Delta Finds Being the Butt of Jokes Hasn’t Hurt Its Business

Delta Air Lines, struggling to overcome a series of pilot blunders and other safety-related incidents, says it is grateful to customers for overlooking “slashing comments, jokes, political cartoons and questionable reporting.”

In a letter and an internal memo sent recently to members of Delta’s frequent flyer program, company officials blamed “human error or breakdown of cockpit discipline” for five of the incidents. The officials also contended that the airline has been a victim of “over-reporting” and that “events on other airlines of a much more serious nature . . . either go unreported or are buried somewhere.”

The blunders, which occurred in June and July, have prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration. In one incident, a Delta aircraft taking off from Los Angeles International Airport fell to within 500 feet of the ocean when the pilot inadvertently shut down the engines. Also, a Delta plane landed on the wrong runway at Boston’s Logan Airport and another arrived at the wrong airport in Kentucky.

In the memo to employees, Ronald W. Allen, Delta’s chairman and chief executive, acknowledged that the Atlanta-based airline has “become the focal point of many jokes. I know this hurts you as it hurt me.”

He said that while other airlines’ problems are overlooked, Delta’s “flat tires and loose monkeys in the cargo bin appear as front page or prime time news.” Harris referred to an incident in which a small monkey freed itself from a cage in a cargo hold and greeted Delta traffic handlers when the plane landed.

Six Delta crew members, including the captain of the Los Angeles flight, have been suspended from duty, according to Dick Jones, a Delta spokesman. He said none has been fired, however, and declined to discuss other specifics of the disciplinary actions.

If Delta has become the butt of jokes, the blunders have apparently had little effect on the company’s business. The airline’s passenger traffic was up 17.6% in July over the same month last year, according to analysts, who expect August figures also to be strong.

The price of the company’s stock rose from $54 a share at the beginning of the mishaps to $59 at the end of July. In the past several days, it has declined slightly as the market has generally weakened.

“They seem to be in great shape,” said Paul Karos, analyst with the investment firm of L. F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin.