Must-Read: A Yale Academic's Bizarre Defense Of American CEO Robert Isom

Yale Professor’s Defense Of American Airlines CEO Robert Isom Collapses Under Scrutiny

A Yale management professor has stepped into the middle of American Airlines’ labor revolt with an opinion piece so lavish in its praise of CEO Robert Isom that it demands closer scrutiny. The column, published in Fortune, purports to offer “strategic context” for American’s underperformance and union backlash, but instead reads like a gratuitous defense that collapses under even modest fact-checking. What follows is not a disagreement over styl…

Yale Dean’s Bizarre Defense of American Airlines 'Beloved' CEO Backfires—Embarrassingly Wrong On The Facts

A Yale business school dean just penned an extraordinary defense of American Airlines CEO Robert Isom, praising him as "beloved" and "resilient," while blaming Boeing and bad weather for poor profits and operational meltdowns—but literally none of his claims withstand scrutiny. I go line-by-line.

Must-Read: A Yale Academic's Bizarre Defense Of American CEO Robert Isom

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom has been widely criticized in recent times, due to the extent to which the carrier lags competitors Delta and United. This is true in terms of profitability, and it’s also true in terms of passenger experience. American’s labor groups haven’t been happy either, with the flight attendant union issuing a vote of no confidence in Isom, and the pilot union demanding decisive change. Isom has essentially responded to…