07-22-2026RAPID RESPONSE

Delta CEO Ed Bastian says the airline sees the economy before everyone else does

The outspoken executive explains why AI still has to prove it can drive growth, and why he pulled congressional travel perks during the government shutdown.

[Photos: Noam Galai/Getty Images; Daniel Shapiro/Unsplash]

Very few companies have a better real-time read on the American economy than Delta, and even fewer CEOs are more willing to say what they actually think than Ed Bastian. True to form, he shares what Delta’s booking data is telling him that the headlines aren’t, why he’s not convinced by AI until it moves his top line, and how he decided to yank congressional travel perks during the government shutdown. 

This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by former Fast Company editor-in-chief Robert Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top........

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