Delta Airlines soared twenty-eight spots up the 2023 Fortune 500 to reach number eighty-five. Demand for air travel is bouncing back to and beyond pre-pandemic levels, and Delta's earnings are bouncing back along with it. Delta reported $51 billion in revenue in 2022, a 69% jump from the previous year. This is not the first time CEO Ed Bastian is leading Delta through a period of bouncing back. Bastian took over as CEO in 2016, but he has been in the airline's leadership ranks for twenty-five years. This means he has led the company through some seriously tough times, including 9/11, Delta's 2007 bankruptcy declaration and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this episode of Leadership Next, Bastian joined hosts Alan Murray and Michal Lev-Ram for an in-person recording in Fortune's studio. Bastian shares which crisis he found the hardest to lead through and how Delta is planning to meet this summer's unprecedented demand for air travel, which he refers to as "revenge travel." He also explains why the airline has done away with change fees and what Delta is doing to bring free WiFi onboard every flight. Additionally he shares his thoughts on the pushback against "woke ceos" - a label that's been attached to him in the past. We also hear from Bastian on developing more fuel-efficient aircraft, how Delta is using A.I., pilot and flight attendant shortages.
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