Delta CEO Ed Bastian Talks Airlines Industry, Jet Fuel Costs

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Delta CEO Ed Bastian Talks Airlines Industry, Jet Fuel Costs

Podcast: Bloomberg Talks
Host: Bloomberg
Guest: Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines
Date: May 14, 2026

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Overview

In this Bloomberg Talks episode, recorded at the Cancelo Sparks Summit in Napa Valley, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian discusses the state of the airline industry amidst global uncertainties, the impact of jet fuel costs, Delta’s response to evolving consumer demand, the company's investment in talent and innovation (particularly AI), and sustainability efforts. The conversation highlights Delta’s adaptive strategy, focusing on premium services, technology integration, and future-proofing through environmental and workforce initiatives.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. US-China Relations and Post-Pandemic Travel Recovery

Timestamps: [00:20]–[01:21]

• Key Insight: The US-China travel market has not rebounded to pre-Covid levels; current travel is “less than half of what it had been.”
• Quote:

  "It’s the one market of the world where travel actually has not returned to post Covid levels. In fact, it’s less than half… because the two countries… have been decoupling a little bit."
  — Ed Bastian [00:47]

• Bastian emphasizes the importance of building trust and improving relations as essential steps for industry recovery.

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2. Jet Fuel Costs and Delta’s Mitigation Strategies

Timestamps: [01:31]–[02:42]

• Jet fuel prices have “doubled” since conflict erupted in the Middle East, adding more than $2 billion of costs in the current quarter, which translates to a $10 billion annualized impact.
• Delta’s Strategy:
  • Resilient brand and a “willingness to pay” among premium customers means Delta can pass on roughly half of these cost increases.
  • Owning a refinery near Philadelphia allows Delta to save $200–$300 million in the current quarter, “more than twice what we paid for it.”
• Quote:

  "First, jet fuel prices have doubled just since the start of the conflict... on a run rate basis, it’s almost $10 billion a year."
  — Ed Bastian [01:44]

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3. Premium Consumers and Demand Resilience

Timestamps: [02:42]–[03:50]

• Delta focuses on high-end travelers whose demand remains strong—even increasing in periods of geopolitical instability.
• Noted post-Covid consumer psychology: travelers are now proactive, seizing opportunities rather than waiting out crises.
• Quote:

  "...People understand. Typically when wars happen, people pull back and sit back. We've been through so much change, so much disruption... I’m not going to sit and wait to see what the next headline is going to be. I’m going to go now."
  — Ed Bastian [03:22]

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4. Network Expansion: Route Selection and Transatlantic Growth

Timestamps: [03:50]–[04:42]

• Despite industry challenges, Delta is launching new European routes (Sardinia, Malta, Porto), driven by strong US-outbound demand.
• European inbound travel to the US remains muted, but Americans are eager for international experiences.
• Quote:

  “...We're launching just in the next week to Sardinia... to Malta... to Porto. Just in 3 brand new routes... That tells you where the consumers want to be and who they are.”
  — Ed Bastian [04:05]

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5. Investing in Talent: Wages and Company Culture

Timestamps: [04:42]–[05:50]

• Delta recently announced a 4% company-wide wage increase—consistent with its annual spring schedule—even amid soaring fuel costs.
• Bastian views “human capital” as Delta’s most important asset, essential for delivering a premium experience and weathering tough times.
• Quote:

  “It’s the most important investment I make... human capital is the most important capital that we have.”
  — Ed Bastian [05:00]

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6. Industry Change: Consolidation, Competition, and Survival

Timestamps: [05:50]–[06:53]

• On Spirit Airlines’ recent struggles: Bastian attributes Spirit’s failure to a “bad product” and strategy, not fuel costs.
• Delta and other airlines are hiring ex-Spirit staff, signaling ongoing “rationalization” in the industry.
• Notes lower-tier airlines can’t sustain price competition in the current cost environment.
• Quote:

  "They went out of business because they had a bad product that people didn’t want. It was a bad strategy. Good people with a bad strategy."
  — Ed Bastian [06:08]

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7. Innovation and Technology: Delta as a Tech-Forward Airline

Timestamps: [06:53]–[09:43]

• Bastian frames Delta as a technology company—"tech for human sake," not just automation.
• Discusses integrating AI as “augmented intelligence,” empowering employees rather than replacing them.
• Relates a story of using AI to help write a commencement speech; found the result “very sterile” and lacking in human warmth.
  • "I love to call AI augmented intelligence. I don’t know why we have to call it artificial." [07:20]
  • "The soul, the warmth, the appreciation—not some algorithm of me." [08:26]
• AI is not seen as a cost-saving tool in customer service, but a means to enhance service quality, productivity, and ultimately, growth.

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8. Sustainability and the Future of Air Travel

Timestamps: [09:43]–[11:03]

• Delta remains committed to clean energy, with sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) as a “pathway”—although progress is slow, expensive, and requires multi-stakeholder support.
• Improvements are happening in engine technologies, weather forecasting for safer and more efficient flights, and engagement in innovative projects (e.g., Jet Zero to cut emissions by 50%).
• Quote:

  "Sustainable aviation fuel is going to take a long time. That's the ground war. But actually the opportunities are in the sky."
  — Ed Bastian [11:03]

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|--------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:47 | Ed Bastian | “It’s less than half... because the two countries... have been decoupling a little bit.” | | 01:44 | Ed Bastian | “Jet fuel prices have doubled... on a run rate basis, it’s almost $10 billion a year.” | | 03:22 | Ed Bastian | “I’m not going to sit and wait to see what the next headline is going to be. I’m going to go now.” | | 04:05 | Ed Bastian | “We’re launching just in the next week to Sardinia... to Malta... to Porto.” | | 05:00 | Ed Bastian | “Human capital is the most important capital that we have.” | | 06:08 | Ed Bastian | “Good people with a bad strategy.” | | 07:20 | Ed Bastian | “I love to call AI augmented intelligence.” | | 08:26 | Ed Bastian | “The soul, the warmth, the appreciation—not some algorithm of me.” | | 11:03 | Ed Bastian | “Sustainable aviation fuel is going to take a long time. That’s the ground war. But... opportunities are in the sky.” |

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Conclusion

This episode spotlights Ed Bastian’s multifaceted leadership at Delta: confronting geopolitical risk, volatile fuel prices, and industry disruption—while doubling down on people, premium branding, innovation, and sustainability. As Bastian puts it, Delta aims to blend advanced technology with the human touch, ensuring resilience for both customers and employees in the rapidly evolving airline industry.

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Transcript

[Commercial Narrator]

Indiana University strengthens tomorrow's workforce with practical real world experience. IU grads make a difference in your community, serving as teachers, nurses and engineers who rise to tomorrow's challenges and meet them. Learn more at iu.edu impact,

[Bloomberg Host]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News yes, I'm very pleased to be in Napa Valley. It's a tough life for some at the Cancelo Sparks Summit here with Ed Bastian, the ce, the CEO of Delta. And this entire event is about leadership and boy are we being confronted for moments of leadership right now. Two leaders of the world, the two key economies meeting at the moment. And I'm interested as to how you see us, China and whether it impacts your business very much.

[Ed Bastian]

First of all, thank you for having me and it is fabulous to be out here. I think it's everyone's top of mind right now in our business in transportation. It's actually interesting. It's the one market of the world where travel actually has not returned to post Covid levels. In fact, it's less than half half of what it had been because the two countries, not just economies, have been decoupling a little bit. So it's so important the fact that we have our, our leaders of both countries together talking about how we can start back again to start building trust and creating better relationships.

[Bloomberg Host]

Now that coupling, in many ways the conversation has been around a geopolitical moment of anxiety when it comes to conflict in the Middle East. That has big implications for your business.

[Ed Bastian]

Absolutely.

[Bloomberg Host]

Now, can you remind our audience, TV and radio, how much you've seen jet fuel increase for the business and how you've managed to weather it because you put plans in place over the years that you've been running this business to ensure that you can really weather such shots.

[Ed Bastian]

Yeah. So several things. First, jet fuel prices have doubled just since the start of the conflict. So over the last 30, 60 days, we've had at Delta over $2 billion of higher costs. In the current quarter, on a run rate basis, it's almost $10 billion a year. So huge amount of money the way we've managed that. First, a brand that is resilient, that people understand fuel prices are up, we're going to have to find ways to cover it. We have a consumer base that is willing to pay a higher cost. Not we're not covering the whole thing. But in the current quarter we're expecting to cover relatively half of the increase in price in a relative short period of time, which is pretty good. The second thing we did over over a decade Ago we bought our own refinery on the east coast and the Delaware river outside of Philadelphia. Foresight. And in this quarter alone we expect to save somewhere between 2,300 million dollars of cost, fuel cost, which is more than twice what we paid for it.

[Bloomberg Host]

So you're able to in many ways try and mitigate it for a consumer, but a consumer that you have very thoughtfully tailored yourself towards being more premium ultimately. How are you thinking about Delta leaning into that as we continue to see a remarkably resilient consumer willingness to spend and to travel?

[Ed Bastian]

Well, there's, there's, there's several consumers out in the marketplace. People talk about the consumer. Our consumer is a high ranked consumer and is incredibly resilient. We have seen the demand strength right throughout the year. In fact, when the war started, it seemed like it even ticked up another notch. So we're seeing significant growth and we're continuing to see significant growth.

[Bloomberg Host]

Another notch. Suddenly people were like, I need to buy now.

[Ed Bastian]

I think there's a little bit of that, I think more important that people understand. Typically when, when wars happen, people pull back and sit back. We've been through so much change, so much disruption. There's so many things coming at people and I think some of this is the post Covid effect. I'm not, I'm not going to sit and wait to see what the next headline is going to be. I'm going to go now. I'm going to go as long as I feel safe and be willing to invest in myself, invest in our experience, see the people in the places I need to be at.

[Bloomberg Host]

You've been willing to invest in even new routes just in the last week or so, announcing that you're going to be going to certain parts of Europe. So transatlantic routes, because it's dining off a moment of space, sport and football. But how do you decide which routes are working for you right now? Which ones you open, which ones you slow down?

[Ed Bastian]

Well, our routes to the, to the Atlantic, to Europe are doing very, very well now. I would say exit Europe. Travelers point of sale into the US has been down a bit and, but that's a trend that we've seen for, for several years. But Americans specifically are going to Europe. We're launching just in the next week to Sardinia for launching to Malta. We're launching to Porto just in 3, 3 brand new routes for us in the midst of everything going on. So that tells you what, where the consumers want to be and who they are. And they're, they're principally Americans wanting to invest in their experiences we are with

[Bloomberg Host]

Bastion, the CEO of Delta. For our TV and radio audiences at Bloomberg. I'm interested in how you also invest in your people because you've actually increased wages in this inflationary environment. In a time where you're just saying you've got 2 billion more in costs of jet fuel, how tough is that to do for you? Or is it just a no brainer?

[Ed Bastian]

On the, on the surface you would think it'd be difficult. But when you understand our strategy, when I talk about our asset, our most important asset are our people. It's our culture protecting the people that get us through tough times. It's an even more important time to invest in them. So we were pleased to announce a couple of weeks ago that we'll be increasing everyone's wages, the company by 4% starting June 1st. That's our typical schedule every year, sometime in the spring that we, we announce the increases. And it's the most important investment I make. You know, there's a lot of things about this business that cost a lot of capital. Yeah, but human capital is the most important capital that we have. And particularly in times of trouble, because they're the ones that are keeping customers coming back and providing that premium experience and opportunity for our brand to continue to rise.

[Bloomberg Host]

In times of trouble comes opportunity, particularly when you're on such solid footing. Look, in many ways, do you look at talent that now comes on the market very sadly because of what's happened with Spirit, or are you thinking about the way in which the industry is going to change around you? Because you might see consolidation, not might not be from you, but it might be more broadly the way the market has to go.

[Ed Bastian]

Well, you're seeing rationalization. Whether it's consolidation or not, I don't know. But you're seeing rationalization because when fuel prices at this level, companies such as Spirit, by the way, which didn't go out of business because of fuel prices, they went out of business because they had a bad product that people didn't want. It was a bad strategy. Good people with a bad strategy. And we've hired a fair number of the Spirit people, as many of the other airlines are bringing their equipment in. Our industry continues to rationalize itself. And if you've got a good product that people are willing to pay for, you can grow. And you see at the lower end of the marketplace, those airlines that don't have the quality of the experience, even though they're a lower price point, they can't afford to offer the lower prices in the environment which we're in with

[Bloomberg Host]

that pressure on prices, there might be this worry that companies are more anxious about innovating, investing in innovation now. And time and time again, we have you actually on our tech show because you're so aligned with the tech area. Joby. I think of the way in which you've thought about the future of travel. You're also thinking about the future of premium flights. And wheels up is another area in which you've worked with. How are you, how are you thinking about innovation at this moment in time?

[Ed Bastian]

Innovations are like airlines. People think about as a transportation company, airlines are a technology company. And whether it's the, the, the app and the ability to give consumers better control of their experience, better information, better displays, whether it's our own people having better data to make better information, whether it's the engine technologies we deploy, you know, we're in, in the high tech business, fundamentally, but it's tech for human sake. And I think that's the other thing in this AI world, a lot of people get confused. Tech for tech sake? No, it's tech to make our people smarter. I love to call AI augmented intelligence. I don't know why we have to call it artificial. It should give people tools to do a better job and then it gives them the opportunity to preserve and grow their development, not actually limit their opportunity.

[Bloomberg Host]

You've actually just made a commencement speech, I believe, where you used AI initially to maybe put thoughts to paper of what you were going to say and then you ripped it up. You said, I have to use a pencil here. What. What was it that you feel that I can bring to you as an individual, I can bring to your employees augmented. What is it that they can't?

[Ed Bastian]

Well, I did that and it was more out of curiosity. I was never intending, but I was just curious because I was in the middle of writing it and I said, I've never done that before in terms of used AI for something like that. So let me see. And I've done commencements in the past and it came out that it was. But it was very sterile. It wasn't my voice. People wanted to hear me and who I am. The soul, the warmth, the appreciation, not some algorithm of me. And so I. And by the way, I thought the speech went quite well. That got the biggest applause from everyone in the room because there is such lack of trust in the technology.

[Bloomberg Host]

But there's also anxiety. Look, there's a whole world of new graduates who are worrying about jobs that they're going to get worried about displacing them. How are you talking about your employees, about doing that? Because I'm sure you're using AI to benefit and ensure that we're more productive. But does that come at the cost of actual people that you hire?

[Ed Bastian]

Well, no, not necessarily. I think that over time it's going to make us better. It's going to make us smarter, not less. Better able to serve customers, be able to provide more attention to needs, give better information to support. No. So I, I do not believe that AI in our industry is principally a cost saving measure. It's an opportunity to develop better service. And if you have better service, you're going to have better growth and better revenues.

[Bloomberg Host]

And thinking of innovation, Many have hoped that we'd see innovation solve some of our climate issues. Some of that cleaner jet fuel, for example, how are you able to balance that in this moment as well?

[Ed Bastian]

We're still paying attention to it. Sustainable aviation fuels is our, is our pathway. It's hard, it's expensive. There's not a lot of technology that's being deployed. We're continuing to invest in it. We need all stakeholders around the table. We need government, we need customers, we need the energy companies to participate. I'm impressed. We're seeing improvements there, but it's been very slow.

[Bloomberg Host]

And you are able to remain committed for your stakeholders in a transition to a cleaner output from the aviation?

[Ed Bastian]

Yes. And I think the biggest thing that people miss, it's not just the sustainable fuels, it's the better engine technologies. It's about being able to forecast the skies, the turbulence and whatnot, so that we can, we can provide safer, more reliable, actually cleaner service through the air using technology. They're looking at new forms of transportation. And Jet Zero is a company that we've been involved with where they have the opportunity to reduce air fuel emissions by 50%. And I think over the next decade, you will see planes flying with, with such a significant amount less amount of fuel being utilized. Those are the, those are the moonshots. So sustainable aviation fuel is going to take a long time. That's the ground war. But actually the opportunities are in the

[Bloomberg Host]

sky and the opportunities are with leadership. And that's exactly what we're talking about throughout this day at the Concierge Spark Summit. Bastian, what a joy to have you with us.

[Commercial Narrator]

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