Delta CEO Ed Bastian reveals what he says must happen for airline ticket prices to fall

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian joins 'Mornings with Maria' to discuss the impact of rising fuel costs, resilient travel demand. the airline's international expansion plans.

As American travelers feel the pinch of inflation. elevated airline costs,Delta Air LinesCEO Ed Bastian revealed exactly what it will take for ticket prices to decline, pointing directly to a lack of market supply rather than solely fluctuating fuel costs.

"People ask me all the time – what's happening with prices?" Bastian told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. "Prices will come down when we can fly more, when there's more supply, it's a supply and demand. Right now we're kind of logjammed."

"There's not a lot of supply we can bring in because the air traffic control system is congested. As you open up the skies,. you bring more flow, that's going to help bring pricing down and enable us to bring more people to more places," he said.

After months of elevated prices due to conflict in Iran. the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, commercial traffic is ramping up in the key waterway after Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian last Wednesday signed a 14-point memorandum aimed at ending the war. On Tuesday,President Donald Trump saidthat 19 million barrels of oil flowed out of the Strait of Hormuz the day prior.

JETBLUE CUTS BACK AT NEWARK, LAGUARDIA AIRPORTS AS AIRLINE SHIFTS FOCUS TO FLORIDA

"I think the initial shock. you know, prices went up about 10 to 15%, not just [at] Delta, across the airline industry. And I think that was probably the right level," Bastian said. "Oil prices have come down now, so I think we're in a pretty good spot."

Delta CEO Ed Bastian visits "Mornings With Maria" at Fox Business Network Studios on June 23, 2026.(Getty Images)

However. Bastian revealed that rising energy costs directly hit Delta’s bottom line by nearly $2 billion, forcing the airline's hand in raising ticket prices.

"We had no choice," he said, while also spotlightinghow government spending accountabilityand deregulation could also bring ticket prices down.

Transportation Secretary Duffy pins blame on Biden DOJ for Spirit Airlines collapse

"We have seen more progress being made to eliminate those bottlenecks. continue to allow aviation to flow smoothly in the last year and a half than we've had probably in the last number of decades. It's that significant," Bastian noted.

"I hope, as an American people, we continue to invest in that future. It's probably the smartest investment that we can make. because what we're doing is, we're making the air flow more smoothly. We're enabling people not just for safety – safety is always our top priority –. [allowing] for more flights," which the CEO says ultimately mitigates customer costs.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Maria Bartiromo asks Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian to assess the current K-shaped economy. noting strong spending among high-end consumers.

Bastian also discussed how Delta has recaptured investment-grade ratings from all three major credit agencies, won back Berkshire Hathaway as a top shareholder. is expanding localized operations such as "Delta TechOps" into a multibillion-dollar third-party maintenance powerhouse.

"We're going to get to a point here in the next couple of years where our balance sheet will be a fortress balance sheet. something that's never really happened in our industry to that point," he said. "This is the industry that the U.S. holds as the gold standard… So whether it's Boeing, whether it's our airlines, our aviation space, our technical prowess. know-how, we're the gold standard."

Delta CEO Ed Bastian reveals what he says must happen for airline ticket prices to fall

AI-Generated Summary

Discussion