The ongoing government shutdown has ensnarled US airports just weeks away from the holiday travel season. The shutdown officially ended Wednesday evening amid a House vote.
“It’s been very disruptive for the last week — when you go in with no notice and you just arbitrarily reduce the amount of flying in the system for all of us, it’s incredibly disruptive for our customers,” Delta (DAL) CEO Ed Bastian said at Yahoo Finance’s Invest event on Thursday.
Bastian added, “It’s our industry that forces, I guess, even government to get back together and to open up … The good news is that I anticipate we’ll be fully up flying very, very soon in the next day or so.”
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The FAA’s plan led to a 4% cut in flights beginning Friday, Nov. 7, ramping to 6% on Tuesday. By Thursday, the reduction was slated to hit 8% and finally 10% on Nov. 14.
Bastian, who has led Delta since 2016, said people need more from government leaders and the company has made its points known with elected officials.
“Do your job, do your job. And I understand there’s disagreements, but it should not come at the cost of asking people to work in particularly in high stress, in incredibly sensitive areas without pay for weeks on end. That’s inexcusable.”
Bastian is no stranger to nightmarish operational issues.
As the longest-serving CEO of a major US airline, Bastian steered Delta through the COVID-19 pandemic. He joined Delta in 1998 and helped the company through bankruptcy and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The government shutdown comes as Bastian is pushing forward with a host of upgrades to the travel experience, from opening new Sky Lounges to overhauling the planes’ decor.
The company expects sales of premium seats will overtake its traditional main cabin offerings in 2026. That would be a first for Delta — and a full year earlier than previously expected.
The premium seat efforts show in its financials. Delta’s third quarter operating profits rose 23%, driving a 14% improvement in earnings per share. September quarter revenue increased 4.1% over the prior year to a record $15.2 billion.
The company took up its full-year profit guidance to the top end of its prior range.
“Simply put, we continue to view Delta as the industry leader among full-service airlines,” JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker said.
Baker rates Delta stock at an Overweight or Buy equivalent.
Out of the 22 sell-side analysts that cover Delta, 95% rate the stock a Buy, according to Yahoo Finance data.
