How Delta turned TSA chaos into a brand advantage

FastCompany: As brand obsessions go, our collective love/hate relationship with airlines may be one of the most passionate and unique. It’s a perfect storm of time pressure, cost, emotional stakes, and a complete lack of control as a customer. An airline’s product is the experience, and that experience has a laundry list of potential pain points—check-in, lost luggage, boarding, seat comfort—that can ruin the entire thing. Now, the U.S. government is throwing a shutdown-size wrench into the mix. Due to a partial government shutdown, funding for the Transportation Security Administration has been paused.

TSA workers have not been paid for more than a month, leading to staffing shortages at some airports. As both sides of the aisle point fingers and try to find a compromise, line-ups at airports are snaking so long that many airports have stopped even trying to post estimated wait times for travelers. On March 25, acting TSA head Ha Nguyen McNeill told Congress that air travelers are experiencing the highest wait times ever under the TSA. What do you call the opposite of a brand halo? A brand anchor? That’s what this entire situation is for airlines, since their customer experience is tied directly to this shutdown funding fallout.

One airline, however, decided to step up to distinguish itself in a way we haven’t seen a brand do in a long time. On March 24, Delta announced that it was suspending its “specialty services” perk for U.S. Senators and Representatives, which gave those government employees high-touch service like escorting them past lengthy security lines and a dedicated check-in experience. “Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta,” the airline said in a statement to Fast Company . “Next to safety, Delta’s no.

1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment.” The move follows what an “outraged” Delta CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC last week. “It’s inexcusable that our security agents, our frontline agents, that are essential to what we do, are not being paid, and it’s ridiculous to see them being used as political chips,” Bastian said. It’s a great example of a brand picking a perfect moment to speak out.

But if you’re hoping this signals a return to corporate leadership having a backbone when it comes to issues that impact their customers and employees, you’re going to be like folks at the airport: waiting a long time. Travelers face long security lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on March 25, 2026. [Photo: Megan Varner/Getty Image] Purpose popularity There was a time in the not-so-distant past that brands were lining up to say something about an issue—any issue, really. It was all black Instagram squares this, and Stop Hate for Profit that.

In 2017, tech execs like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai spoke out against President Trump’s proposed “Muslim ban,” which limited travel and immigration from predominantly Muslim countries. Around that time, it was often seen as a brand risk not to speak out on certain issues. When Disney’s then-CEO Bob Chapek stayed silent about Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill (better known as the Don’t Say Gay bill) in 2022, he was widely criticized by employees until he apologized and the company announced it was formally opposing the bill.

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Delta's strategic decision during a crisis highlights significant brand positioning and agility, making it a noteworthy case for brand strategy professionals.