Skift Forum Video: Virgin America's Founding CEO on Building an Airline Customers Love

Skift Take

Reid has the freedom to be provocative and the experience to be right about what he says.

Fred Reid, the founding CEO of Virgin America, spoke early last month at the Skift Global Forum.

Outside of Virgin America, Reid has a varied past atop major airlines in the United States and abroad. He served as president of both Delta Air Lines and Lufthansa, and also did stints at American Airlines and Pan Am.

Reid has a few radical ideas about how to succeed. “Good airlines tend to have good people,” Reid told the Forum audience, whereas bad airlines often have hostile people. The answer is “really caring” about employees. “People can tell whether you are really caring or not.”

Reid’s discussion is in full, below.

Jason Clampet

November 17th, 2014 at 7:30 AM EST

Tags: sgf2014, skift global forum, virgin america

Photo Credit: Fred Reid, Founding CEO of Virgin America, at the Skift Global Forum in New York City on October 9, 2014. Skift

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Skift Forum Video: Virgin America’s Founding CEO on Building an Airline Customers Love

Skift Take

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Skift Forum Video: Virgin America’s Founding CEO on Building an Airline Customers Love

Skift Take

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First read is on us.Subscribe to read more essential travel industry news.

First read is on us.
Subscribe to read more essential travel industry news.