Delta CEO Interview: Airline Weekly Lounge Episode 38

Delta’s new CEO Ed Bastian (right) speaking with Seth Kaplan in the Delta TechOps engine shop.  

Delta’s new CEO Ed Bastian thinks it’s great that the competition is trying to catch up to Delta in terms of operational performance. He also says, without hesitation, that the competition—namely American Airlines—won’t catch his airline and makes the case in this 30-minute interview. The interview covers a lot of ground and touches on Delta’s fleet philosophy, its network and its joint ventures around the world.

Other topics include online travel agencies, fuel hedging and the SkyMiles program. We even broach what some have called Delta’s arrogance, or as Bastian refers to it, the airline’s “maverick style.” And we learn the real reason Korean Air and Delta haven’t formed a joint venture—Bastian’s response was something we’ve never heard before.