Delta chief operations officer departing for another company after just over a year on the job
Delta Air Lines' COO Mike Spanos is leaving the company at the end of the month after just over a year in the role. His departure follows a recent operational disruption linked to a major outage. CEO Ed Bastian confirmed Spanos is taking another job and noted that Delta will not replace him. Instead, two existing executives will report directly to Bastian.
Delta Air Lines planes sit parked at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta on June 28, 2024.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
Delta Air Lines' chief operating officer is leaving at the end of the month, the company said in a securities filing on Friday.
CEO Ed Bastian said in an employee memo that Chief Operations Officer Mike Spanos is taking a job at another company.
His departure, after just over a year on the job, comes weeks after Delta suffered a meltdown in the wake of the massive CrowdStrike outage in July. Delta estimates those disruptions cost the airline some $500 million and said it will seek compensation from CrowdStrike and Microsoft.
However, Bastian said the memo on Friday that Spanos told him earlier in the summer that he was "considering opportunities outside of Delta."
Delta doesn't plan to replace Spanos, Bastian said. Instead, John Laughter, the chief of operations and president of Delta's TechOps maintenance-and-overhaul unit, and Allison Ausband, chief customer experience officer, will report to Bastian.
Spanos joined Delta in May 2023 and previously held the role of CEO at Six Flags Entertainment and executive positions at PepsiCo.
