Peter Carter said "bring 'em on" to CNBC. He wants United's Pacific routes. The president of Delta Air Lines chose the phrasing of a drunk uncle at Thanksgiving who just discovered his nephew is dating his ex-wife.
The Pacific Ocean covers 63 million square miles. Approximately 50,000 commercial flights cross it each year. Carter looked at this incomprehensibly vast body of water and thought "United has too much of that."
United flies to Tokyo. Delta also flies to Tokyo. United flies to Seoul. Delta also flies to Seoul. United flies to Sydney. Delta also flies to Sydney. But Carter woke up this morning with a vision: what if Delta flew to those exact same places with slightly more aggression?
The "crown" Carter wants to steal involves the privilege of cramming 300 people into a metal tube for 14 hours over an ocean that kills everyone who falls into it. This is the prize. This is the hill he has chosen to die on. Not metaphorically. Literally over the Pacific.
"Crown" suggests royalty. It suggests dominion. It suggests that somewhere in United's Chicago headquarters sits an actual jeweled crown that says "Pacific Guy" on it, and Scott Kirby wears it to executive meetings while pointing at a map of Guam.
Carter used a phrase from a 2003 George W. Bush press conference about Iraqi insurgents. Bush later called it one of his biggest mistakes as president. Carter apparently missed that memo. He has decided the best way to announce a commercial aviation strategy is to cosplay as the Commander in Chief during the early stages of a forever war.
Delta wants United's crown. United wants Delta's Atlanta hub. American wants everyone to remember they exist. The Pacific Ocean remains indifferent to all three.
Photo by on Unsplash
Leave a Comment