Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian addressed an audience of Detroit business leaders on Friday that his airline’s forthcoming $200-a-month surcharge for uninoculated employees is prompting more employees to get vaccinated. Bastian added he does not anticipate for American business travel to return to its pre-pandemic state next year.
The 64-year-old made an appearance on Friday at Detroit’s Westin Book Cadillac hotel for a Detroit Economic Club assembly. He spoke on stage for over half an hour for a question-and-answer portion regarding the future of airline travel.
According to Delta’s CEO, there is a $200-per-month incentive for unvaccinated employees. (Photo: Clean Bowled)
Delta’s Self-Insured Health Plan
Delta Air Lines in August declared a $200-per-month additional payment for its staff on the self-insured health plan of the company who are not yet fully inoculated for the novel coronavirus. According to the Delta CEO, the policy is fair due to the average cost to the company for an employee’s hospital admission for COVID-19 is $50,000. He stated the additional charge will be implemented on November 1. However, it is already generating results as the inoculation rate for employees was 75 percent when the directive was declared and is currently standing at 90 percent.
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Big Rebound in US Travel
Delta is currently the largest airline in the United States. This summer, it witnessed a large bouncing back in American travel that displayed massive pent-up demand, remarked Bastian before the audience of an estimated 250. From being 40percent full, the company planes leveled to 50 percent in May to almost 90 percent in July. He added that Delta currently returned to an estimated 80 percent of its domestic flight schedule prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Detroit Free Press.
Employee Vaccination Rate Anticipated to Be 95%
Bastian said in the assembly that the vaccination rate of his staff could “easily go north of 95 percent,” Delta is taking on a different technique to promote workforce vaccination in contrast to other airlines including United Airlines and American Airlines. They announced to their employees that they will be susceptible to dismissal if they do not get vaccinated by the impending deadline. Bastian said that such policies are very blunt instruments, reported USA Today.
Meanwhile, according to the Delta CEO, at their company, unvaccinated people have a choice. They could either get inoculated or pay an insurance charge.
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