Atlanta’s historic Fox Theater is the venue for the latest skirmish between Delta and Qatar Airways. (Image: Fox Theater)
Big airlines all try to get involved with the communities they serve by sponsoring or contributing to various local venues or events. Delta does that too, but it just made a couple of moves that might have its public relations department wondering what its community relations department was thinking.
The first move was in Atlanta, where Delta has been a sponsor of the city’s landmark Fox Theater for 20 years. But now, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , Delta plans to end that sponsorship when it expires next year.
Why? Because the theater had the audacity to rent out its space to Qatar Airways for a VIP event plus an exclusive performance by Jennifer Lopez celebrating that airline’s launching of Atlanta-Doha service on June 1.
A TravelSkills reader sent images from the exclusive Qatar Airways event at the Fox Theater in Atlanta (More below)
Delta and the other big U.S. carriers have been in a major feud with the Big Three Middle Eastern airlines – Qatar, Etihad and Emirates – for many months, alleging that they are subsidized by their governments and thus competing unfairly on routes to the U.S. Those carriers have also been adding new U.S. routes at a fast pace, prompting the U.S. carriers to lobby for government intervention that would stop that expansion.
Earlier this year, Delta cancelled its Atlanta-Dubai route, blaming subsidized competition; and last month, a Delta executive blasted Qatar Airways’ plan for Atlanta service, claiming there is no way that carrier could make money on the route. A Qatar executive responded by saying his airline was going to “rub salt in the wounds of Delta” by flying to Atlanta – a remark that prompted Delta to take revenge by canceling its Fox Theater sponsorship, the newspaper reported.
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Meanwhile, Delta has another rival in Seattle – Alaska Airlines, where the two carriers are in a battle for new routes and market share. In that city, Delta has just taken on sponsorship of the annual Seattle Gay Pride Parade for three next three years – but it added one stipulation to its sponsorship agreement: No Alaska Airlines employee can be in the parade if they are wearing T-shirts or other clothing that displays the Alaska Airlines logo or brand.
Come on, Delta. How low can you go?
UPDATE: Scratch that report about the Seattle Gay Pride Parade. Apparently a Seattle Pride leader misunderstood the sponsorship arrangement with Delta, and mistakenly told Seattle media that it barred Alaska Airlines employees from participating in clothing with company logos. They are indeed welcome, and Delta never declared that they weren’t, he said.
Reader thoughts, please! Plus see below for some more images from the Qatar Airways event at the Fox.
Quite an opulent affair at the Fox Theater
At the Fox Theatre event, Qatar Airways gave away a pair of free roundtrip business class tickets anywhere it flies
Thousands of red roses at the Qatar Airways launch event in Atlanta
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Delta does many things that make me scratch my head and many more that make me want to scream. I don’t blame them for pulling their sponsorship of the Fox Theater. I moved here in 1983 & probably attended a show at the Fox in 1984. It is a great landmark for our city. For 20 years Delta, has been their presenting sponsor. This is not a small thing for the Fox. So why would they think it would be ok with Qatar hosting a launch event there? This is business 101. They knew Delta would be upset. A four year old would know that Delta would be upset. Wonder how they would feel if the Broadway productions went to another venue?
Many say that Qatar paid the Fox for the use of their event space. I hope that is more than Delta paid. It is incredibly rare that one event would pay more than a presenting sponsor. The only realistic reason is that Qatar has cut a deal to replace Delta at the Fox.
Delta is not being petty! Delta is saying we have supported you for 2 decades And you decided to rent space to our competitor that says they want to “rub salt in our wounds” ?
Delta needs to put its big girl panties on.
Choosing my words carefully here… Screw Delta. I got my million miles with them in the 80s and 90s, largely with Western Airlines (a far superior carrier back in the day). They’ve been in the toilet since the late 90s, when I stopped flying them WHILE I LIVED IN ATLANTA. Flying AA out of ATL was kind of a pain, but that’s how much they pissed me off. Now I have 1.5M miles on AA and the putrid UselessAir management is following DL’s toxic lead. Oligopoly sucks, people.
I used to think I’d never fly Southwest, but their policies are the most customer-friendly around. The product itself is mediocre, but at least they’re honest about it. I fly WN because all the so-called major airlines are boycott-worthy at this point – I haven’t flown United in over a decade or Delta in the last five years. AA had been my safe haven, but I’m sitting in Haneda Airport as I hammer this screed out facing a 10-hour flight to LAX in AA’s torturously configured 787 (after having flown JAL’s 787 here from PEK) – leave it to a US flag carrier to screw up an otherwise nice airplane (Note: AA configures its Dreamliners 3-3-3 whereas JL runs them 2-4-2).
The point is, wake up and stop rewarding the US majors with your business. Delia’s ruthless financials are driving the thoughtless copycat US industry into the service sewer, and if we don’t vote with our wallets then we’re merely confirming the derision of the C-suite jerks at DL, US and AA.
The Seattle pride story is not true (or at least not true in the way it was originally spread by a pro-fight attendant union outlet that was caught on by the press). (side note: I am fully supportive of union drives at DL, but one should immediately see the bias of a pro-union group towards decidedly anti-union DL mgmt.)
Delta never stipulated that Alaska employees couldn’t wear Alaska Airlines shits, etc. Delta signed a standard exclusive sponsorship agreement that made them the “exclusive airline” sponsor. That meant Alaska couldn’t have a branded ride/float/etc. but in no way prevented AS employees from being in the pride event or wearing a clothing/body paint/tattoos, etc. with Chester on it. Some savvy pro-Alaksa (not necessarily AS themselves) PR folks changed the narrative on DL. Honestly this is no different from any other sponsored event where the sponsor gets to plaster their name all over the place. Go to a game at AT&T Park in SF and you will be bombarded with AT&T logos but you can still wear your Verizon tee shirt (why you would want too is another story!)
Delta is a victim of it’s own success.
It created a profitable business model to adjust for consolidation in the airline industry.
But now it seems like they can’t their investors to buy into a new strategy for growth. (If they even have one.)
The more international competition out of ATL, the better. For years, Delta has milked the image of “Atlanta’s Hometown Airline.” But Delta’s international fares from Atlanta are as much as 50% more than out of JFK, for instance. Even factoring in the additional mileage, Delta is over-charging the Atlanta market simply because they can.
Pathetically small minded of Delta. You’re upset at competition so you take it out on your local theatre? Really? You sponsor a parade but won’t allow ONE other airline’s t-shirts? (I guess United or American or SW t-shirts are OK.) Grow a pair, Delta – this is the big boy table. It’s called competition. Live with it. (But I’m done with you.)
perhaps Fox should have thought of that before hosting an event for one of its sponsors competitors.
Correct me if I’m wrong but the Fox event was private (by invitation only) and I’m guessing that Qatar paid for the space at market rates. Delta did not incur any cost for this event. I had no idea the event happened until Delta threw a fit afterwards. Delta unwittingly gave Qatar extra publicity and gave themselves some very negative publicity. Now, if Qatar had hosted their event at the Delta museum (which hosts events of this type), they probably would have had a legitimate beef.
As for the Seattle LGBT sponsorship, if the organizers allowed this to happen then they share the blame. Unlike the Fox, Delta did not offer sponsorship and then pout afterwards. The terms were negotiated up front.
Although I have had a love/hate relationship with Delta (love to hate them, hate to love them) I gotta agree with Delta on the issue of sponsorships. It is reasonable for any company that puts out big $$ for sponsorships to expect a certain degree of exclusivity.
As a somewhat prominant DJ in the Atlanta LGBT community, I was asked to put together a soundtrack for an event for Atlanta Pride several years ago. Two of the biggest dance tracks that year had been utilized by Sea World (owned by Anheuser-Busch at the time) and British Airways, respectively, in television commercials, Two of the presenting sponsors of Atlanta Pride that year were Miller Lite and Delta Air Lines. Nobody had to even tell me not to utilize the two tracks – it is something that I just wouldn’t even consider.
I am seriously shocked at how few people understand sponsorships (the responses that my thoughts will likely generate will only prove my point). They
are not a one-way street with blank checks flowing. They are a business
transaction with the donor having a reasonable expectation that their contribution will be respected.
They are trying to discriminate in a Pride Parade event? Get real!
Money says Qatar airlines sponsors the Fox Theatre for a few seasons.
Seems it would be fair play to have the cities where these cultural assets are located cancel Delta’s gates at their airports. Delta will only contribute to the community’s success if the community turns its back on Delta’s competitors. Why shouldn’t the community turn its back on Delta to get contributions from truly civic-minded companies?