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Glory Lost and Found: How Delta Climbed from Despair to Dominance in the Post-9/11 Era
“When the history book is written on the restructuring of this industry, Delta will be the greatest turnaround story in it.”
—Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein, December 19, 2006
Its reputation was now as tattered as the interiors of its airplanes. Delta Air Lines, on September 14, 2005, was nothing like the world-beating company it had been just five years earlier, let alone decades before that. On this day, Delta found itself surrounded by lawyers, dejectedly filing for bankruptcy. Few believed it could ever reclaim its perch atop the US airline industry.
But it did. Glory Lost and How Delta Climbed from Despair to Dominance in the Post-9/11 Era tells the story of Delta’s dramatic tumble into bankruptcy and how it climbed its way back to pre-eminence despite hurricane-force high fuel prices, a hostile takeover bid, relentless competition, economic meltdowns and geopolitical shocks.
This independent work of journalism, not approved or endorsed by the airline, stems from a decade of research and countless interviews by Airline Weekly ’s Seth Kaplan and Jay Shabat. It’s a profile in Delta became not only the greatest turnaround story in its own industry but also one of the greatest in the history of corporate America. Delta did the unimaginable by simultaneously resurrecting its finances and the spirits of its employees and customers. And while redefining itself, Delta also redefined an industry.
—Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein, December 19, 2006
Its reputation was now as tattered as the interiors of its airplanes. Delta Air Lines, on September 14, 2005, was nothing like the world-beating company it had been just five years earlier, let alone decades before that. On this day, Delta found itself surrounded by lawyers, dejectedly filing for bankruptcy. Few believed it could ever reclaim its perch atop the US airline industry.
But it did. Glory Lost and How Delta Climbed from Despair to Dominance in the Post-9/11 Era tells the story of Delta’s dramatic tumble into bankruptcy and how it climbed its way back to pre-eminence despite hurricane-force high fuel prices, a hostile takeover bid, relentless competition, economic meltdowns and geopolitical shocks.
This independent work of journalism, not approved or endorsed by the airline, stems from a decade of research and countless interviews by Airline Weekly ’s Seth Kaplan and Jay Shabat. It’s a profile in Delta became not only the greatest turnaround story in its own industry but also one of the greatest in the history of corporate America. Delta did the unimaginable by simultaneously resurrecting its finances and the spirits of its employees and customers. And while redefining itself, Delta also redefined an industry.
456 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 11, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 9, 2020
I thought this book was worth the read because it contained some valuable insight into the business workings of the airline industry in general. The history of Delta in particular was of less interest to me and I found the book to be overly detailed in that too much ink was spilled on the minutia of mundane business decisions. If you can plow through the boring parts, and piece together the main ideas, some interesting insights will emerge. Here are some of the insights I found most interesting:
-"At the end of the day, the airline business is a real estate business, and the airline with the best hubs wins."
-London Heathrow sits at the center of the aviation universe.
-In the 2000s, 9 out of 10 of the largest publicly traded companies either produced oil or produced cars that burned oil.
-The history of American zeitgteist can be summarized as follows: In the 1960s Americans feared the Russians would beat them militarily and scientifically, in the 1970s they feared the Arabs would destroy their economy, in the 1980s they feared that the Japanese would buy up all of their golf courses, in the 1990s they feared that the Mexicans would suck away all of their jobs, and in the 2000s they saw China as the creditor that was destroying its manufacturing base.
-The path to airline profitability in the 2000s followed a 2 prong strategy:
1: The 3 Cs: Capacity discipline, Consolidation, Charging for Everything.
2: Focus on growing international markets.
-Industry consolidation came in two flavors: mergers and Joint Ventures (virtual mergers).
-Sometimes its better to dominate small hubs than share the pie in larger ones.
-Two effects of airline growth are:
1. It holds down unit costs: b/c new employees are paid at the bottom of the scale.
2. It suppresses unit revenues: b/c supply is being increased.
-5% of Delta's customers account for 26% of its revenue.
-Industry Load Factor has increased substantially: 2000-72%, 2010-82%
-Seattle is the closest big American city to Asia. For some routes, the location makes a substantial impact in that airlines can use one aircraft to make a round trip in a 24 hour period. Many city pairs require 2 wide-body aircraft for the round trip making the route a less efficient use of capital.
-Airline mergers are always good for the industry at large, and only sometimes good for the airlines actually merging.
-After industry consolidation in the 2000s, Americas top 4 airlines now controlled 80% of the market.
-"At the end of the day, the airline business is a real estate business, and the airline with the best hubs wins."
-London Heathrow sits at the center of the aviation universe.
-In the 2000s, 9 out of 10 of the largest publicly traded companies either produced oil or produced cars that burned oil.
-The history of American zeitgteist can be summarized as follows: In the 1960s Americans feared the Russians would beat them militarily and scientifically, in the 1970s they feared the Arabs would destroy their economy, in the 1980s they feared that the Japanese would buy up all of their golf courses, in the 1990s they feared that the Mexicans would suck away all of their jobs, and in the 2000s they saw China as the creditor that was destroying its manufacturing base.
-The path to airline profitability in the 2000s followed a 2 prong strategy:
1: The 3 Cs: Capacity discipline, Consolidation, Charging for Everything.
2: Focus on growing international markets.
-Industry consolidation came in two flavors: mergers and Joint Ventures (virtual mergers).
-Sometimes its better to dominate small hubs than share the pie in larger ones.
-Two effects of airline growth are:
1. It holds down unit costs: b/c new employees are paid at the bottom of the scale.
2. It suppresses unit revenues: b/c supply is being increased.
-5% of Delta's customers account for 26% of its revenue.
-Industry Load Factor has increased substantially: 2000-72%, 2010-82%
-Seattle is the closest big American city to Asia. For some routes, the location makes a substantial impact in that airlines can use one aircraft to make a round trip in a 24 hour period. Many city pairs require 2 wide-body aircraft for the round trip making the route a less efficient use of capital.
-Airline mergers are always good for the industry at large, and only sometimes good for the airlines actually merging.
-After industry consolidation in the 2000s, Americas top 4 airlines now controlled 80% of the market.
April 24, 2021
This book is jam-packed full of information about not just Delta, but its competitors and partners. The breadth and depth of information presented here is both the book's strongest selling point and its most significant drawback.
The book sidelines telling the story of Delta's climb "from despair to dominance" in favour of bombarding the reader with mountains upon mountains of minutiae - long lists of route city pairs, endless updates on this week's fuel price, long sections covering the history of tangentially relevant airlines such as JAL and Virgin Atlantic, and every contract point for ever merger ever conducted or considered abound in this book. The result of all this detail is that much of the book feels like a slog to get through. Prescient and interesting points are all too easy to gloss over - though they are here if you can keep your attention in the pages.
That said I'd commend the authors on their attention to detail and the enormous amount of research that must have gone into this book. I just think an editor with a slightly heavier hand would have benefited the work overall.
I'd probably only recommend the book to anyone with a strong interest in both airline operations and business/management procedures.
The book sidelines telling the story of Delta's climb "from despair to dominance" in favour of bombarding the reader with mountains upon mountains of minutiae - long lists of route city pairs, endless updates on this week's fuel price, long sections covering the history of tangentially relevant airlines such as JAL and Virgin Atlantic, and every contract point for ever merger ever conducted or considered abound in this book. The result of all this detail is that much of the book feels like a slog to get through. Prescient and interesting points are all too easy to gloss over - though they are here if you can keep your attention in the pages.
That said I'd commend the authors on their attention to detail and the enormous amount of research that must have gone into this book. I just think an editor with a slightly heavier hand would have benefited the work overall.
I'd probably only recommend the book to anyone with a strong interest in both airline operations and business/management procedures.
June 21, 2018
I'm interested in flying for Delta and figured this would be a good primer on the company in case I get an interview. Even with that incentive this is a tough read, sort of like a very long Wikipedia article with a lot of repetition of basic points and not a lot of flow to the history. It is very well researched and there were several sentences and pages I highlighted but overall this well-supported book could have used an editor with a heavier hand with the red pen.
On the whole I would say its a good effort and an exhaustive history of Delta and somewhat of commercial aviation in general, but be prepared to wade through a lot of facts that continue to repeat themselves.
On the whole I would say its a good effort and an exhaustive history of Delta and somewhat of commercial aviation in general, but be prepared to wade through a lot of facts that continue to repeat themselves.
March 5, 2021
The authors have a distinctive writing style that works well at Airline Weekly but not nearly as well in a 450 page book. This reads like a comprehensive, detailed list of everything Delta did between 2001 and 2013 (with frequent interludes to describe tangentially related goings on at other airlines). Kaplan and Shabat have a knack for picking out the details that capture the essence of why the airline industry is a fascinating industry, so this wasn't a boring read. But it was a long one that seemed to frequently prioritize including as much information as possible over maintaining the narrative of why Delta became more successful than other airlines following its 2005-2007 restructuring.
May 15, 2018
A very compelling read! I picked this book up to read up on the history of Delta, but I came away learning about all the airlines operating form 2001-present. I feel much more informed about all of the mergers between airlines in the past few years and it was nice to see mention of my little airline I work for in this book. A great read for anyone in the airline industry or those who travel the skies frequently.
January 5, 2019
Well researched book, giving a great overview of the history of the aviation industry since 9/11. Delta history is in-depth and shows the progression. Lots of repetition, though, along with several paragraphs that could have been simplified into a table.
Overall, a good read, and very helpful. Good follow-up to Hard Landing. Worth the read.
Overall, a good read, and very helpful. Good follow-up to Hard Landing. Worth the read.
February 22, 2025
As the authors tell you, this is a work of journalism. So the research and opinions are theirs alone. That said? It is a good biography of Delta and the impact of its major players over the company’s history. Great read for any aviation enthusiast.
May 30, 2020
The book is not designed for everyone but for airline business geeks: very detailed history of USA airline business from 2000 to 2015.
October 11, 2022
Might be okay if you’re an MBA, or working on one. WAY too much for a pilot…
December 7, 2024
excellent chronicle of the company from a business perspective.
March 15, 2025
Valuable insight on the workings of an airline. Nice Delta history.
August 24, 2016
Despite its name, the book read more like a journalism on aviation industry using one company as focal point, rather than a turnaround story of a company. The content is rich, well researched and cover vast landscape of the industry. It is definitely appealing to aviation enthusiasts. But to everyone else that is also its downside - it is just too long and chronicle.
Perhaps it is due to the long time period it covered (a decade and a half) and that the survival of an airlines largely depends on the economy, oil price and other external circumstances which are our of its control, comparing to other fascinating turnarounds like Ford and Starbucks in the same era, the Delta story seems to be missing a soul. At least from the way it is told, it was just trying to solve one problem after next.
The book itself is long (almost 26 hours - earned me the Mount Everest Badge from Audible). I think it can be better used to focus on a few key drivers to make the book more interesting.
Perhaps it is due to the long time period it covered (a decade and a half) and that the survival of an airlines largely depends on the economy, oil price and other external circumstances which are our of its control, comparing to other fascinating turnarounds like Ford and Starbucks in the same era, the Delta story seems to be missing a soul. At least from the way it is told, it was just trying to solve one problem after next.
The book itself is long (almost 26 hours - earned me the Mount Everest Badge from Audible). I think it can be better used to focus on a few key drivers to make the book more interesting.
September 5, 2016
Although I enjoyed this book, I'm not sure if people coming in expecting the story of modern Delta would feel the same. The information in this book is voluminous, to say the least, and a lot of it only very tangentially relates to Delta, and even less to the fiscal strategies that pulled them out of bankruptcy.
If you're a general fan of airline culture, then you'll love all the historical information. But if you're in this specifically to trace Delta's business strategies post-bankruptcy, be prepared to skim a lot of pages.
If you're a general fan of airline culture, then you'll love all the historical information. But if you're in this specifically to trace Delta's business strategies post-bankruptcy, be prepared to skim a lot of pages.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews