ATLANTA — It’s an extremely rare interview that was months in the making. Channel 2’s Karyn Greer sat down one-on-one with Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian.
As Georgia’s largest non-government employer, Delta has an impact on our entire state.
This year, the company is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Greer spoke with Bastian about Delta’s legacy, the company’s challenges, and what’s ahead.
Delta’s impact on Georgia
“It really is a very, very great time for the airline business. And Delta is leading the way,” Bastian said.
Delta employs nearly 37,000 people in Georgia, with most of them working at its Atlanta headquarters and out of Delta’s largest hub, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
“We are proud to call Atlanta home,” Bastian said.
Delta operates around 5,000 flights a day worldwide, serving more than 81 million passengers in Georgia in 2024.
Delta’s success is pivotal to the state’s success.
In its 100-year history, Delta’s had a nearly $58 billion economic impact in Georgia.
“We sit in a very good spot in the economy. Our brand has elevated. We’re seen as the premium brand in the marketplace, on a global scale, not just a local level, and people do pay a premium because they expect higher-level service and they’re getting it,” Bastian said.
“There’s a lot of economic uncertainty right now. Businesses are taking a look at their models. How do you think Delta is positioned right now?” Greer asked Bastian.
“We just reported our earnings for the third quarter the other day and we did great. Generate profits of $1.5 billion, reinvested a significant amount of that profit back into new fleet, new airplanes, airport lounges.”
“What is the biggest obstacle or concern facing all airlines right now?” Greer asked Bastian.
“I think the question for us is the consumer confidence. Delta’s confidence is very high, that people traveling on Delta are a higher-end economic strata. On the lower end, economic strata, that’s where the airline industry, the lower, whether Spirit and bankruptcy or others are having some challenges,” Bastian said.
“The federal government is in a shutdown right now. Is that affecting operations at all for you?” Greer asked Bastian.
“It isn’t really. First of all, we want, obviously, those workers that are really essential to us to be paid, and they are being paid. They haven’t lost a paycheck at this point in time. If it goes on a few more weeks, I think you’ll start seeing a little bit of stress in the system,” Bastian said.
But there is stress when it comes to air traffic controllers. They received a check on Tuesday for the hours they worked before the shutdown.
They will not get paid again until lawmakers agree to pass a budget. On top of that, they are dealing with an aging infrastructure.
“I’ve heard you talk about the nation’s air traffic control system being antiquated. What would you like to see the federal government do to make it better?” Greer asked Bastian.
“Well, we already have a down payment of $12 billion that we received this year from Congress. We appreciate that. It’s not enough. It’s just an initial down payment. The air traffic control systems in our country haven’t been modernized, updated in over 50 years. I don’t want to scare anybody. It’s safe. But the way they keep it safe is they slow everything down. They slow it until it’s safe, and that’s not a great way to run a transportation business,” Bastian said.
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Safety in the skies
It has been a successful year for Delta, but also a challenging one, with a few notable incidents.
Bastian is assuring passengers that flying is safe.
“Flying is the safest form of travel there is, period,” he said. “It’s safer than walking across the street. It’s safer than riding a bike. It’s more than walking cannibalically down the street. There’s not a safer form of transportation. And the reason why is that we take safety so seriously.”
Delta has had its issues over the last year.
Earlier this month, two Delta connection aircraft collided on the tarmac of LaGuardia Airport in New York.
In a separate incident, a Delta Airbus made an emergency diversion to London-Heathrow Airport after fumes filled the cockpit. And in February, a Delta connection flight crash-landed in Toronto.
“It’s a highly technical business. I mean, these are the 5,000 flights a day, we’ve got a lot of moving parts, and sometimes you have incidents, as you refer to, but no loss of life. Some bumps and bruises once in a while, but very seldom. And people really appreciate the care that we take of them. You know, we spend so much time training our staff constantly, over, over and over,” Bastian said.
He told Greer that the company is committed to holding the highest safety standards. That involves a massive maintenance hangar here in Atlanta -- The largest such facility in all of North America.
“Planes are in every 24 to 36 hours. They’re getting constant reviews and constant overnights that we call them. Those, after a few years, get a much more extensive overhaul and rebuild,” Bastian said.
Celebrating 100 years
Bastian calls the people who make up the team, “the Delta difference,” and they got a big thank you during a celebration 100 years in the making.
Atlanta’s own “Ludacris” performed for tens of thousands of Delta employees on Saturday night at their centennial bash at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
In the crowd, some of the employees who’ve made a career with the airline.
“A hundred years to me means we’re still climbing, we have more to go as my colleagues said, and I think that we’re on track to be the best and we’ve always been the best,” Delta flight attendant Kikki Mattocks told Greer.
As Bastian leads a team of more than 100,000 employees worldwide, he said he does it by fostering a special workplace culture.
“What got us to 100 years first before anybody else is that we listened to our founder, Mr. Wolman, who 100 years ago said, ‘Take good care of your people and they will take good care of your customers who will reward you with their loyalty and the returns to your shareholders,’” Bastian said.
Part of “taking care of their people” includes an annual profit-sharing plan.
“Your leadership style is really described as purpose and people-driven,” Greer said to Bastian.
“You’ve got to be authentic, and you’ve got to let people know, particularly in hard times, what exactly is going on to be transparent and authentic. And as a result, that’s where you build that trust between the leadership model and the frontline teams, as well as the community and your customers,” Bastian said.
“Ed is a very forward-thinking leader, and he has done a great job of making sure that Delta has been seen not only as a corporation, but as an entity that really supports its community,” said Charisse Evans, Delta Air Lines Vice President of Customer Service, Field Support, and Cargo.
Delta’s employees played a crucial role during what was perhaps the defining moment in the company’s history.
In January 2007, Delta was in bankruptcy, and there was a takeover battle. U.S. Airways tried to acquire Delta, offering creditors $11 billion.
“We got the creditors to side with us, to turn that offer, and say ‘Delta, we want your management team, we want your business plan running it.’ All of our employees, all of our community, all of the local politicians stood up as one and said, ‘Keep Delta my Delta.’ And we re-lit the ‘Fly Delta Jet’ sign over our maintenance space that evening,” Bastian said.
It is that resiliency they celebrated Saturday, and the spirit to keep Delta going another 100 years.
“We’re always looking at improving. And that’s one of the things that makes Delta the best, is that we’re never satisfied with where we’re at. We always want to be better, no matter what,” said Delta Air Lines Safety Employee Alaina Anlauf.
“I love this company, if it’s not obvious, and I love the people,” Bastian said.
Flying into the future
Bastian told Greer that there is a lot ahead, including plans for a “Delta One Lounge” at Hartsfield-Jackson.
“What else can they look forward to coming from Delta?” Greer asked Bastian.
“A lot of growth, particularly international. You know, we’re looking at our second century of flight being the focus on international,” Bastian said.
And with all the growth in Georgia, Greer asked Bastian about the need for expansion.
“We don’t need a second airport. We may need a sixth runway at some point in time. I think we probably have a sixth runway at some point in time, when you think of the growth that this airport has. The beauty of Atlanta and why it’s the No. 1 airport in the world is its design. It was built modular. So, you continue to add, and add, and the beauty of add is that you only have one place to go, and you could go anywhere,” Bastian said.
As far as the rest of 2025, a lot of preparations as the U.S. prepares to host the FIFA Soccer World Cup in 2026, featuring matches in Atlanta.
“This is a great place to bring people because of the airport, access from the airport right here to the stadium where we’re sitting. There’s always a nervousness about that because there’ll be so many people coming, but we’re going to do our best to have them all remember the great time they had in Atlanta,” Bastian said.
You could also soon take an air taxi to your Delta flight. Bastian is leading the airline partnership with Joby Aviation to allow Delta customers an all-electric air taxi service from their homes to airports -- just another way they are looking ahead to the future of aviation.
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