Delta Hires Ned Walker as Chief Communications Officer

Delta announced today that it has hired Ned Walker away from Continental as Chief Communications Officer. This is an airline that needed to really step up its communications efforts, and it looks like they’ve achieved that goal with this hire.

It’s fun to play a little connect the dots here. Walker has been at Continental for 21 years; that means he started in 1987. Delta CEO Richard Anderson also began a three year stint at Continental in 1987. Coincidence? I think not.

Continental is generally regarding as having a strong communication team while Delta cannot claim the same. This must have been a concern for Anderson. Despite their very good blog, they generally have missed the boat on communications. In the past, I can remember the airline throwing out so many press release (Podunk, New Hampshire gets a new flight, hooray!) that people would just gloss over there and forget about it. Those days are gone, fortunately, but with the Northwest merger in progress, the airline really needs someone to step up and take charge in this role.

The fact that it is a Chief Communications Officer and that it reports directly to the CEO is a very good sign. That has not always been the case at Delta. So, very good move on Delta’s part here, and Continental will likely be sad to see him go. On a personal note, I hope it starts to thaw Delta’s relationship with bloggers. I was unable to get invited to the airlines now-canceled (or at least postponed) media day. Hopefully they’ll open up now.