Delta CEO Associates Gulf Carriers With 9/11 Terrorists in Open Skies Fight
Photo Credit: Delta CEO Richard Anderson appearing on CNN with Richard Quest. CNN
Skift Take
There's an argument to be had here about state aid for airlines, but this isn't it. You know you're losing the debate when you try to link your opponent to 9/11.
Delta CEO Richard Anderson raised the rhetoric today -- or lowered it, depending on your perspective -- in the increasingly acrimonious debate between legacy airlines Delta, United, and American Airlines, and their rivals Etihad, Emirates, and Qatar Airways, often referred to collectively as the Gulf carriers.
In an interview with CNN's Richard Quest [embedded below], Anderson said it was ironic of Gulf carriers to suggest that bankruptcy protections equalled government assistance since the Gulf region was the source of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that hurt the airline industry in the U.S.
The exchange between Quest and Anderson went as follows:
Richard Quest: To the allegation that, well, you restructured under chapter 11. The U.S. fleet certainly gains benefits from the civil defense f
