Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said he isn\u2019t feuding with Elon Musk, even after the SpaceX founder predicted he would lose his job.<\/p>\n
\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no tit for tat as far as I\u2019m concerned,\u201d Bastian told CNBC\u2019s Phil LeBeau on Squawk Box<\/em> on Friday, when asked whether he passed on SpaceX\u2019s Starlink Wi-Fi because he didn\u2019t want to work with Musk. \u201cI\u2019m a big fan of Starlink. I drive a Tesla.\u201d <\/p>\nHe added: \u201cThis nonsense about it being personal is not true at all. The reality is, Delta is the global pioneer in launching free and fast Wi-Fi as the industry standard.\u201d Asked about Musk\u2019s post that he would lose his job, Bastian said, \u201cI don\u2019t pay any attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first missed earnings report in two years<\/h2>\n
The interview came as Delta missed Wall Street earnings estimates for the first time in two years and cut its 2026 profit forecast. Jet fuel prices have surged since the Iran war started in February, and as a result, Delta\u2019s adjusted fuel expense rose 62% from a year earlier to $4.1 billion in the September quarter. <\/p>\n
Still, Delta posted record September-quarter revenue of $17.6 billion, up 16%, and a pre-tax profit of $1.5 billion, matching last year. Premium ticket revenue rose 18% to $6.8 billion, and loyalty revenue grew 18%, putting American Express payments on track to exceed $9 billion for the year. <\/p>\n
Delta expects December-quarter revenue to grow about 20%, and full-year earnings of $5.10 to $5.60 per share, along with a $6 billion increase in fuel costs.<\/p>\n
Those premium flyers are the customers Delta\u2019s rivals are courting with Starlink.<\/p>\n
The fight with Musk began in March, when Delta chose Amazon Leo over Starlink, starting with an initial installation on 500 aircraft beginning in 2028. Delta says Leo offers retail, Amazon Prime, video and gaming at a much lower price than Starlink.<\/p>\n
In May, Musk offered a different reason. He said Delta wanted passengers to log in through its own Delta Sync portal, which would funnel them into its loyalty program and present the Wi-Fi as a Delta perk rather than a Starlink service. \u201cDelta wanted to make it painful, difficult and expensive for their customers,\u201d Musk posted on X. Delta called the claim inaccurate. <\/p>\n
The dispute turned personal in late September. The aviation account JonNYC reported that Bastian told employees, \u201cWe do not want to be with Elon Musk. Trust me.\u201d While the remarks have not been independently verified or confirmed by Delta, Musk responded on X that Bastian \u201cwill lose his job\u201d over the decision.<\/p>\n
Rivals moved in. On Oct. 1, United launched a status-match offer aimed at Delta flyers, and American invited those \u201csuddenly reconsidering\u201d their airline loyalty to switch, both of which Musk reposted. On Thursday, American said it would put Starlink on its entire mainline fleet, more than 1,030 aircraft starting in 2027. <\/p>\n
That leaves Delta as the only one of the three largest U.S. carriers without it. United, which signed with Starlink in 2024, expects it on its entire fleet by the end of 2027, before Delta installs Leo on a single aircraft. <\/p>\n
On CNBC, Bastian did not say whether he made the reported remarks to employees. He pointed to business terms instead. Delta first talked with SpaceX six years ago and lent it planes for testing, he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was fabulous. They just weren\u2019t ready to scale when we were ready to go, and we had disagreements on the business model in terms of access to the customer,\u201d he said. \u201cI won\u2019t get into any details.\u201d<\/p>\n
Until Leo arrives, Bastian said, customers on Delta\u2019s current Hughes and Viasat systems \u201care going to see meaningful improvements\u201d by the end of this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Delta #CEO #Bastian #tit #tat #Elon #Musk #feud #earnings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[353,9494,283,1463,9493,755,1688,991,1206,830,993,3490,9496,9495],"class_list":["post-6385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-airline-industry","tag-bastian","tag-ceo","tag-delta","tag-delta-air-lines","tag-earnings","tag-elon","tag-elon-musk","tag-feud","tag-internet","tag-musk","tag-starlink","tag-tat","tag-tit"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/p>\n