Cover art for Masters of Scale

Delta's Ed Bastian on spiking fuel, summer travel, and a blunt reality check on AI

Masters of Scale

Published
July 21, 2026
Duration
28:22
Summary source
description
Last updated
Jul 21, 2026

Discusses ai.

Summary

Few companies have a better real-time read on the American economy than Delta, and few CEOs are more willing to say what they actually think. Ed Bastian returns to Rapid Response to share 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 tr…

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Show notes

Few companies have a better real-time read on the American economy than Delta, and few CEOs are more willing to say what they actually think. Ed Bastian returns to Rapid Response to share 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. He also explains what it takes to stay optimistic when fuel costs are spiking, the Strait of Hormuz

Themes

  • ai