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In the latest public relations battle, Microsoft joined CrowdStrike to push back against recent criticism of Delta Air Lines, claiming the carrier denied technical assistance as a result of the outage that forced it to cancel more than 5,000 flights.

In a letter sent Tuesday by Mark Schaffo of Dechert LLP, a lawyer representing Microsoft, the tech firm accused Delta of promoting an inaccurate narrative surrounding the nearly weeks-long downturn in late July. The letter, a copy of which was seen by TPG, was sent to David Boies, a well-known attorney whom Delta said it is retaining to pursue damages from CrowdStrike and Microsoft.

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“Delta’s public comments are incomplete, false, misleading and damaging to Microsoft and its reputation,” the letter said. “The truth is very different from the false picture you and Delta have sought to paint.”

CrowdStrike sent a similar communication to Delta on Sunday.

Delta CEO Ed Bastin said on CNBC last week that the July 19 outage and its aftermath cost the airline $500 million and that it will seek damages from CrowdStrike and Microsoft. CrowdStrike provides security software for Microsoft’s Windows operating system, which runs several Delta technologies. Thousands of Microsoft-based networks and systems were accidentally set live after a flawed CrowdStrike software update crashed.

In Tuesday’s letter, Microsoft, through a lawyer, said the Washington-based company offered Delta daily technical assistance starting July 19, when the outage began, until July 23, as Delta began to get more of a handle on its operations. , but that Delta rejected every offer.

The letter referred to a specific communication on July 22 in which a Delta employee told a Microsoft worker that the situation was “all good” and declined assistance, and said that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emailed Bastian on July 24 to offer assistance. But there was no reply. .

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Microsoft also claimed that the systems that caused Delta’s extended operational meltdown did not depend on Windows.

“In fact, it’s quickly becoming clear that Delta likely refused Microsoft’s help because the IT systems it was having the most trouble restoring — its crew-tracking and scheduling systems — were being serviced by other technology providers, such as IBM, because it runs those providers’ systems, and not Microsoft Windows or Azure,” the letter said.

Instead, Microsoft accused Delta of failing to ensure that its systems were adequately designed to withstand disruptions.

“Our initial review indicates that Delta, unlike its competitors, has not apparently modernized its IT infrastructure for the benefit of its customers or its pilots and flight attendants,” the letter said.

While numerous airlines across the US and globally – including American Airlines and United Airlines – were forced to completely ground their operations during the outage, most were able to get their operations back on track within a day or two once the fix was applied, with some exceptions. . Residual delays and cancellations.

Delta, however, struggled for about a week, eventually canceling more than 5,000 mainline flights and hundreds of regional flights between July 19 and July 25, according to data provided by FlightAware.

Department of Transport Investigating A prolonged disruption, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last month.

In public communications after the initial outage, Delta cited problems with crew scheduling software, while an internal memo to staff, seen by TPG, repeatedly offered incentives to off-duty crew members to take trips as the airline struggled to accommodate displacement. Crew back into position.

Afterward, Bastian told CNBC that the airline was more reliant on CrowdStrike and Microsoft than other carriers, using those companies’ products for more of their systems.

“If you have access, priority access, to the Delta ecosystem in terms of technology, you have to test this stuff,” Bastin told CNBC last week, referring to a faulty CrowdStrike software update that caused the outage. . “You can’t come into a mission-critical 24/7 operation and tell us we have a bug. It doesn’t work.”

In Tuesday’s letter, Microsoft said it would “vigorously” defend itself against any claims by Delta, and demanded the carrier preserve related documents. In a sign of the public relations battle, the tech firm specifically called on Delta to “maintain any communications with third-party media and/or public affairs consultants regarding the crowdstrike incident and Delta’s outage, and Delta’s communications strategy and/or public affairs. Third parties in such documents including communication internally and externally.”

Delta could not immediately be reached for comment. This story will be updated if Delta responds.

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