ATLANTA- Delta Air Lines (DL) CEO Ed Bastian stated that former President Donald Trump was instrumental in supporting the airline during his first term, expressing optimism that Trump’s return to the White House could bring further benefits.
“We worked well with President Trump during his first term,” Bastian told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Delta CEO Likes Trump Presidency
Leading Delta since 2016, Bastian credited Trump with aiding Delta’s stance against Middle Eastern airlines, which Delta claims benefit from government subsidies, creating unfair competition.
“He was a strong supporter of U.S. airlines and U.S. jobs,” Bastian said, adding that Trump’s familiarity with the aviation industry could again favor Delta.
Following Trump’s recent election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, business leaders are evaluating potential impacts on regulatory policies in their sectors.
Delta, with a major hub at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, could see advantages from Trump’s hands-on approach. Bastian noted Trump’s longtime connection with LaGuardia, stating, “He’s had a plane there for years.”
However, Bastian’s relationship with Trump has had occasional friction. Trump reportedly expressed frustration when Bastian missed an Oval Office meeting with airline CEOs in 2019. Bastian had also criticized Trump’s stance on the Mexican border wall in 2017.
Reflecting on Trump’s policies, Bastian remarked, “The platform he ran on aimed to unlock business potential by assessing regulatory efficiency, easing bureaucracy, and reducing burdens.”
A Critic of the Biden Administration
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has voiced criticisms of the Biden administration’s regulatory actions, particularly in response to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s handling of recent flight cancellations linked to the CrowdStrike outage.
In September 2024, Bastian expressed frustration with Buttigieg’s Department of Transportation (DOT), which classified the widespread flight disruptions caused by Delta’s operational meltdown as “controllable.” This designation required Delta and other airlines to bear costs for meals and transportation for stranded passengers.
According to industry reports, Bastian said, “I got pretty annoyed with our secretary of Transportation.” These comments appeared on thriftytraveler.com but were later removed, as Bastian’s remarks were made at a private event not intended for media coverage.
Delta’s thousands of cancellations during and after the outage had sparked the DOT’s consumer-protection response, which Bastian found overly burdensome on the airline.
“All that was just insane. … Technology providers knock us out, and then it’s our fault?” Bastian remarked, as cited in industry reports. He expressed frustration with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s approach, suggesting it aimed more at political visibility than consumer fairness.
“You’ve got politicians running some Cabinet offices… to make inroads and get name recognition,” Bastian said, indicating his displeasure.
Bastian recounted a “private conversation” he had with Buttigieg, following the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) classification of Delta’s outage-related cancellations as “controllable.” This ruling forced Delta to cover passenger costs for meals and transportation.
Buttigieg, in turn, criticized Delta on social media, saying the DOT had received “hundreds of complaints” regarding Delta’s disruptions and customer service issues. He posted a video reading angry tweets directed at Delta.
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Change is Expected in Policy
Reflecting on Trump’s recent election victory, Bastian acknowledged Delta’s frequent interactions with agencies like the DOT and FAA, noting that he sometimes questions the political motivations behind their decisions. He anticipates a shift under Trump’s administration that will allow Delta and other airlines to “question some of the overreach” seen in recent years.
Gregory Speier, a transportation attorney with Reed Smith, echoed this sentiment, predicting that a Trump-appointed secretary of transportation may reverse some of the Biden administration’s consumer protection policies.
Transportation attorney Gregory Speier highlighted that recent regulations introduced by Biden’s Department of Transportation (DOT) were heavily publicized to benefit passengers but added substantial operational burdens for U.S. carriers.
In a written analysis, Speier indicated that the incoming Trump administration or a Republican-led Congress could ease these burdens by rolling back certain emission standards for airlines.
He also expects a Trump-led Department of Justice (DOJ) to allow mergers like the previously blocked Spirit (NK)-JetBlue (B6) merger, potentially creating new merger and acquisition opportunities in the aviation sector.
Speier anticipates that Trump’s policies would favor airline profitability, marking a shift from the current administration’s consumer protection and climate-focused initiatives. Following Trump’s election, airline industry organizations expressed optimism about collaborating with the new administration.
Airlines for America issued a statement emphasizing the goal of advancing “policy priorities that will benefit American consumers, commerce, and the economy.” Additionally, the Air Line Pilots Association pledged to work with the president-elect and Congress to “continue our country’s important efforts to keep flying safe and advance the piloting profession.”
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