Ben Baldanza Has Passed Away

[Kev3188]

If you've been on this page for awhile, you know that Baldanza elicited some "strong thoughts" from labor and passengers alike during his time at US Airways. He went to (for better or worse) make Spirit what it is today, hosted a popular podast, and more. He has passed away after fighting ALS.

People often use "thought leader" perjoratively, but Baldnaza was one of the few people that wasn't afriad to make his case--and could do it well. The industry could use less people interested in looking good on CNBC and more people like that.

 

[CorvetteMan]

If you've been on this page for awhile, you know that Baldanza elicited some "strong thoughts" from labor and passengers alike during his time at US Airways. He went to (for better or worse) make Spirit what it is today, hosted a popular podast, and more. He has passed away after fighting ALS.

People often use "thought leader" perjoratively, but Baldnaza was one of the few people that wasn't afriad to make his case--and could do it well. The industry could use less people interested in looking good on CNBC and more people like that.

He was the point man during the first meeting with the company after they filed bankruptcy the second time and we had to go to Crystal City on Election Day 2004.

He wasn’t a friend of labor.

 

[Art at ISP]

While Ben and I had different views of the customer experience and the DM Program, his attempt at radical change to DM and status in August, 2002 was the spark that ignited us to form the US Cockroaches (later FFOCUS), and from then on we had a relatively successful relationship with US/HP/AA management. They didn't always listen but they sort of respected us (or the amount of revenue we represented).
Ben was always a gentleman, and a visionary. I will remember our conversations and exchanges with fondness, and even though we didn't often agree, I had the utmost respect for him. May he rest in peace.