Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastion has welcomed the incoming Donald Trump administration as a “breath of fresh air” in anticipation that regulations will be relaxed.
US airlines have been increasingly saddled with new consumer protection regulations under President Biden’s leadership in what Bastion describes as governmental “overreach”.
Bastion was speaking on November 20, 2024, before delivering Delta’s strategic priorities and long-term financial commitments to the investment community in New York.
According to the Associated Press, Bastion said Trump had committed to “to take a fresh look at the regulatory environment, the bureaucracy that exists in government, the level of overreach that we have seen over the last four years within our industry. I think that will be a breath of fresh air.”
President Biden and the Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg have attempted to scrap “junk fees” airlines charge to passengers during the last few years.
Similarly Southwest Airlines CEO Robert Jordan also reacted positively to President Trump’s arrival in January 2025.
“I think there is a general thought that the new administration could be a little more business-friendly,” Jordan said. “We are hopeful for a DOT that is maybe a little less aggressive in terms of regulating or rule-making.”
During the campaign to become president, Donald Trump pledged to strip back regulation in the US and reduce the influence of the country’s institutions.