‘Growth Has Largely Stalled’: Delta CEO Sounds Alarm on Tariffs
Photo Caption: A Delta A350 at Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. Vincenzo Pace Vincenzo Pace
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While Delta had a better-than-expected first quarter, the outlook for the rest of the year is much less certain.
Delta Air Lines, one of the most profitable carriers in the U.S., withheld its full year outlook for 2025, citing economic uncertainty.
“With broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled. In this slower-growth environment, we are protecting margins and cash flow by focusing on what we can control,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “This includes reducing planned capacity growth in the second half of the year to flat over last year while actively managing costs and capital expenditures.”
However, Bastian added that he believed the strength of Delta’s product, low fuel prices, and its “bias toward action” would help the company “deliver solid profitability.”
Delta recorded a higher profit for the first quarter compared to the same time last year. The carrier had a net income of $240 million and total revenue of $13 billion for the quarter, a 3.3% increase.
The Atlanta-based carrier is the first of the U.S. airlines to report first quarter earnings and was largely expected to give a pulse on how consumers are responding to the economic uncertainty spurred by the Trump administration
