WEBVTT - Businessweek Talks- Delta CEO Ed Bastian 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:03.040 This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Carol Masser and I'm 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:05.600 Jason Kelly. We're here every day bringing you the latest 0:00:05.640 --> 0:00:09.880 news from the world's of business and finance, plus technology, politics, economics, 0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:13.560 all harnessing the power of Bloomberg Business Week reporters and editors, 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:16.760 not to mention our journalists and analysts and more than 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:19.440 a hundred and twenty countries. You can download Bloomberg Business 0:00:19.440 --> 0:00:22.280 Week on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot Com. You can 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:24.600 also listen to our radio show weekdays at two pm 0:00:24.640 --> 0:00:27.800 Eastern only on Bloomberg Radio. So ed, So much going 0:00:27.840 --> 0:00:31.440 on in the world. Let's start on the sort of 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:36.720 geopolitical geo economic front, the trade war. Are you seeing 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.080 any blowback through your business from that? Not in a 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:44.519 material way. We're seeing some effects, particularly in Asia. Uh, 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:47.680 they tend to be more around our big corporate customers, 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:52.720 automotive manufacturing that that are not seeing the same type 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:54.960 of demand for their products, so they're pulling back some 0:00:55.040 --> 0:00:58.200 of their spend and travel patterns. But Asia for us 0:00:58.280 --> 0:01:01.200 is one of the smaller regions than our total revenue 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:03.680 pie and uh, we're not We're not seeing a white 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:06.200 We're watching it hopefully, but we're not seeing a major 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:09.240 a major decline. And so on a week like this 0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:13.800 when you see yet another geopolitical issue in the Middle East, 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:18.040 obviously disruption in the oil market, how does that play through, 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:21.440 if at all, for you in terms of your fuel costs, 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:24.800 in terms of your hedging strategies, any elements that are 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:27.880 sort of popping up there, Well, it's a reminder of 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:32.120 how volatile the business climate, the environment in which we operate. 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:34.920 That said, you know, we're already seeing fuel prices start 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:37.560 to moderate, you know, after the spike over the weekend. 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:41.240 We've built our business to be sustainable at much higher 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:43.679 fuel prices than sixty five dollars print, which is worths 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.640 trading today. So we're on the front end of that 0:01:47.000 --> 0:01:50.920 h anticipating what we might face in terms of future 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:54.800 future challenges. But from a revenue durability standpoint of balance 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:58.160 sheet perspective, we think we're pretty well situated. So let's 0:01:58.160 --> 0:02:01.600 talk about your investors. You know, you have won a 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:04.600 lot of plot. It's from your customers and there's some 0:02:04.640 --> 0:02:07.960 investors who are very much on board, and by certain 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:10.720 measures the stock has done very well, but by other 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:14.079 measures that it feels a little bit stagnant. Uh dare 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:17.520 I say it? Uh? What's the street missing? Well, I 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:20.000 think it's is. It's a proven story. You know, our 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:24.519 largest investor, Warren Buffett, he owns eleven percent of Delta. 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:27.160 I think he has a great line is about our industry. 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:29.680 We were like the Chicago Cubs of the of the 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:31.519 business world. You know, we didn't have a bad decade. 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:34.640 We had a bad century, and we're we're on a different, 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:37.560 different platform now. We've you know, the last ten years, 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:40.720 we've really invested in the fundamentals of running a great 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:45.240 airline with reliability and performance and service levels unseen in 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:48.639 Delta's history and candidly within the industry as a whole, 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:51.440 in terms of scale. That's been been rewarded by our 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:56.200 customers with customer satisfaction scores and brand loyalty and preference 0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:59.280 at levels we've never seen before, which we're taking back 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:02.040 and continuing to reinvest in the customers, reinvest in our 0:03:02.080 --> 0:03:05.240 airports and our technologies, while at the same time generating 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:07.520 you know, meaningful free cash flow. I think that's the 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:10.920 other thing the investors historically have not seen from the airlines. 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:13.640 While the airlines may have performed at certain periods of time. 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:17.240 They also spent back what they what they made on 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:21.280 on labor, on technology, on on capital and and fleet. 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:25.760 We're doing that, but we're also returning a meaningful amount. 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:28.040 So this year, Delta we expect to make over five 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:30.440 billion dollars for the fifth year in a row in 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:33.040 terms of profits, but we'll also have free cash flow 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:36.080 delivery this year of over four billion dollars. And so 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:39.280 I think that that performance and that consistency of performance 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:42.520 over time is rewarding. And I do think that that 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:45.480 investors will will stay with us and and hopefully see 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:48.280 see improvements in the p So there has been a 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:50.800 bit of a divergence. It feels like across the global 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:54.119 airline industry. You feel like it feels like you're you're 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:55.480 one of the have so that there may be some 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:57.640 have nods out there. Are we going to see some 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:01.400 more consolidation and will you participate in that? I don't 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:04.320 think you'll see consolidation in a meaningful way in the US. 0:04:04.400 --> 0:04:07.119 You may see it in in it's made other other 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:10.360 parts of the of the airline market not necessarily participating 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:14.440 relative to Delta. Internationally, I do think you'll see Uh, Europe, 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:17.520 you're already seeing it. You're seeing bankruptcies in Europe in 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:19.440 terms of some of the European carriers. I think you'll 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:22.880 continue to see some consolidation trends there. Uh So on 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:25.560 the on the global scene, that's where we've been investing. 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:28.040 We've invested in a number of our partners and really 0:04:28.080 --> 0:04:31.160 not consolidation. It's more to have influence within within our 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:34.440 our global network of carriers. Uh you'll see more of 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:36.599 that from Delta potentially, but I don't think on the 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:39.400 US side you'll see and what do those partnerships tend 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.240 to look like now and what might they look like 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:45.279 in the future, either geographically or are there new and 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:47.840 different things that that you can try to sort of 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:50.680 create that that family as it were. Sure, Well, you know, 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:52.640 one of the things I think that has not been 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:55.400 successful in the airline world are the alliances. You know, 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:58.200 we we am self critical SkyTeam Alliance. I don't think 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:00.839 we've we've brought a lot of great I too, customers. 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.239 I don't think we've brought a lot of great value 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:05.920 to our member airlines. And we're going at this thing 0:05:06.040 --> 0:05:07.960 in a very different approach. We're going at it through 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:12.159 Delta making bilateral investments in the most important partners. We 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:14.640 own forty nine percent of Virgin Atlantic. We own forty 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:18.200 in Mexico, the two closest carriers to us on either 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:23.000 side of of the country. We're invested in Air France KLM. 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:25.880 We've invested in Korean, We've invested in Shahna Eastern, We've 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:28.680 invested in gold Down in Brazil. And as a as 0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:31.680 a consequence, what you see is you see this network 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:35.480 of influence that we're having within those companies. So those 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:37.800 companies want to know what what Delta has learned about 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:42.120 operational efficiency and prowess and in premium. We want to 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:45.080 learn what it takes to win in those local markets. 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:48.400 And then over time, while we can't own them in 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:51.719 terms of whole owned consolidation, we can have meaningful enough 0:05:51.760 --> 0:05:56.039 investment that we create an international network of carriers that 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.320 will be uniquely tied where you have Delta as as 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:02.080 the center p That's that's our goal. And when you 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:05.400 think about the long term, UH to think of Delta today, 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:08.120 we serve two hundred million customers a year. Right, if 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:11.440 you add the customers from all those carriers I just mentioned, 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:15.120 you're up to over five million customers a year that 0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:18.000 we serve. There's never been an airline network and an 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:23.120 air airline, you know, combination. You forget consolidation that delivers 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:26.280 that kind of value across geographies. We have an opportunity 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:28.279 to create that. And so do you have people knocking 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:30.279 on your door at this point saying, yeah, why don't 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:33.000 you come over and uh spriakles having that magic tuk on. 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:34.920 There's there's there's there's a lot of a lot of 0:06:35.000 --> 0:06:37.919 questions going on and conversations at all times. And you know, 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:40.600 we answer, we answer every knock that that cars. Some 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:42.960 we answer some way. Some we say no, we can't, 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:45.839 we can't do that. But there's there's a there's there's 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:48.919 there's a strategy here that's unique within the industry. The 0:06:48.920 --> 0:06:50.680 other groups are not doing that, and I think it's 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:52.720 going to be an advantage for Delta. So let's talk 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:56.360 about your customers, both business and consumer. And you talked 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:59.000 a little bit about it. I don't want to put 0:06:59.040 --> 0:07:00.920 word to your mouth like a little bit of weakness 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:05.120 maybe from a business perspective, from the global or from 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:10.000 the Asian market overall. Um generally, businesses, it feels like 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:13.440 are a little bit cautious right now globally, maybe for 0:07:13.520 --> 0:07:17.280 geopolitical reasons. We certainly hear that through earnings reports from 0:07:17.360 --> 0:07:20.440 from big companies. What do you see from your business customers? 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:24.320 I see a healthy U S. Consumer. We know the 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:28.400 US consumer drive the U S economy, and the consumer 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:31.360 demand is very, very healthy in the U S. We 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:34.160 just finished the busiest summer in our history by a 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:38.360 meaningful amount. Revenues this year are up seven percent year 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:40.960 on year, which they were up also the year prior. 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:44.000 We are with within the Fortune one d We are 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:47.760 in the top quartile of growth companies within the Fortune one. 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:49.920 We've been there the last couple of years. People don't 0:07:49.920 --> 0:07:52.400 expect Delta to be seen at that level of growth. 0:07:52.440 --> 0:07:54.239 We're seen as a mature company. I think we're seeing 0:07:54.480 --> 0:07:57.440 We're seeing a lot of growth in travel and the 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:01.280 preference to the Delta brand, specifically within the travel spaces 0:08:01.320 --> 0:08:05.160 growing at unprecedented levels. Uh. Summer you know was great. 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:08.600 The Ford look on the holidays look strong. Uh. We 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:10.440 don't have a crystal ball that goes out what's beyond 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:13.360 the book and curve of our customers, but we watch, 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:15.880 we watch all the t leaves. We see what's happening 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:18.440 in retail. We see what's happening, and you know, the 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:21.760 other sectors of the economy, corporate corporate demands still very 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:25.520 strong again. You had some pockets around around automotive and manufacturing, 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:28.120 some of the industrial segments. There's some weakness that are 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:32.640 affected by the geopolitical climate. But broadly speaking, financial services UH, 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:38.160 service based UM industrials or companies rather are are are 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:40.760 providing a lot of growth, and we're seeing we're seeing 0:08:40.760 --> 0:08:43.400 meaningful growth in those segments as well. What worries you 0:08:43.480 --> 0:08:46.600 for the consumer right now as you look around, You know, 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:49.839 the thing I worry most about is that everyone gets 0:08:49.840 --> 0:08:52.880 obsessed with wondering when the next recession is going occurring. 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:55.480 We talk ourselves into Yeah, honestly, I do because because 0:08:55.480 --> 0:08:59.679 it's about consumer confidence right and um, the consumers are 0:08:59.720 --> 0:09:04.480 doing well. Unemployments at record low levels. I think people 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:07.640 are are are seeing a lot of opportunity in the marketplace. 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:10.199 We got a new economy. You've got winners and losers 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.120 that are being created at a faster pace than ever before. 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:16.000 So that disruptive entent and I think we know the 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:18.520 you know, we all have to understand what's what's happening 0:09:18.520 --> 0:09:21.520 within that, But the consumers are getting great value air 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:23.360 fas ADULTA one of the reasons we're growing as an 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:27.240 industry's fast air fas are down in real dollars over 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:29.920 the last twenty years, and so you think about that, 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:32.240 you know, it's it's it's remarkable. And every year they 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:35.000 go they declined by another one to two points. And 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:37.800 so that's another reason why the travel industry is booming 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:39.760 the way it is. So take me inside the plane. 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.400 You know, I'm a loyal Delta customer. I've been for 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:45.400 for many years. I've grown up in Atlanta. I've seen, 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:48.320 you know, pretty massive change, especially over the last few 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:51.719 years in your plane and and just sort of the services. 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:54.360 What what do you feel like as you look back 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:57.680 over the past couple oterations, what's really worked? What hasn't 0:09:57.720 --> 0:10:01.840 worked in terms of things that sumers especially is said, Okay, 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:04.240 I really like that, do more of that. Well, the 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:09.040 biggest thing that's worked is A is the core reliability 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:11.520 of of of the product. You know, we are we 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:14.679 have set a much higher set of consumer expectations of 0:10:14.760 --> 0:10:18.960 Delta than ever before. Our on time reliability, our cancelation 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:21.040 rates are are are as well. We've we've got a 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:23.760 goal to cancel cancelations because we know that's probably the 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:26.200 biggest stress point for consumers. And we're we're well on 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:29.320 our way. This past year, fifty days of the year, 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:33.600 we did not have a cancelation worldwide. Um So, so 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:37.520 we're raising the bar. And when you have that platform 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:40.920 of strength up there, then it gives you the opportunity 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:43.000 and to to get more more adventurous, you know, to 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:46.199 whether it's in where we fly, how we fly, our 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:50.120 technology are digital innovation that we're bringing. Uh. We hear 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:52.640 great things about the fly Delta app and it's working 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:55.839 because more customers than ever before are booking on Delta. 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:59.440 Almost fifty of our US travel is book direct on Delta. 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:02.240 Just just five years ago that number was less than 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:04.720 half of that. So that tells you that we've got 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:06.560 a lot of trust, we've got a lot of preference, 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:09.400 we've got a personalized service that people want to see. 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:12.920 Um there's certainly things that we're experimenting with catering and meals, 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:15.280 and I think everybody's got their views. Some things work, 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:17.200 some things don't. We we you know, one of the 0:11:17.200 --> 0:11:20.040 things we've we've introduced over last year as pre ordered 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:22.760 feel meals and your chance to go in and select 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:25.520 your entree and and hopefully it'll it'll taste as good 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:27.360 as it looks on the on that screen. So when 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:29.439 you think about, you know, sort of the moment we're 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:32.120 in in twenty nineteen, it feels like we're also thinking 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:37.280 about consumption and sustainability and all of our personal and 0:11:37.400 --> 0:11:41.200 sort of corporate carbon footprints. For for lack of better term, 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:42.880 what do you see happening in the short term, in 0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:45.240 the mid term when it comes to your industry in 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:49.680 terms of new planes, new designs, and and how do 0:11:49.800 --> 0:11:53.440 you get your arms around that, both from a buying 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:57.760 perspective and a CAPEX perspective. I well, sustainability is is. 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.960 I think that's one of the existential threats to our industry. 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:04.800 If we don't get out in front of that, we're 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:07.480 doing much more in that realm than we give ourselves 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:10.559 credit as an industry and as Delta specifically. You're gonna 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:12.640 hear us talk and hear me specifically talk more and 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:14.400 more about that because I think our consumers need to 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:17.040 hear that. Uh, it's bigger issue today in Europe, but 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:19.120 it's it's coming here to the U S as well. 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:21.679 You know, one thing we did on the sustainability level, 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:26.120 Jason as we froze our carbon footprint in two thousand 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:29.000 and twelve and said all growth from that point forward 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:31.320 was going to be carbon neutral. And we've done that. 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:35.440 We have grown this airline since two thousand and twelve 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:39.360 without increasing our carbon footprint at all. Now that that's 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:41.400 that's a great statement. There's more to be done in 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:44.040 that regard. Long term, we want to reduce our overall 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:47.640 footprint by but we had to stop to stop the growth. 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:50.719 Ways we're doing it is exactly what you said, uh, 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:53.520 New new engine technology, new airplanes that are lighter and 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:56.080 are more composite based. Every plane that we put in 0:12:56.120 --> 0:13:00.160 the service is more fuel efficient than the planes we 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:03.840 take out, and fuel is nine percent of our footprint 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:07.840 is jet fuel. We're investing in biofuels at at at 0:13:07.960 --> 0:13:10.040 a heightened pace. We are the only airline that owns 0:13:10.040 --> 0:13:12.320 its own refinery, so we have we have some energy 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:15.480 technology and expertise within the space. We announced just the 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:19.760 other day, you know, in the Pacific Northwest recycling venture 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:22.920 that we're working on where we take forest debris and 0:13:22.960 --> 0:13:26.240 try to bring the rosin and and and manufacturing process 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:30.040 to produce biofuel, which we think, if works could could 0:13:30.080 --> 0:13:33.280 generate up to ten percent of our jet fuel needs 0:13:33.720 --> 0:13:36.480 on the West Coast using biofuels, you know, which are 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:40.840 today very uneconomical to to to operate within. We're investing 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:45.240 in in elimination of single plastics aboard our our aircraft, 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:48.520 in our lounges. We've got the electrification of our ground 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:51.560 service equipment and many airports that we're working, and so 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:53.800 there's there's a lot we're doing. And then on top 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:56.760 of that, we're also purchasing carbon offsets to the extent 0:13:56.880 --> 0:13:59.920 that we're not off setting enough through the through organ 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:02.240 It means we're going out and buying and investing and 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:05.440 sustainable renewables in other parts. And by the way, our 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:07.840 our customers can also join us on the journey. Every 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:09.839 customer to the extent that they want to offset their 0:14:09.880 --> 0:14:12.840 personal footprint can go on our website as they purchase 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:15.160 a ticket and see what their footprint is and what 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:17.000 it would cost to offset it, and we'll we'll make 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:20.000 it well, you know, we'll pass that contribution along to 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:23.040 h to offset for the individual customers. But but I 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:25.160 think that there's more that needs to be done. It's 0:14:25.200 --> 0:14:29.239 it's it's a it's it's an issue for uh employees. 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:31.080 You know, employees want to work for for not just 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:33.720 a great company, but a great company that does great things. 0:14:33.760 --> 0:14:36.440 And this is an issue for the future. And if 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:39.080 we're going to grow, we have to grow sustainably. And 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.480 we can't grow sustainably if we're depleting the resources of 0:14:42.480 --> 0:14:45.000 our planet. Well, let's talk a little bit about your employees. 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:49.720 You're down there in Atlanta, robust growing market. How hard 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:51.840 is it for you to sort of get the people 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:54.920 you need sort of across the board. At this point, 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:58.000 we're we're having great success. Our hiring brand has never 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:00.760 been stronger. We just announced a couple of weeks ago 0:15:00.760 --> 0:15:03.040 that we're hiring a thousand flight attendants, you know, to 0:15:03.080 --> 0:15:06.240 come into Delta over the next few months. We had 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:10.560 over a hundred thousand applicants for those one thousand positions 0:15:10.760 --> 0:15:14.360 just in two weeks. Uh, so it's almost too much. Uh, 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:19.240 you know, pilots, we're hiring pilots. UH, getting you again, 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:22.120 you know, ten to twenty x the number of applicants 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:26.000 qualified applicants to the actual individuals. This year, we'll hire 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:29.320 somewhere between five and seven thousand people in all walks 0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:34.720 around Delta, whether it's pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, airport agents, technologist, 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:38.640 knowledge workers. We're a growing company. We're growing our top 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:40.960 line by seven percent, and we need to continue to 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:43.760 expand our skills to be able to support that growth. 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:45.920 So let's talk a little bit about your job. What's 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:48.080 the what's sort of the biggest thing on your plate 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:50.080 right now when you think about sort of long term 0:15:50.160 --> 0:15:53.560 strategy as you parse out a day or a week, 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:58.160 what are you spending maybe a disproportionate amount of your 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:00.440 time thinking about I always spend it to a portion 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:03.240 of many times spending about thinking about our people. Our 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:05.920 people are the key to everything we do. Uh. If 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:08.360 I'm found to be self critical of the company fifteen 0:16:08.440 --> 0:16:11.520 years ago when we were in in the bankruptcy process 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:14.160 in a very difficult time, it's because the company lost 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:16.800 its relationship loss it's it's it's it's means the meaning 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:18.800 of what that service meant and the values and the 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:22.600 special the special advantage that we have having the great 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:25.320 Delta team that we have on the property. So whether 0:16:25.360 --> 0:16:27.640 it's makes sure we're hiring the very best. You know, 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:30.280 we hire not just for for aptitude, but we hire 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:32.760 for attitude and and and and what it means in 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:35.920 terms of having a heart for service, keeping them engaged, 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:38.360 keeping us with us on the journey. I'm speaking in 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:41.160 all all foreigns, whether it's in a galley of of 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:44.040 an aircraft, sitting and coach on board the plane, in 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:47.920 the cockpit, in the airport's town hall meetings. So there 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:50.000 there's there's a lot of my energy. And by the way, 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:52.160 you know, using video and using all kinds of social 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.840 media tools to connect to our people. I want our 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:58.000 people to to to think and hear from me what 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.920 I think, and I'm I'm not afraid to kind of 0:17:00.960 --> 0:17:03.120 think out loud and let people know what what's coming 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:05.600 down the road and and the excitement that that that 0:17:05.800 --> 0:17:07.440 I sense, and what we can do as a team 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:09.800 to continue to win that We've We've got an employee 0:17:09.800 --> 0:17:12.359 base that that you know is very transitory. You know, 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:14.480 they don't show up most of them in an office. 0:17:14.840 --> 0:17:16.560 You gotta go out and find them. And that's why 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.000 I travel so much, because I'm out finding them. And 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:21.320 was there an AHA moment for you in this job 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:23.760 where you realized, Okay, I've got I've got to dedicate 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:26.359 more more time to this. Was there an interaction, was 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:28.200 there something where it just clicked on, or was this 0:17:28.359 --> 0:17:30.480 something that you set out to do from the beginning. 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:33.399 I think this is something unknown for easily a decade 0:17:33.440 --> 0:17:35.360 or more. Again, when when you go through a near 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:37.879 death experience like we did in the bankruptcy, and you see, 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:40.439 you know kind of the challenges we we had, we 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:44.360 had in places taken fifty pay cuts, losing benefits, losing pensions, 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:48.440 you really heart wrenching family decisions that we're being forced 0:17:48.480 --> 0:17:52.080 based on our economic arrest. The thing that I promised 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:55.439 our employees is that when we are profitable, first of all, 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:57.560 we're gonna share the returns of that. So fifteen percent 0:17:57.600 --> 0:17:59.720 of our profits to this day go back to our employees. 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:02.440 And this year we'll we'll we'll have over one point 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:05.760 five billion dollars that will be distributing to our employees 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:09.240 on Valentine's Day. But even more importantly like that, they 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:11.800 need to see see a very visible leader. They need 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:13.800 they need to understand the leadership. They need to have 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:16.240 that relationship because they're out in the front lines and 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:19.359 customers every single day in the public eye, and they 0:18:19.400 --> 0:18:21.400 need to know that their management team has their back, 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:24.080 that their CEO is going to stand with them, you 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:26.719 know what, whatever challenge that they have we're faced, and 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:28.879 they're they're always going to be rewarded for doing the 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:31.440 right thing by a customer. Well, and speaking of that visibility, 0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:34.280 it feels like someone in a job like yours, more 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:37.600 is expected in terms of social issues. You face some 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:41.479 of that down in Georgia and in Atlanta. Uh, you know, 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:44.360 increasingly CEOs are being called on to sort of take 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:47.200 a stand. What do you make of that? I think 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:49.840 it's uh, it's inevitable, all right. I think when you 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:53.720 have some of the dysfunction that's going on in society today, 0:18:53.800 --> 0:18:55.960 when you when you look at you know, the the 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:59.160 what public views in terms of politicians, you know, it's 0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:02.160 kind of a record lows in terms of credibility and 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:05.520 the divisiveness that sits in our political systems without without 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:07.320 kind of pointing fingers that anyone. By the way, it's 0:19:07.320 --> 0:19:10.000 not just in the U S. It's it's worldwide. Um. 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:12.840 It's interesting corporate leaders have actually risen in in in 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:16.720 people looking to corporate leaders to speak into that leadership vacuum. 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:19.960 I think you hear politicians, at least certainly privately, telling 0:19:20.040 --> 0:19:22.600 us corporate America, you need you need to lead, you 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:24.120 need to you need to speak, you need to kind 0:19:24.119 --> 0:19:26.280 of show the way. And those of us that lead 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:30.080 large organizations Delta eighty thousand people worldwide, that that's a 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:32.000 big that's a big army of people that that that 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:34.199 I'm speaking to. I think you have to be careful 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:36.679 as to what topics you speak to. You have to 0:19:36.720 --> 0:19:38.560 know the values of your company, not the values of 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:40.840 your person, for the values of your company, as to 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:43.520 what's relevant. I'm not looking to be a social activist. 0:19:43.560 --> 0:19:46.040 I'm not looking to change the world. I'm looking to 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:48.800 improve Delta and stand by that Delta's values. But if 0:19:48.800 --> 0:19:51.600 you see something in the world that runs counter to 0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:54.240 what we believe in and what our mission is, I 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:56.080 think we're required to speak. And the other thing that 0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:59.480 technology and social media has done, it's eliminated the response. 0:19:59.560 --> 0:20:02.400 Done right. You don't have time to go back and say, 0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:04.720