American Airlines
and United Airlines chief executives deflected questions about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at their respective companies’ earnings calls, instead saying that both carriers aim to hire the best talent.
That was a stark contrast to Delta Air Lines, which, while receiving some backlash for comments about government “overreach,” did say that it was “steadfast” in its commitments to sustainability and DEI.
Hiring the best team members
Answering a question during the company’s earnings call on January 23, Robert Isom, the chief executive officer (CEO) of American Airlines, said that the carrier has always hired the best team members that it can bring to the company.
As CNBC’s Leslie Josephs pointed out during the call, American Airlines’ website reads that DEI is “foundational to the American Airlines culture and are embedded into the fabric of who we are as a company.”
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Meanwhile, Isom did not directly address whether the carrier’s DEI policies will change, instead pointing out that the airline serves over 650,000 customers on peak days.
“We have 130,000 team members that work [in] all parts of the globe. Our efforts here are going to be focused on caring for people on life’s journey, and in that we are going to do that in a way that is beneficial for our customers and profitable for our airline.”
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
Isom concluded that this will be American Airlines’ guiding factor as it moves forward, looking for ways to take care of its customers and employees. “That is front and center.”
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Selective hiring processes
Scott Kirby, the CEO of 
United Airlines
, also dodged the question during the carrier’s earnings call on January 22, saying that the carrier has and will continue to hire on merit. The company has been fortunate to be a very high-quality employer and makes efforts to “cast a wide net for people coming into United.”
“In fact, last year, we had over 600,000 applications for fewer than 10,000 positions. Because of that, we can be incredibly selective about who [we hire].”
Kirby noted that since it can hire the best of the best, it naturally has a diverse workforce, adding that United Airlines can do both diversity and hiring the best talent.
“We are performing better coming out of COVID for the last few years than any other airline in the world, and our workforce of having a diverse but also very best people is a huge part of the reason why we are the best airline in the world.”
Photo: Q world | Shutterstock
Currently, United Airlines’ diversity policies are outlined on its website, noting that it is committed to “excellence, meeting high standards, and fostering a culture that creates pride […].”
“We recruit top talent from aviation organizations, college and university partners, and industry conferences to continue hiring the best of the best who meet our rigorous standards.”
In 2022, the airline “created company-wide DEI goals for the first time in our history and tied them to specific metrics in our executive long-term incentive plan to ensure accountability for progress,” according to its 2022 corporate responsibility report. A document from 2021 outlined that its “DEI commitments are core to the way we do business” and that it vowed to become a global leader in DEI. Its diversity-dedicated page, which was still linked in its 2023 corporate responsibility report, now redirects to its ‘People Impact’ page.
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Different tone
Peter Carter, the chief legal officer (CLO) of 
Delta Air Lines
, stated that the airline’s commitments to sustainability and DEI were “steadfast” during the company’s earnings call on January 10. Carter added that its executives viewed these policies as critical to its business.
“Sustainability is about being more efficient in our operations. Really, DE&I is about talent, and that’s been our focus. And, of course, the key differentiator at Delta is our people.”
Photo: Wenjie Zheng | Shutterstock
Still, all three chief executives, including Delta Air Lines’ Ed Bastian, expressed positivity about the current administration. Bastian was the first to hope that Donald Trump’s government officials would review the regulatory environment, including “the level of overreach” during Joe Biden’s tenure in the White House, before the company’s investor day in November 2024.
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