The number of Delta Air Lines passengers who bought tickets with NRA discount: 13

[DonViejo]

Source: USA Today



Bart Jansen, USA TODAY Published 10:39 a.m. ET March 2, 2018 | Updated 1:22 p.m. ET March 2, 2018

How many airline passengers does it take to kill a $40 million tax break for Delta Air Lines? 13.

The Georgia legislature removed a jet-fuel tax break from a larger tax package Thursday. Lawmakers were upset that Delta, which is headquartered in Atlanta, dropped the National Rifle Association from a discount-fare program in an effort to appear neutral on gun policy.

After the firestorm, Delta will review all its marketing programs to avoid those that might become political, CEO Ed Bastian announced Friday.

But the airline said only 13 passengers ever bought tickets with an NRA discount. That translates into each discount costing the airline about $3 million in tax breaks.



Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/02/delta-reviews-all-fare-discount-programs-after-nra-dispute-costs-georgia-tax-break/388587002/

[brooklynite]

1. The number of Delta employees who might move to a new corporate location.....?

[erronis]

15. Getting the hell out of the South would be enough for me!

I've traveled most of the southern states on business and don't find them it a good place to relax. I like the people individually, but as soon as a conversation about US or world affairs comes up they become total whackos - in the large. Of course Atlanta is now mainly transient implants who would also flee the hostility that will be provoked by the legislature.

Maybe in 1,000 years they'll get over not being on the right side of justice (emancipation). Maybe or not. In the meantime they can sit on their verandas, sipping their diabetes-causing sweet tea (or gimlets - yum), and fret about the carpet-baggers, the colored, the smart people, and the gummint.

[TwistOneUp]

2. And the number of voters...

Who switch from voting Rethuglican to voting Democrat because they are going to lose their Delta jobs? (And their cars, houses, etc?)

Let's hope that's 40mm, too!

[lunasun]

3. GA just became risky business if they can pull back tax breaks on emotion like that

[yonder]

4. whats that the red-hats always like to say?

Something about letting the markets flesh it out? Keep the gub-mint out of it? yeah, right

[jmowreader]

5. How many NRA members do a lot of flying?

I know three NRA members personally. None of them fly for vacations. Two of them go camping and the other always goes to Marine Corps League conventions. They also like boating and hiking...anything to do with the great outdoors. Most people who fly for business get their airfare paid by the company and wouldn’t be able to use their NRA discounts.

[MichMan]

14. I believe the discount only applied to the convention

and was not for other flights and destinations

[jmowreader]

16. That would make some sense

[Submariner]

6. DELTA should fire employees who were Trump voters to make up for the $40 mil loss

f*ck ATL pols.

[Calista241]

21. Yeah, cause that wouldn't result in a few major lawsuits. n/t

[matt819]

7. Georgia is going to lose big time on the lawsuits

Delta will get its tax break back.

In the meantime, businesses considering expanding in or moving to GA know what the line in the sand is and are likely to reconsider their decisions. To say nothing of Delta increasing its commitments and investments outside of GA. They're not going to move their hub, but that doesn't mean they can't invest elsewhere. So, no, Delta is not going to lose in this battle.

[NickB79]

20. Delta has no grounds to sue

Delta never had tax cuts enacted in the first place; Delta had lobbied the GA legislature for quite some time to get a sweet-heart deal for special treatment on fuel taxes, as they are such a large employer in the state. These tax cuts were only proposed in the legislation; they were never on the books.

Now, Delta is just forced to pay the same for fuel as all the other carriers that fly through the Atlanta hub. It would be pretty damn hard to convince a judge to pay you compensation for that.

[ThoughtCriminal]

8. The Georgia GOP is admitting that tax breaks

are just about politics and payback.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. Delta should fire employees who suggested & approved the NRA program in first place.

Clearly it was not well thought out.

Those 13 might turn out to be relatives of the approver / suggester.

[crazycatlady]

10. Amazon will probably cross Atlanta off their list

[LanternWaste]

11. Thirteen guys whose primer gray pick-ups were up on blocks.

Thirteen guys whose primer gray pick-ups were up on blocks during the travel season.

[JI7]

12. Most gun nuts don't like to travel

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

13. On today's airlines? I'd guess most HUMANS don't like to travel.

It's a pain, flying coach, no legroom, no food, long security lines, etc. Mostly, I'd rather drive. Sometimes, I have to "bite the bullet" and fly, yucch!

[YOHABLO]

17. The GA legislature sucks. It's still a good ole boys club of RWingers.

[FakeNoose]

18. The relevant question is: how many Georgia legislators are taking money from the NRA?

I don't know the answer but my guess is, every damn one that has an R after his/her name.

This has gone far enough! Get the NRA's DIRTY MONEY out of our government once and for all.
These contributions were never right and all they've done is abuse it ever since the Citizens United ruling.

[mpcamb]

19. Wa Post article:Georgia lawmakers carried out the threat that Lt. Gov. Cagle (R) made to Del

Georgia lawmakers carried out the threat that Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (R) made to Delta earlier this week: If the airline did not restore discounted fares to NRA members, Republicans would strike down a $50 million sales-tax exemption on jet fuel from its tax-cut package. Delta, one of the state’s largest employers, would have been the primary beneficiary of the exemption

They need to publicize that 13 NRAers ever used the discount. The NRA got their membership up in arms over it and retracting the sales-tax exemption was the result.

[MichMan]

22. Wonder how many other organizations deemed to be "political" are going to lose discounts

"After the firestorm, Delta will review all its marketing programs to avoid those that might become political, CEO Ed Bastian announced Friday."

Wonder how many other organizations ( on both sides) that now receive discounts will lose them ?