What prompted you to come back into aviation, especially in such a turbulent time? RA: I like the aviation business and it was more interesting and enjoyable than the health insurance industry. J: How has the rapid escalation in oil prices affected your long-term outlook for commercial airlines? What do airlines need to do differently in this new environment to survive long-term? RA: We need to change the business model. We must price the product to cover the cost to operate the business and make a reasonable proﬁt. That means when the cost of fuel goes up, the cost of a ticket must reﬂect it. As an industry we have had some success but fares must go higher if we are to fully capture those costs. We also must conserve fuel, proactively hedge over the long term and grow our revenues 10 percent annually. J: How is the merger with Northwest affecting day-to-day business at Delta? RA: We are still awaiting approval of the merger by the Department of Justice, which we expect to receive by the end of the year. At that time, we’ll be able to start bringing together the day-to-day operations of 8 The ofﬁc al publ ion of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading ofﬁcia publication the Inte cial ublication International

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Jetrader - November/December 2008

Jertrader - November/December 2008 A Message from the President Contents Calendar/News Q%2BA: Richard Anderson Building a Strong Foundation Post Prague Aircraft Appraisals From the ISTAT Foundation Aviation History

Jetrader - November/December 2008

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