Good morning! Sheryl Sandberg testifies at Meta antitrust trial, Santander is continental Europe's most valuable bank, and the Netherland's top airline exec is on a texting basis with Delta's CEO.
- Flying high. Delta CEO Ed Bastian was on the cover of the most recent issue of Fortune, talking about how he improved the airline's fortunes through a pursuit of the premium flyer, one who's willing to pay top dollar for perks and business class rather than wait for upgrades.
Delta isn't the only airline with that strategy. Bastian himself admires KLM, the Dutch airline headed by CEO Marjan Rintel. The Netherlands wasn't a natural home for a major international hub, my colleague Phil Wahba writes in a Fortune story. The small nation has no need for domestic air travel, but has turned its Amsterdam airport Schipol into a gateway for the rest of Europe, he writes.
Rintel worked at that airport, the fourth-busiest in Europe, for 15 years, then spent another 15 at the national airline. She ran the country's national rail system before being hired back to lead KLM, which had 12.7 billion euros in revenue last year.
Her strategy has been similar to partner airline Delta's: premiumization. Lounges have sleep cabins and massages. Business-class seats have lightweight, functional doors. Bastian texted Rintel after flying KLM to compliment its service. "You have no choice but to look around the world, right? The competition comes for you otherwise,” Rintel says of seeing what competitors are doing.
KLM's fate is intertwined with its country's, and it now stares down an uncertain global economy. Read Phil's full story here.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
