Have there been fundamental shifts in demand, markets, or business models over the past two years?
We’ve seen many shifts over the past two years. One area where we’ve seen significant growth is our premium products. They continue to lead the recovery, and we expect this seat growth to continue to outpace main cabin over the next few years. The introduction of Delta Premium Select on Transatlantic flights has been successful and exceeded our expectations. Can you discuss how the Sky Way project at Los Angeles (LAX) fits into your hub strategy? What benefits will it bring for the airline and the traveler?
IMAGES: SHUTTERSTOCK/ISTOCK
70
This past spring, we officially welcomed customers to Delta’s latest airport investment and expansion—the completion of Phase One of the Delta Sky Way at LAX project—a premier facility designed to meet the needs of modern travelers. We’re very proud that this project was able to be completed 18 months ahead of schedule due to lower passenger volumes during the pandemic. Customers can now enjoy a centralized check-in lobby, security checkpoint, and baggage claim. We also just opened the first of three gates in the new Terminal 3, just in time for the busy summer travel season. I encourage customers to stop by the new state-of-the-art Delta Sky Club as well. It’s one of our largest, complete with a Sky Deck that has an indoor and outdoor double bar, premium showers and more. Delta’s infrastructure investments continue to roll out as our new Terminal C headhouse at New York-LaGuardia will open to passengers this summer. It will also feature a centralized departures and arrivals hall that will simplify the check-in, security check, and baggage claim touchpoints. The new Delta Sky Club at Terminal C officially becomes the largest we have at 33,000+ sq ft, which is only a tad bigger than the new Club in LA. We’ve also had major airport projects coming Airlines 2022 – 02
P68-71 CEO Interview-Delta_Airlines 2022-02.indd 70
, 15 000
CEO Interview
At Delta, we’ve hired around 15,000 people since the start of 2021 to meet the travel demand.
online in Salt Lake City and Seattle. Needless to say, no matter what coast you’re traveling to or through, we’re delivering an elevated experience on the ground and in the air. Has the crisis changed the relationship with your partners in the aviation value chain? What more can they do to aid industry recovery?
COVID has been incredibly difficult across the entire aviation industry and for so many businesses. I think we’ve all learned to appreciate those relationships, especially the value of face-to-face communication. Working with partner organizations is vital to our mutual success, and we’re all focused on recovering together. Given the direction of the current US Administration in terms of its Competition Policy, are there any concerns that airlines could face potentially harmful government intervention in the market?
Competition in the US airline industry is as fierce as ever, with a diverse array of carriers offering record levels of service and benefiting the traveling public. As our nation recovers from the pandemic, we are proud to continue offering competitive fares, unprecedented choice, and industryleading customer service to travelers who are returning to the skies. Can environmental sustainability be integrated into a positive business strategy?
It has to be. Protecting our planet for future generations is vital and needs to be integrated across all aspects of our business. We can’t walk out of this pivotal time in our history without a renewed commitment to safeguarding our world for the future. Aviation is a hard to decarbonize sector, which is why we must all come together to create meaningful solutions. I strongly believe in the social good that travel produces by bringing people and communities together, airlines.iata.org
24/05/2022 19:46