Rapid Response: Burning cash, accepting turbulence w/Delta CEO Ed Bastian

Masters of Scale

WaitWhat

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management, Reid Hoffman, Mindset, Diversity & Inclusion, Jeff Berman, Bob Safian, Startups

4.6 • 4.4K Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2020

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A surprisingly candid and upbeat interview on the industry hardest hit by the pandemic. Delta saw seat bookings fall to less than 5% of normal, had 40,000 employees go on unpaid leave, and raised $14 billion in funding – all to withstand a cash burn that still stands at $30 million a day. To rebuild traveler trust, Delta CEO Ed Bastian has enacted a slew of new safety standards, including capping flight loads at 60 percent and using hospital-grade HEPA filters on board – in fact, Bastian contends there's not a safer time to be on a plane than right now. He's also sped up forward-facing company initiatives, like phasing out less-efficient planes, building out airport terminals, and installing better wifi. Bastian acknowledges there will be fewer planes in the sky in years to come, but he believes Delta will come out of the pandemic as strong and essential as ever. Interviewed by editor Bob Safian.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi listeners, it's Chris Goethea, producer on Masters of Scale.
0:03.2	Quickly dropping in with an invitation for you to join us at an upcoming strategy session with Reed,
0:07.9	along with a few very special guests. During this live virtual event, you'll hear some game-changing
0:14.0	wisdom and insights that will help you make smart and financial decisions for your business.
0:18.4	So take a second to save the data in your calendar for Monday, May 8th at 3.30pm Pacific,
0:23.2	and register at mastersofscale.com forward slash strategy session to receive your link to join.
0:29.6	We'll be tackling some of the most top of mind questions for entrepreneurs,
0:32.8	with a special focus on how your business can thrive even amidst an economic downturn.
0:38.0	It's a really important topic, and you'll hear timely strategic insights that will help set you
0:42.8	and your business up for success. So go to mastersofscale.com forward slash strategy session to
0:49.2	register for free. Now on to the show. Every week seems like a month and every month seems like a year.
0:58.5	No way or line no matter how many seats they put on a plane is making money.
1:02.3	Well it can be paralyzed. I encourage everyone to move quickly to accept the fact that the world
1:07.1	is different. I'm just going to stay different. We all got to pick our businesses up and decide
1:12.3	what parts survive, what part needs to be modified, what part we need to eliminate,
1:17.4	and what parts we can accelerate. We've been through many crises in our industry. They don't
1:22.0	build character. They define character. And this is a time it defines your brand, it defines your
1:26.7	relationship with your people, relationship with your customers, and what you stand for.
1:30.6	And I believe investing in the safety and the health including the space on board our cabins
1:36.2	is an investment in the health of our people and the health of our customers. And it will pay
1:40.0	dividends, many dividends for years to come. That's Ed Bastion, CEO of Delta Airlines.
1:48.4	The coronavirus pandemic has hammered the airline business. At one point Delta was losing
	...

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