meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Masters of Scale

Rapid Response: Finding windows of opportunity, w/Delta CEO Ed Bastian

Masters of Scale

WaitWhat

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

4.64.4K Ratings

🗓️ 23 February 2023

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

With deserted airports, vaccine and mask mandates, and pandemic-prompted staff departures behind it, Delta Air Lines is once again soaring, recently sharing $563 million in profits with its employees. CEO Ed Bastian, in his third appearance on Rapid Response, talks about capitalizing on the big decisions made amid Covid darkness — from airport renovations to investing in free Wifi — and the opportunities and challenges of adding 25,000 new employees over the past year. Sharing insights on managing tumultuous shifts, as well as his evolving perspective on topics from wellness to business travel, Ed reveals the secrets to first class leadership, including the importance of a good night’s sleep.

Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com

Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter: https://mastersofscale.com/subscribe

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

As an entrepreneur, so much of your energy goes toward preparing your business for its financial

0:05.4

future, but what about your own? There's a new podcast called Other People's Pockets,

0:11.0

and it's a personal finance show that's unlike anything you've ever heard before.

0:15.8

It's an honest, unflinching look into other people's finances.

0:19.7

If you've ever wondered how your friend bore their home, or why your coworker meticulously

0:24.4

splits the tab down to the last diet coke, this is the show for you. Host Maya Lau asks people

0:31.5

from all walks of life to get radically transparent about their personal finances, in actual dollar

0:37.4

amounts. You'll hear from an elite scientist who counts surf to survive, a millionaire influencer

0:43.0

who reveals the economics of social media stardom, and more. So check out Other People's Pockets

0:49.2

wherever you get podcasts. During the pandemic, not many companies were impacted as deeply as

0:57.6

the airlines were, and the determination it took to pick up the pieces, it felt like you put the

1:05.7

company on your back, and you got to start marching. And you didn't quite know where you were going,

1:10.2

but you knew enough to put one foot ahead of the other, and you start building momentum and start

1:14.4

gaining renewed followership, and sooner or later people say I want to go there. I'm not quite sure

1:18.8

where you're going, but will you take me with you? We got through. We're just starting again.

1:25.1

It's the new delta. We're just starting to soar. We have a lot of new people at the company,

1:30.5

because we had a very large early retirement offer, so we hired over the last year 25,000 new people.

1:38.3

One in four employees in Delta are new within the year, and bringing the new employees into the

1:44.4

culture to create a more resilient culture, a culture that takes even greater care of each other.

1:50.5

That's what's next.

1:57.0

That's Ed Bastion, CEO of Delta Airlines. Following the turbulence of the pandemic,

2:02.8

Delta has managed to navigate its way out of the clouds, generating 50% of the airline

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from WaitWhat, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of WaitWhat and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.