Microsoft strikes back at Delta in conflict over system collapse

(Bloomberg) — Microsoft Corp. said Delta Air Lines Inc. declined repeated offers of assistance following last month’s catastrophic system outage, echoing claims from CrowdStrike Holdings Inc.

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Microsoft employees reached out to Delta to provide technical support every day from July 19 to July 23, and “each time Delta declined Microsoft’s offers of assistance,” according to a letter sent Tuesday by the attorneys. from the technology giant to Delta representatives. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also personally emailed Delta CEO Ed Bastian and never received a response.

“Even though Microsoft software did not cause the CrowdStrike incident, Microsoft immediately stepped in and offered to help Delta free of charge,” according to the letter, which was signed by Mark Cheffo of Dechert LLP.

The claims, in response to Delta’s hiring of lawyer David Boies, add to tension after Delta suggested it would try to seek compensation for a collapse it expects to cost $500 million this quarter. The airline’s recovery was slower than competitors after an erroneous software update from CrowdStrike affected Microsoft’s systems, creating a ripple effect that led Delta to cancel thousands of flights over several days.

Bastian criticized CrowdStrike and Microsoft over the outage, telling CNBC in an interview last week that Microsoft is “probably the weakest platform in this space” when it comes to large technology providers.

Delta’s extended recovery time resulted from the effects of the outage on an internal system used to process changes to flights and their crews. This left Delta unable to properly align its aircraft and personnel.

The US Department of Transportation has opened an investigation into Delta’s handling of the breakdown and the airline could face a fine from the agency depending on its findings. Southwest Airlines Co. was fined $140 million by the DOT in 2023 after a collapse of its operation in late December 2022 left more than 2 million passengers stranded.

Microsoft’s rebuttal comes after CrowdStrike said in a similar letter on Sunday that Delta had declined offers of assistance. CrowdStrike also said Bastian did not respond to personal contact from its CEO, George Kurtz.

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