Delta and United End Discounts for NRA Conference

by Enoch

Yesterday, multiple car rental companies in the US announced that they will be ending discounts for NRA members. Specifically, Alamo, Avis, Enterprise, Hertz, and National are (the only) five car rental companies that have offered discounts to NRA members, and they have all decided to end the agreement. This is most likely due to public backlash against the organization following the shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Today, Delta and United both tweeted that they will also end discounts through group travel programs. Neither airlines are official sponsors of the NRA, but both have set up discounts with the NRA on flights to Dallas, where the NRA Annual Meeting will be held in May. These discounts entailed 2 – 10% off flights for groups traveling to Dallas, and will no longer be offered.

As of this writing, the NRA Annual Meeting’s website still lists the contracted discounts with both Delta and United.

Delta and United have previously offered 2 - 10% off airfares for attendees of the NRA Conference in Dallas.

Delta and United have previously offered 2 – 10% off airfares for attendees of the NRA Conference in Dallas.

Unlike the car rental companies, which ended ongoing discounts, Delta and United have simply ended one-off preferential pricing, since they do not offer discounts to NRA members in general. These special agreements or discounts usually involve group travel of more than 10 passengers, and are not uncommon for big conferences. For a destination like Dallas, where American Airlines and Southwest have a strong presence, it’s no secret why Delta and United would want to otherwise incentivize flyers. Both Delta and United have responded to media inquiries from Think Progress; Delta pointed out that these discounts are pretty routine, while United said that this is “standard meeting agreement process.”

Obviously, this isn’t a “ban” or anything to NRA members, since they can still buy tickets to fly to the conference, just like anybody else. However, airlines obviously have the option to choose who they offer discounts to, and by pulling the discount, it’s clear that they are taking a stance here—either at a corporate level, or as a reaction to public feedback.

On Twitter, airlines are getting backlash from both sides of the conversation, which isn’t unexpected.

In some cases, Delta’s response is actually pretty tongue in cheek.

This isn’t the first time we have seen corporate entities take stances on politically charged issues, and I’m sure it won’t be the last one.

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5 comments

LARRY FRABITORE February 24, 2018 - 11:11 am

I am not a member of the NRA but do support the 2nd as well as all amendments!! I will not support any company that punishes people for how they think.

Reply
George February 24, 2018 - 1:12 pm

Just as a matter of ckarification, since we’re talking corporate, not brand policies, that’s just three rental car companies: AvisBudget Group, Hertz and Enterprise Holdings.

AvisBudget Group is the parent company of Avis, Budget, Payless and ZipCar. Hertz is the parent company of Hertz, Dollar, and Thrifty. Enterprise Holdings, meanwhile, is the parent company of Enterprise, National and Alamo.

Reply
George February 24, 2018 - 1:16 pm

Please review the Twitter excerpts you’ve posted. Are you sure they’re the right ones? They don’t seem to match your comments.

Reply
Gizmosdad February 24, 2018 - 9:27 pm

Larry,
How is “no longer offering a sale” a “punishment” ?

Reply
Finally February 25, 2018 - 7:19 am

Small steps began. Great job on DL and UA.

Reply

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