Travel / news
Delta CEO Says Travelers Are Absorbing 20% Higher Fares With 'Limited Resistance'
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said Friday that customers are still buying tickets despite fare increases, and that the industry must find a way to keep revenue momentum once fuel prices come down.
Bastian, speaking on a call with analysts, pointed to roughly 20% higher fares and said customer pushback has been limited, describing the past year as proof of the industry's ability to capture more value for the product it sells.
He attributed part of that shift to a sharp, short-lived spike in fuel costs, which he said pushed carriers and travelers toward higher pricing more quickly than might otherwise have happened.
The Delta chief said the broader airline industry now faces the question of how to hold onto that revenue momentum whenever fuel prices start to recede, a dynamic that would remove the cost pressure that helped drive fares up in the first place.
Bastian also addressed the carrier's relationship with Starlink, saying the airline would not engage in any tit-for-tat over the satellite connectivity service. He did not elaborate on the specifics in the remarks as summarized.
The comments came as Delta and its peers weigh how much pricing power they retain after a period of elevated fuel costs and rising ticket prices.