Delta’s CEO has decried Microsoft as a particularly vulnerable platform while implying Apple is much more sound.
When a faulty update crippled the internet in mid-July, causing everything from point-of-purchase to flight management to grind to a halt, many companies began looking for someone to blame. And that blame largely fell on Microsoft and security firm CrowdStrke.
Some of the loudest affected companies were flight companies, such as American Airlines, United, and Delta, who needed ground flights until their systems came back online.
In a new interview on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’, Delta CEO Ed Bastian has spoken out against Microsoft while simultaneously praising Apple. When asked if Delta would reconsider how it used Microsoft in the future, Bastian had this to say:
“We have to. My sense is [Microsoft is] probably the most fragile platform within that space… When was the last time you heard about a big outage at Apple?”
When the interviewer pressed Bastian to consider if the reason Apple hasn’t had an outage like this is because it’s not as widely utilized, the CEO ducked the question entirely.
Delta is currently looking to sue both Microsoft and CrowdStrike to recoup its alleged $500 million profit loss due to technical problems.
Delta has integrated some Apple products into various parts of its business, either directly or indirectly. Delta was the first airline to use Apple’s business chat to help customers.
In December 2023, a TikToker discovered that a newer Delta plane lets you directly connect your AirPods — or any Bluetooth headphones — to the in-flight entertainment system.
