Bloomberg Surveillance · Monday, July 13, 2026
Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, believes that current airfares are still 10-15% below post-COVID inflation levels, indicating room for price increases, particularly in premium cabins. He noted that while Delta achieved a strong operating margin, other airlines still face challenges in recouping costs.
“It's a look at posts COVID airfares are about ten to fifteen percent below where inflation has been, so I think there's still significant room.”
“When we look at the lower end of the market, the low fare carriers, they're still losing a lot of money. And so while Delta, which is at the top of the food chain, did very well, we represented sixty percent of the overall profits for the industry are estimated in the quarter, despite only having twenty percent share, means the other eighty percent still has a lot of work to do to get caught up.”