Delta Air Lines CEO Proclaims Travel Is ‘Countercyclical’
Skift Take
Could it be that people will keep traveling even if the U.S. and Europe fall into recession? Delta thinks so.
People have more than two years of that pandemic cliche, "pent-up demand," to get out of their system. That's driving continued robust travel demand at Delta Air Lines, which sees no slowdown even as the economic outlook sours on both sides of the Atlantic.
"While we are mindful of macroeconomic headwinds, the travel industry is experiencing a countercyclical recovery," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said during the carrier's third quarter-earnings call Thursday, always the first of the major U.S. airlines to report. "Global demand is continuing to ramp as consumers shift spend to experiences, businesses return to travel and international markets continue to reopen."
Bastian added that, from Delta's view, travel demand did not "come close to being quenched" during what was a busy, and often chaotic, summer.
Economic outlooks widely predict recessions in both the U.S. and Europe. Rating agency S&P Global forecasts a contraction beginning in Europe this fall,
