Delta CEO Richard Anderson Announces Retirement
Delta Air Lines announced this afternoon that Richard Anderson will step down as CEO, effective May 2, 2016. Taking his place will be Ed Bastian, who is the current President of Delta. After the change takes place, Anderson will become the executive chairman of the Delta Air Lines Board of Directors.
Although the story is still developing, there was no immediate reason given as to why Anderson is choosing to step down as CEO aside from retirement, but the company says that the move is part of a succession plan that has been several years in the making.
It doesn't appear that the announcement comes on bad terms as Anderson will remain with the company, and it's possible that things at the airline could go completely unchanged when he officially retires.
Just last year, Delta announced its devaluation and switched to a revenue-based loyalty system. This retirement announcement comes not long after Delta claimed its spot as the second-largest US carrier behind American Airlines.