Transforming Travel Digitally with Delta Air Lines
Victor Osumi, Managing Director & President, Japan Delta Air Lines
Can you give a short introduction of yourself?
I’m responsible for managing Delta's entity in Japan and developing the business strategy to build Delta's presence as an industry leader in the Japan market. Before joining Delta in July 2019, I served as Area Vice President, Japan and Guam at Marriott International. I was responsible for the operations of 43 Marriott-branded hotels and over 30 new hotels under development.Throughout my career, I assumed leadership roles with major global hotel companies, including Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Marriott International, and Prince Hotels.
Delta recently appointed Eric Phillips, SVP and Chief Digital Officer, to "drive enhanced personalization, seamless, and premium experiences for customers" via your digital channels. Can you tell us how you're working across the enterprise to accelerate cross-functional initiatives and drive a multidisciplinary approach to CX?
Delta’s digital transformation is an enterprise transformation. This will enable us to better serve our customers, and also to better enable commercial and operational goals and priorities. At Delta, we view the newly created Digital Office to be a capability hub, not a single department, that pulls together functions, interactions, and connects all of our stakeholders. Delta continues to innovate and improve digital tools to bring flexibility and simplicity to the travel experience. This digital-led focus is what enables us to offer more personalized experiences both now and in the future, and there is a lot in the pipeline for the coming years that we can’t wait to share more to come.
What initiatives do you have in place to cultivate a culture of innovation within Delta Air Lines?
We put our customers at the center of everything we do. What our customers value most is Delta's ability to listen to them and deliver on our promises with every interaction and decision, every day. Delta is accelerating our vision to transform travel into a more personalized, seamless and premium experience that's better for our customers, their journeys, and our world.
Delta's Gaining Altitude podcasts which are one-on-one conversations on topics like leadership, entrepreneurship, sustainability, mental health, diversity, equity and inclusion. What drove Delta to launch this series of talks and how is it benefitting your customers?
At Delta, we're all about making connections. Not just people to places but connecting people to one another. That's what Gaining Altitude is all about. It's an opportunity to tackle conversations worth navigating – from sustainability to diversity, equity and inclusion, and beyond. The idea for Gaining Altitude came from our employee Town Hall program, which went virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic so that Delta people could tune in from all over the world to hear from our CEO Ed Bastian and other Delta leaders directly during an unprecedented time. Beyond business conversations, we invited external guests to join us and talk about how we as a company can help build a better, more just world. The conversations were so powerful, that we wanted our customers to have the opportunity to join in. Today, anyone can tune in to watch Gaining Altitude and ask questions live.
What are the biggest lessons you've learned from the pandemic and what initiatives have you implemented as a result?
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delta has transformed the industry health standard with new cleanliness practices for customers and employees. Central to advancing these efforts has been the leadership of Dr. Henry Ting, S.V.P. and Chief Health Officer, who joined Delta in early 2021. Delta was also one of the first airlines to block middle seats on flights and has continued to extend this policy longer than any other U.S. airline. The airline even put in place dynamic technology to automatically unblock middle seats for parties of three or more, allowing customers traveling as a group to still sit together while blocking other seats instead. Blocked seats are visible for every flight via seat maps shown when booking or on the Fly Delta app.
While many consumers were homebound throughout the pandemic, Delta worked quietly but diligently to pull the future of travel forward. Delta accelerated airport transformation projects during the pandemic, helping to ensure more convenient check-in and security, smoother connections, new and expanded Delta Sky Clubs, and an elevated airport experience in cities including Los Angeles, Seattle, New York and Salt Lake City. Delta also retired 18 widebody Boeing 777s and the MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft – accelerating the airline's strategy to simplify and modernize its fleet while continuing to operate newer, more cost-efficient aircraft.
How do you evaluate your digital competencies and actions currently, are you looking into AI, ML to improve processes in the future?
Innovation is in our DNA, and we are constantly listening to customers and acting quickly to meet their needs. We have a history of investing in innovative tools and programs that solve for actual customer pain points. That mindset drives our technology strategy to improve the customer experience and the processes that enable that internally.
How do you successfully engage with the board on strategic topics like ESG, digital assets and Web 3.0?
In 2021, Delta took delivery of 52 next-gen aircraft that were, on average, 25% more fuel efficient per seat mile than retired aircraft, contributing to a fleet-wide fuel efficiency improvement of almost 1% compared to 2020. This resulted in overall fuel savings of 22.5M gallons from fleet renewal, operational initiatives, and other factors like changing flight paths to reduce fuel burn and supporting efforts to modernize air traffic management. The journey to a better future will rely on the partnership, collaboration and innovation among Delta and all of its stakeholders.
What are your predictions for future travel trends in the next two years in Asia and what technology do you anticipate will be the most disruptive on travel as we know it?
Our work today is to disrupt, challenge and champion the technologies that will define the future of sustainable flight. As a company with a vision of zero-impact aviation, we are working within our industry and beyond to accelerate a new future for aviation where travel and sustainability are not mutually exclusive.
By 2030, Delta aims to procure more than 400 million gallons of SAF annually to meet our 10% goal, which is almost 40 times the total global SAF production in 2019. It had secured almost 40% of that goal through offtake agreements, subject to timely third-party investment and facility development. SAF will play a key role in aviation's decarbonization pathway as it can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions up to 80% compared to fossil jet fuels. We are always keeping an eye on trends and emerging technologies and constantly looking for new ways to bring value to our customers.
What do you expect to get out of Digital Travel Asia 2022? And can you give us a sneak peek on what you will be sharing with the audience during your session?
I was invited to participate in a panel discussion with our joint venture partner, Korean Air, theming "Flourishing in a post-pandemic world – With health and safety being top of your traveller's mind, how can you balance restoring customer confidence with bringing back the magic of travel?" I will share how Delta is restoring customer confidence to travel by offering an improved customer experience in the air and on the ground.
Why is it so important to be a part of Digital Travel APAC?
Digital Travel APAC is held in person, and we believe there is power in people coming together. As the leading global airline, Delta's mission is to create opportunities, foster understanding and expand horizons by connecting people and communities to each other and their potential.
I believe the event will prove the importance of meeting people in person and connecting the world for the future. I look forward to seeing as many leaders as possible and discussing the future of travel in Asia.
Join Victor on the 24th August, 11am to hear him on the Airline Panel " Flourishing in a post pandemic world – With health and safety being top of your traveller’s mind, how can you balance restoring customer confidence with bringing back the magic of travel?"
For more info download the agenda