Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines Inc., during an interview in New York, US, on Monday, November 7, 2022.
Jeenah Moon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian said the Trump administration's approach to regulation could be a “breath of fresh air.”
In a speech ahead of the Delta Investor Day, Bastian noted that newly elected President Donald Trump was campaigning and said he would take a “fresh look” at regulations and bureaucracy.
The U.S. Department of Transportation, under Secretary Pete Buttigieg, has issued a raft of rules aimed at protecting consumers, some of which have been pushed by the airline industry, including one this year requiring airlines to automatically refund travelers pay when an airline cancels a flight. .
Bastian said the sector has seen a “level of overreach” over the past four years.
The department also investigates lucrative airline loyalty programs, which earn airlines billions of dollars and help them stay afloat. Current DOT leadership is seeking information on how airlines can unilaterally change the value of frequent flyer points.
Delta said Wednesday it expects revenue and profit to grow in the coming months and years, pointing to resilient consumer demand and sharp growth in household wealth since the pandemic.
Trump has named former US congressman and Fox Business host Sean Duffy as his choice to lead the department. Duffy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other U.S. airline CEOs have expressed enthusiasm for the new administration and urged new officials to ensure the industry has adequate resources to support air traffic control, which falls under the Federal Aviation Administration, and other key pieces of infrastructure to improve.
'We must invest in this sector' US airlines CEO Robert Isom said this last week at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas. He said there is more work to be done to approve more visas so people can visit the US
Said in an interview last week Sun Country Airlines CEO Jude Bricker said, “We just need stability and resources at the DOT.”
Industry members and analysts also expect the new government to be more open to mergers and consolidation.
Alaska Airlines acquired Hawaiian Airlines this year without opposition from President Joe Biden's administration. However, Biden's Justice Department won court challenges to block two aviation deals: a proposed acquisition of Spirit Airlines, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, by JetBlue Airways and a partnership between JetBlue and US airlines in the Northeast, which was approved in the final days of the first Trump administration.
“Maybe this administration would take a different position,” Sun Country's Bricker said. “You certainly can't beat it anymore.”
