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- [00:00]
Prime Video Promo Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human this summer. Find your next obsession on Prime. Steamy romance, addictive love stories and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice off campus, Elle, the Love Hypothesis and more. Slow burns, second chances chemistry you can feel through the screen. It's all here. Binge worthy series. Can't miss movies. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime.
- [00:30]
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Amazon presents Laura vs Fruit Flies hide your bananas. These winged demons came to your kitchen to do two things. Eat fruit and and they're all out of fruit. But thankfully Laura shopped on Amazon and saved on cleaning spray, countertop wipes and fly traps. Hey fruit flies. Your baby boom ends here. Save the everyday with Amazon. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back tested against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comDisclosures
- [02:03]
Firestone Tires Sponsor Announcer
Real value shows up in reliability. You don't have to second guess. Like a set of Firestone All Season tires, they're designed to deliver confidence inspiring wet weather, traction and a quieter ride no matter the road, season after season. Firestone All Season tires for durability you can count on just like people count on you. Firestone always dependable since 1900.
- [02:35]
Newt Gingrich
Welcome to Newts World podcast on the iHeart podcast network. You know it's amazing to watch. With the war in Iran and problems in Ukraine and everything else, the US job market remained very solid in April even though energy costs went up. Data showed that employers added 115,000 jobs last month, which was more than people expected and unemployment was steady at 4.3%. And I think this indicates that President Trump's drive for more domestic production, for more manufacturing, and for more investment in America is really beginning to pay off. April was the second consecutive month of strong job growth, which to me says that the labor market may be in the process of breaking out, and we might see a Trump boom by the end of the summer, particularly if the war ends and the price of oil comes down. The March numbers actually were revised up a little bit to 185,000. Now we are closing the week with oil prices higher, but US Stocks rose further because companies are having very good reports on their profitability. And I think that overall, that's pretty good reason to be optimistic about where we're going in terms of the economy. On the other hand, the US School systems are going to go through a wrenching readjustment because the fact is there are fewer students, both because the number of children being born in the US Is going down and because a lot of people are going through school choice to a variety of other schools than the traditional bureaucratic schools. The number of students in bureaucratic schools in kindergarten through 12th grade has fallen in 30 states since the mid-2010s. And this means you've got huge bureaucracies that are designed for much bigger populations. And of course, the public teachers union is going to fight like crazy to avoid any comparison. And a drop in cost and drop in employment. The US Fertility rate is now at a record low. It's fallen 24% since 2007, when it peaked. But this is, by the way, a worldwide phenomenon. China's dropped. South Korea has dropped. Japan has dropped. Europe has dropped. Switzerland just had, for the first time, more people over 60 than under 20. We're gonna have to really readjust a lot of things. Public schools have lost more than a million students, while, by the way, the cost of them keeps going up. The Baltimore city schools, which is one of the worst school systems in the country, is the third most expensive. Children are moving to private schools, to homeschooling, to charter schools, to virtual schools. And there are fewer children than the population at large. I think you're gonna see some of these really big unionized school districts in a real crisis over funding and over explaining why they have to remain as big as they are, as they have fewer and fewer students. All of this, I think, is gonna lead to a certain amount of turmoil. Coming up, I'll be joined by Peter Carter, the president of Delta Air Lines. That's next.
- [05:44]
Prime Video Promo Announcer
Obsession is in session and this summer, prime has everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice off campus.
- [05:55]
Peter Carter
This is the part where I tell
- [05:58]
Newt Gingrich
you all the things I want to do to you.
- [06:00]
Prime Video Promo Announcer
Elle.
- [06:01]
Newt Gingrich
Can you think of anything more fun
- [06:02]
Prime Video Promo Announcer
and fearless Every year after the Love Hypothesis, Sterling Point and more slow burns, second chances chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime.
- [06:19]
Amazon/Public Investing Sponsor Announcer
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosure is available at public.comdisclosures
- [07:21]
Firestone Tires Sponsor Announcer
Real value shows up in reliability. You don't have to second guess. Like a set of Firestone all season tires. They're designed to deliver confidence inspiring wet weather traction and a quieter ride. No matter the road. Season after season. Firestone All Season tires for durability you can count on just like people count on you. Firestone always dependable since 1900.
- [07:50]
Xumo/Zumo Play Sponsor Announcer
Deciding on what to listen to is hard. Using Xumo to stream music from iheart 90s radio is easy or play Iheart Country Classics radio or hip hop Beats your choice.
- [08:00]
Amazon/Public Investing Sponsor Announcer
All for free.
- [08:00]
Xumo/Zumo Play Sponsor Announcer
Stream Easy with Zumo Play. Get live and on demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle. Get cozy on the couch and binge your favorite movies like the Cable Guy starring Jim Carrey, the Bounty Hunter starring Jennifer Aniston and more. All streaming free on Zumo Play. Go to play.zumo.com now life is hard. Xumo is easy.
- [08:26]
Newt Gingrich
I am really Pleased to welcome my guest and very good friend, Peter Carter, president of Delta Airlines. Peter, welcome and thank you for joining me on Newt's World.
- [08:37]
Peter Carter
Newt, thank you. I'm really looking forward to our conversation today. It's always great to be with you.
- [08:43]
Newt Gingrich
I've flown on Delta most of my adult life. It's an amazing airline. Before joining Delta, you spent 23 years as a trial lawyer specializing in litigation. How did that path eventually lead you into the aviation industry?
- [09:01]
Peter Carter
Well, it's a great question, Newt. Like most things in life, you never know how a person you meet along the way or a matter you handle along the way could have ramifications, consequences in your future. And for me, the person was Richard Anderson. Richard Anderson was at one time the CEO of Northwest Airlines, and prior to that, he was general counsel of Northwest Airlines, and prior to that, had managed litigation at Northwest Airlines. And so I had done trial work for Northwest Airlines before Delta bought Northwest Airlines and got to know the team there very, very well. Richard went on to become a senior executive at UnitedHealth Group, one of the largest companies in the world and the largest health insurance company, certainly in America. And he happened to join that company just when they faced a big crisis involving the backdating of stock options. You may recall when that was a big issue that rocked corporate America. And at UnitedHealth Group, it actually resulted in the removal of their quite innovative CEO, a guy named Richard McGuire. And Dr. McGuire had built that company into what it was. And so Richard Anderson was basically in charge of managing that whole, I'll say, debacle, and hired me to represent the board in various matters. After that, he went to Delta to become their CEO. And at some point, he called and he said, peter, I'd like you to be the chief legal officer. And so I think it was the relationship, like most things nude in life, the people you meet along the way matter and the relationships you develop. And then the matters I had handled for Richard led him to want me to be at his side, which I will forever be in his debt, and forever I will always be grateful to him for bringing me in, because it's just been an incredible bunch of years at Delta since.
- [11:23]
Newt Gingrich
What did you learn as a litigator that you found applied in life outside the courtroom?
- [11:29]
Peter Carter
It's such a good question. What I found was, first of all, an appreciation for the. I'll call it narrative, almost storytelling, because I did try cases. I'm a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Every case that would be presented to me, it was almost like A political campaign created an opportunity to tell a story about all of the cast of characters, the issues, the events. And I learned that every story needed really to at some level, appeal to either fear or love, if that makes sense. If you were telling the story to a judge or a jury, fairness to a sense of what was right or what was wrong, you had to really boil down even the most complicated matters to something that simple. And so I think it really taught me the importance of storytelling, the importance of being able to take the very complicated concepts and simplify them. And then the other thing I think, and this is something I think lawyers are very good at, Newt. Lawyers are good at what I call being rough and ready. And what I mean by that is they're good at jumping into situations, evaluating them, understanding them, and then trying to drive solutions. And I think those skills have really served me well as a business person at Delta.
- [13:06]
Newt Gingrich
Without question, where your work, when you were purely a lawyer, was litigator, when you move into Delta, isn't in a sense your desire to avoid litigation?
- [13:19]
Peter Carter
Yes, I would say that's true. You want to avoid litigation. But what I think it does is if you've tried a complicated securities case or antitrust case, it allows you, instead of saying to your business partner, oh, that's a minefield, avoid it at all costs. I think if you've been through litigation, you're able to say, here's how you can walk through the minefield, right? Here's the path you can take. And so, yes, you want to avoid it, but you also want to be able to provide the kind of counsel and guidance that allows your business partners to really, I'll say, accelerate whatever the objectives of the day may be, because business involves risk, including taking legal risk. And so you have to make sure that you're able to provide that kind of advice, as opposed to, you would think it may be so that a litigator would be so risk averse that they wouldn't be able to actually help the business partner make those decisions. But I have found the opposite to be true.
- [14:37]
Newt Gingrich
Years ago, when I was in Carrollton, the largest independent wire manufacturer in the world was Southwire. And I used to go and see Roy Richards, who was the founder, had become extraordinarily successful. And he said the key to his success was he was a Georgia Tech engineer. And he was the only CEO in that business who was an engineer. He said all the other guys were finance people who had to turn to an engineer to see if something would work, whereas he knew automatically from his engineering background, how far he could push. He said, I can always take 10 or 20% more risk than the other CEOs, because I actually know what I'm doing.
- [15:20]
Peter Carter
I think that that is extremely interesting. And I do think that every discipline, historian, lawyer, engineer, brings a certain, I think, strength with them. I mean, obviously, we all have our areas that we need to get stronger in, but we do have that strength. And I do think that my trial experience, my litigation experience, has served me well. In some respects, you're less afraid, if that makes sense.
- [15:52]
Newt Gingrich
You can actually calculate where the cliff is.
- [15:55]
Peter Carter
Exactly.
- [15:55]
Newt Gingrich
You'd spent all these years at a major international law firm. What was the difference? I mean, you walk in, you have a desk, you get started. What was the difference culturally between being part of the senior management of a giant airline and being a partner at an international law firm?
- [16:13]
Peter Carter
A couple things. One is, when you leave a law firm, you go from a revenue business generator, right, part of the revenue machine, to basically part of the support function in a large company. And you have to make that mind shift. Day one. You have to understand that you're there to make everybody else better, stronger, faster. When you're in a support function of an organization with 100,000 people, that's one thing. The other thing is it's critical, I think, that whatever part of we call the G.O. the General Office you're in, you have to make sure that you're adding value to the enterprise. Because you can imagine that in a complex organization, it's easy to lose sight of that, and especially when you're managing professionals, which lawyers are professionals, and paralegals and others. So I think those are two big things. The third thing I'd say is no matter what experience you have representing a company like a Delta Airlines, on the outside, what you see from the outside is like looking through a keyhole.
- [17:39]
Newt Gingrich
Loot.
- [17:40]
Peter Carter
And then when you walk in the door and you spend some time getting to know the folks you're working with, it's almost like a whole wall falls away, and you see this vivid landscape, which is much deeper, much more dynamic, much more colorful and complicated than you ever imagined when you were looking through the keyhole. And it's funny because I talked to so many people who fly Delta, and they have an experience as a passenger. And as a passenger, I don't think people realize that there are something like 5,000 procedures that have to go perfectly every day for our flights to be safe, clean, on time, with bags, in addition to us providing the welcoming, elevated, caring service we provide it's an endlessly complex business that is more sensitive to the geopolitical dynamics than I think probably any business, at least that I can think of. I'm sure there are others, but we are among one of the most sensitive to those dynamics, which makes it so fun. Right? That's what makes it Great.
- [18:51]
Newt Gingrich
I spent 20 years representing Delta in Congress in the sense that I represented the Atlanta Airport and also the Hampton FAA center. And I would go regularly just to sort of meet people, talk to them. But you go from the jet base to the operations center to the airport itself to the head offices. It is an enormously complicated system. And I think people often don't realize that all of these different parts have to work 365 days a year.
- [19:25]
Peter Carter
It's so well said, Newt. We have 5,000 flights every day, 200 million passengers a year. And it is, to me, not just the ultimate team sport, but it's also the most, when it's working, which we pride ourselves on our operational prowess, it is also the most elegant, I'll say, choreography that you can imagine. So we're very proud of that and again, hopefully seems easy to our customers, but you can imagine that there are just thousands of people and processes to make sure that you have that safe and wonderful experience that we seek to deliver every day.
- [20:12]
Newt Gingrich
I have two experiences I want to share with you that sort of, I think, for our listeners may help bring this really to life. My older daughter, Kathy, got to serve as an intern at Delta when she was in college. And she arrived and she had this supervisor who was physically huge. Kathy's not gigantically big. And he was like 6, 4. And he said, I'm glad you're here. You're going to have a great summer. I'm sure you're going to go to a lot of fun outside work. But he said, I have two rules for you. One, you will be here on time every day because we're going to depend on you because you're going to do real work. Two, if you were assigned a child to take from one plane to another plane and you lose the child, I kill you. He said, so as long as you remember these two rules. She loved him. He was one of the great training moments, probably more than most of her college classes, but that was review. I went by one day because you have a. In order to have all this stuff work, you gotta train all the pilots. So you have a huge, very sophisticated pilot training center. And they had me come over one day and they allowed me to get on the 757 Simulator. And I landed it at the Atlanta airport. And they looked at me when it was over and they said, you know, you wrecked it about a half mile short of the Runway, but you were so lined up that the wreckage would have come straight down the Runway. But it was a reminder that even at something like Atlanta, which is a pretty straight in thing, those guys have to know a lot and they have to be 100% correct every single time they do.
- [21:54]
Peter Carter
And I take my hats off to our pilots because they are so professional, they're so committed to excellence, years of training, right. To end up in a Delta cockpit. And, you know, our safety record speaks for itself. And that's all been through partnership with the FAA and our safety management system. And one of the great things about the US Airline industry, Newt, is that we do not compete on safety. Instead, we all work very hard together to try to constantly improve safety. And if there's any issues, ever, any intrusions, any near misses, any event fully reported, fully discussed, fully analyzed, there will be changes made as a result. And that's just in our DNA, which is why it's the safest way to travel in the world today.
- [22:49]
Newt Gingrich
Let me ask you, you get inside Delta, you're now transitioning. What surprised you the most about this transition into the airline industry?
- [23:00]
Peter Carter
So a couple things. One is how an airline like Delta has to have deep partnerships with governments. And I'll give you a couple examples. Our factories are the airports. And the airports are not owned by us. They're owned by, by local authorities. So we have to have great relationships with the local authorities that are running our airports. Our national airspace is managed by the faa. So there's no daylight between Delta and the faa. And again, it's a partnership. The FAA is obviously a regulator, but it's not the typical relationship one would have with our regulator. We work together with them each and every day, all day. And then when you think about the countries we serve, we need to, through the State Department, obtain traffic rights to serve any nation in the world. And so again, that requires us to be very close to the State Department, but then also to the governments of the countries that we serve, because you can imagine that when we land in countries matters and making sure that they have the right safety systems matters, and just blocking and tackling of how an airport operates in every country truly matters to us. And so that was a big surprise. And Newt, I was not somebody that had traveled the world before I joined Delta. I'd been to England. I had lived in Latin America. As a young man in Colombia, I was actually a Catholic missionary right out of Notre Dame, but really had not seen the world at all. And all of a sudden I was thrust into a position of having to interact, negotiate with Ministry of Transportations all around the world, which was fascinating. You can imagine how much I learned quickly about how to work with different governments. And I think since my Joining Delta Now 11 years ago, I think I've been to at least 40 countries, but many countries, and still counting, and it's been endlessly fascinating.
- [25:21]
Newt Gingrich
When I was on the Aviation Subcommittee, I would get briefed regularly on various negotiations. The State Department really had to work to get some of these places to A, make a decent deal and then B, keep their word.
- [25:34]
Peter Carter
It's so true because, you know, we have something called open skies treaties with many countries, but, you know, you can have that treaty, but countries need to abide by those treaties. And your skies aren't open if you don't have access to airports. Your skies aren't open if the only access you have is at 3 in the morning. The way they actually manage the operations and the slots in some airports is what determines whether or not there's fair and open access. And our State Department has done a really good job. And frankly, the Trump administration has really enforced those agreements more than I can think of any administration in my memory, which I really give them a lot of credit for, because there's no question that whether it's the Netherlands, Mexico and Ireland's and other, they've been requiring those countries to make sure that US carriers have the access that the carriers of those countries have to our country, which is important, that there's that, I'll call it equipoise.
- [26:41]
Newt Gingrich
Really appreciate that you've been there now about 11 years. How has Delta evolved in that period?
- [26:51]
Peter Carter
Eleven years ago, we were really focused, I would say, on figuring out how to differentiate the cabin with different products, different seats, and pricing accordingly. When we started, for example, something called Comfort plus, which was a set of seats with more pitch and better snacks, and our customers would pay more. We've been segmenting the cabin ever since because one of the insights we had was our customers want to have options new, and so we need to make sure we have the option for the business traveler to buy front of the cabin. We have also the option for the student with a backpack who just wants basic economy and doesn't need any frills. That was a, I'll say, a journey. We started 11 years ago and today we're now at the really end of the journey, I'll say, where we've truly, I think, led the industry in creating premium seats and options for customers so that they can, in essence, choose the experience they want to pay for. And that's put us in a great position. In between when I started 11 years ago and today, of course, was Covid. And during COVID I think it was such a test of the resilience of our people, because people forget at the time we were burning $100 million of cash every day. And I don't say this lightly, but it truly was an existential threat to us as a company and to the industry, because it wasn't just us. Everybody stopped traveling for all the reasons you can appreciate. Nobody knew what was going to happen with COVID And by the way, one of the things that I think President Trump doesn't get enough credit for is fast tracking that vaccine, which changed the world and obviously got people back traveling again. We got through Covid without laying off a single employee, which was, I think, such a testament to our discipline. And the way we did that, by the way, Newt was one, is we went to Congress, and with the President's support, we were able to get the CARES act, which we were a great recipient of. And the funds that we got from the CARES act went right to our employees. So we had to use, under the terms of it, those funds to keep our employees employed. And then the other thing is, we asked employees if they would take furloughs, and we had 40,000 employees take furloughs, which meant for a period of time they would be unpaid. 40,000 people did that in order to allow us to get through that whole crisis without burning as much cash as we would need to otherwise. And I'm very proud of Delta people because we got through Covid, and I believe we exited Covid stronger than we entered it because of that test, by the way, we didn't have to force our employees to be vaccinated. We created incentives. We did all sorts of things to encourage, but we didn't force. And in the end, I think 90 plus percent of our people ended up getting vaccinated by their own choice. But I think that's one of those things you can't force people to do. And I feel like the resilience that was shown through that will serve Delta Air Lines into the next decades because it's who we are now. It's in our character, it's in our blood.
- [30:58]
Newt Gingrich
Between May 2nd and 3rd, you all had to cancel about 350 flights and delay a couple hundred more, apparently because of crew scheduling issues. How does that happen and how do you cope with it?
- [31:10]
Peter Carter
It happens for a couple reasons, Newt. We have a pilot contract that resulted in a new system in which pilots, when you have an open trip, so we schedule almost a year ahead of time and we put the bid out to cruise some months ahead of time. But between when the bid for a flight is taken and the flight, there are many reasons why a pilot may not be able to cover that flight. For example, they might have an illness or they might take a vacation, whatever it might be. When that happens, you have what's called an open trip. And what we're finding is that when in the past we have an open trip and we have a very, very high level of reserves ready to volunteer to cover that trip, and for whatever reason during certain times of the year, and sometimes it's weekends and holidays, there aren't as many reserves available to cover those trips. And it's something that because of our current contract seems to have, I'll say, shown up more recently. And it's something that in the course of our current negotiation, because that contract opens up at the end of the year, we're going to fix. We need to make sure that the incentives are right so that we have enough reserves ready to volunteer when pilots raise their hand and say, cannot cover this trip for this reason or that reason. And remember, there are very good reasons why pilots can't cover trips. Fatigue is one of them. If you wake up and you don't feel well, it's a very serious thing as a pilot because you need to come and be your sharpest self. And so that could result in an opening at the very morning of those then are the trips we need to make sure that we have the pilots in the right place, incentivized to cover. So that's the issue and it's being addressed. And I have the utmost confidence in our crews that they want to find a way to help us not cancel those flights because they are proud to have the best operating airline and don't want our passengers to be inconvenience. But right now our system is a little bit, I'll say misaligned in that respect.
- [33:54]
Newt Gingrich
When we come back, we're going to discuss the future of Delta Air Lines under Peter's leadership.
- [34:00]
Prime Video Promo Announcer
Obsession is in session. And this summer, prime has everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice off campus.
- [34:11]
Peter Carter
This is the part where I tell
- [34:14]
Newt Gingrich
you all the things I want to do to you.
- [34:16]
Prime Video Promo Announcer
Elle can you think of anything more fun and fearless every year after the Love Hypothesis Sterling Point and more slow burns second chances chemistry you can feel through the screen your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime Support for the
- [34:36]
Amazon/Public Investing Sponsor Announcer
show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc, SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comDisclosures
- [35:37]
Firestone Tires Sponsor Announcer
Real value shows up in reliability. You don't have to second guess Like a set of Firestone All Season tires, they're designed to deliver confidence, inspiring wet weather traction and a quieter ride no matter the road, season after season. Firestone All Season tires for durability you can count on just like people count on you. Firestone always dependable since 1900.
- [36:06]
Xumo/Zumo Play Sponsor Announcer
Deciding on what to listen to is hard. Using Xumo to stream music from iHeart 90s radio is or Play I Heart Country Classics radio or hip hop beats, your choice. All for free. Stream easy with Zoom o Play. Get live and on demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle. Get cozy on the couch and binge your favorite movies like the Cable Guy starring Jim Carrey, the Bounty Hunters starring Jennifer Aniston and more. All streaming free on Zumo Play Go to play.zumo.com now life is hard. Xumo is easy Foreign.
- [36:41]
Newt Gingrich
We're going through lots of changes with technology, but when you think about sort of the next era of Delta, what do you think will define it most?
- [36:51]
Peter Carter
I think the future for us is truly global I think that we are recognized today as the leading US Airline. We have to earn that, keep that, keep climbing, as we say. And we serve 93 different destinations globally. But we're not recognized as the number one global airline. And I think for us to do that, we need to do a couple things. One is we need to make sure, Newt, that our customers, that their international journeys are seamless. And that requires us to have the best partners with the best hubs and their systems to be fully integrated with ours. It also means, I think, that we need to serve more of the white spaces on the map, which we will do. I think the Middle east is underserved. I think Africa, a developing market, while we're the number one carrier from America to Africa, I think that's a market that will grow. India, we don't serve India directly today. That's a market that we will serve in the future. Globally, one out of five persons has flown on an airplane. If you look at the markets that are developing around the world, whether it's South America, Southeast Asia, China, India, it's more like one out of 20. And those are the markets that will grow. Those are the markets with growing middle classes, and those are the places we need to grow. And I truly believe that as we connect the world, which we want to be, the airline that can say no one better connects the world. I do think one of the benefits of connecting the world is bringing people together. Newt, I believe, does make the world a better place. I think it drives economies. I think it plants seeds around democracy and education as people from around the world see more of us and we see more of them. And so one of the things that I'm going off your question a little bit, but I kind of view that goal of being truly the best global airline as truly a noble mission and purpose. We also have to be the airline that really finds a way to use AI to truly augment the experience for our customers and to truly augment how our people take care of our customers. Because one of the things we know is that airlines, I think really, for as long as we can see realistically, will be always a people business. I don't think our customers ever want to get on an airplane without flight attendants and pilots. That's just, I think, 100 years away. So we're really steadfast on making sure that we can tame AI, use AI in a way that unleashes our people to really delight our customers.
- [40:17]
Newt Gingrich
So in a sense, if I understand you, you look at both AI and robotics and other things. These are supplements, not replacements.
- [40:26]
Peter Carter
They're tools. Absolutely.
- [40:29]
Newt Gingrich
Coming up, we'll discuss the future of air travel and how aviation will change over the next decade.
- [40:37]
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- [40:48]
Peter Carter
This is the part where I tell you all the things I want to do to you.
- [40:52]
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Elle, can you think of anything more fun and fearless every year? After the Love Hypothesis, Sterling point and more slow burns, second chances chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime.
- [41:11]
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Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available@public.com disclosures.
- [42:13]
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- [42:42]
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- [43:12]
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- [43:20]
Newt Gingrich
When you arrive in 2015. Eleven years ago, did you think the airline industry would look like it does now? What has surprised you the most?
- [43:30]
Peter Carter
So what has surprised me the most is that consumers post Covid have truly voted with their pocketbooks in that they want to pay a little bit more for better experiences. Now, we're still as an industry below where inflation has gone since COVID But before COVID Spirit, for example, had some of the best profit margins in the industry. And as we know, as of a week ago, Spirit no longer exists as an airline. I would have never ever guessed that the ultra low cost model would have been under siege the way it is today. Frontier is struggling, JetBlue is struggling. Spirit is no longer in business. That is probably the biggest surprise, Newt, in my mind, at a time when
- [44:26]
Newt Gingrich
we hear about affordability, et cetera, you're seeing a migration of people willing to pay for the experience.
- [44:34]
Peter Carter
I think part of it is we see it as the experience economy. I mean, people do want a little bit more space and they want to have in flight entertainment and they want to be able to have a Diet Coke. They just want the simple things. And if that means you pay a little more, we find that our passengers are willing to pay a little more. We still, though, even as an airline that prides itself as the premium carrier, you know, our margins are still single digits. It's a tough business. We have high capital costs, we have high labor costs, and of course we have gargantuan fuel costs. And so you have to manage all of those things. I think when that K shaped economy is something that we have benefited from without question. And I think those that are catering to more of the folks who are truly pressured, I'll call them lower income consumer. I think those are the airlines that are struggling because of the affordability challenges that they're having.
- [45:40]
Newt Gingrich
The people who really are affected by affordability may not be able to fly. And the people who aren't affected want more choices and more options.
- [45:49]
Peter Carter
I think that's right. And yet we do have a basic economy product that is every bit as affordable. We don't have endless seats, of course, but if you're someone who really wants to fly Delta and is someone who is willing to sit in the back and be in basic economy, it's incredibly affordable. Still, I think the statistic, Newt, is that if you look at inflation, which is about 25% since COVID I think airline tickets are pretty close to break even since COVID So we've got a ways to go to even meet where inflation went. Now. I think recently with the spike in fuel costs, our prices have gone up in order to recover some of those costs. So my guess is we're probably getting closer to that rate of inflation. But we're still, I'm confident below the rate of inflation post Covid. So in some respects, even if you buy the front of the cabin, it's a bargain.
- [46:49]
Newt Gingrich
You had to work very hard to innovate on the cost side faster than inflation drives you up.
- [46:57]
Peter Carter
Exactly.
- [46:58]
Newt Gingrich
I think I may have over 3 million miles on Delta. I was back and forth every weekend. I mean, you can really build up a lot of miles when you do that.
- [47:06]
Peter Carter
You were a commuter.
- [47:08]
Newt Gingrich
Yeah, I really was. My experience has been, particularly in the last decade, if you go online and you're patient, it is amazing the bargains and it's amazing the difference in total price. People in that sense need to be good shoppers if they're concerned about it. But, you know, I do want to also remind our listeners this is a brief commercial for an airline I've lived with for a long time that if you want to, you can not only book a flight, but you can also book where you're going to stay. You can book a car, you can book a vacation or a cruise line. It's amazing what Delta has done to integrate all that information flow. And you can do it@Delta.com and I know this personally to be true, Peter, I think you're going to be a great leader. We're good friends and I know you're approaching this in a very positive and dynamic way. And I just want to thank you for joining me. I think people will find it interesting to learn the background and the history of a person who's now one of the great leaders worldwide in aviation.
- [48:10]
Peter Carter
Well, Newt, thank you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate our friendship going back to when you represented more Delta people than any member of Congress. And whenever I'm visiting folks who are in your seat, when Drew Ferguson held it now, Brian, Jack, I always remind them that they're sitting in your seat in Congress and they're big shoes to fill. You've been a great advocate for the industry. You've been a great, I think, advisor throughout. So thank you for that and really enjoyed our conversation today.
- [48:47]
Prime Video Promo Announcer
Obsession is in session and this summer crime has everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice off campus.
- [48:58]
Peter Carter
This is the part where I tell
- [49:00]
Newt Gingrich
you all the things I want to do to you.
- [49:02]
Prime Video Promo Announcer
Elle.
- [49:03]
Newt Gingrich
Can you think of anything more fun
- [49:05]
Prime Video Promo Announcer
and fearless every year after the Love Hypothesis, Sterling Point and more slow burns second chances chemistry you can feel through the screen your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime Support for the
- [49:22]
Amazon/Public Investing Sponsor Announcer
show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc, SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comDisclosures
- [50:23]
Firestone Tires Sponsor Announcer
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- [50:52]
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Deciding on what to listen to is hard. Using Zumo to stream music from iheart 90s radio is easy or Play Iheart Country Class Classics radio or hip Hop Beats your choice. All for free. Stream Easy with Zoom O Play. Get live and on demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle. Get cozy on the couch and binge your favorite movies like the Cable Guy starring Jim Carrey, the Bounty Hunter starring Jennifer Aniston and more. All streaming free on Zumo Play Go to play.zumo.com now life is hard. Zumo is easy.
- [51:29]
Newt Gingrich
Now I'm pleased to introduce a new segment to Newts World where I answer listeners questions. If you would like to ask a question, please email me at newtingrich360.com Michael from Florida asks, do you think the government should have intervened to rescue Spirit Airlines from going bankrupt and grounding planes? At one point President Trump talked about a $500 million bailout or takeover to save the 14,000 jobs. I have to tell you, as both as somebody served on the aviation subcommittee for 20 years and as a conservative who always distrusts government direct involvement, I can't imagine anything worse than having the federal government start getting involved in saving this airline or that company or this company. If you look at what liberals tried to do, they poured billions into various companies that were going to do brilliant things who then went bankrupt, leaving you and me holding the debt. So I think somebody will step in, the price will drop and their airlines, all of their aircraft will get used and things will move forward. But I think it'll be a very bad thing in any industry for the US Government to start being the defender of last resort. And it will totally mess up the whole process of free enterprise, which is designed to say you've got to work hard, you've got to please the customer, you've got to make money, and the burden is on you to do that. I do look forward to hearing from you. If you'd like to ask a question, remember you can email me at newtingrich360.com thank you to my guest Peter Carter. Nurture World is produced by Gingrich360 and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is Goran Z. Sloan. Our researcher is Rachel Peterson. Special thanks to the team at Gingrich 360 if you've been enjoying Newt's world, I hope you'll go to Apple Podcast and both rate us with five stars and give us a review so others can learn what it's all about. Join me on substack@gingrich360.net I'm Newt Gingrich. This is NewtWorld.
- [53:43]
Firestone Tires Sponsor Announcer
Real value shows up in reliability. You don't have to second guess. Like a set of Firestone All Season tires. They're designed to deliver confidence, inspiring wet weather, traction and a quieter ride no matter the road, season after season. Firestone All Season tires for durability you can count on just like people count on you. Firestone always dependable since 1900.
- [54:12]
Xumo/Zumo Play Sponsor Announcer
Deciding on what to listen to is hard. Using Xumo to stream music from iheart 90s radio is easy or play Iheart Country Classics Radio or hip hop beats your choice.
- [54:21]
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All for free.
- [54:22]
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Stream easy with Zumo Play. Get live and on demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle. Get cozy on the couch and binge your favorite movie like the Cable Guy starring Jim Carrey, the Bounty Hunters starring Jennifer Aniston and more. All streaming free on Zumo Play. Go to play.zumo.com now. Life is hard. Xumo is easy.
- [54:43]
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Peter Carter
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Newt Gingrich
over $23 an hour with free skills training programs and apprenticeships to move into higher paying roles.
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Learn more@aboutamazon.com
- [55:13]
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the wait is almost over. Get ready for the NFL season with the highly anticipated 2026 NFL schedule release. Every rivalry, every every rematch and every
- [55:24]
Peter Carter
rookie debut with matchups locked and kickoffs confirmed.
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Be there for every can't miss moment. The full NFL Schedule release coming in May.
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- [55:42]
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this is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.