Delta Air Lines CEO praises Trump on trade

The chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian, praised the Trump administration for helping his industry in its dispute with Middle East air carriers and said at a National Press Club Headliners Luncheon that the trade concerns of other U.S. industries should also be addressed.

"We are 100 percent in agreement with what the Administration is doing to help American workers compete on a level playing field," Bastian said at the Club luncheon June 27.

Bastian said "trade wars and tariffs generally are not good for business," but quickly added that "to the extent that some of our industries have legitimate concerns, they should be addressed and the administration should look into them."

Delta and other major U.S. airlines "have been victimized by unfair trade practices" for many years, he said. "I'm very, very appreciative," he declared, "of what the administration has done to address our trade issues."

Bastian said that despite headlines of an impending trade war, "we have seen no pull back in travel between the United States and China," which has been growing by more than 10 percent a year. He said Delta Air Lines would soon launch a new route between Atlanta and Shanghai.

Bastian did not make a formal speech, though for about an hour, he fielded questions that Club President Andrea Edney gathered from online suggestions and audience members.

In his remarks on other issues, Bastian strongly defended Delta's decision to cancel a discount for members of the National Rifle Association after the Parkland high school shooting in Florida last winter. "We could not be seen as endorsing the words the NRA was using," he said, even though the Georgia Legislature responded by canceling a $40 million tax exemption on jet fuel.

He said the airline opposed transferring control of its home base, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, from the city government to the state of Georgia. According to him, the airport was run well despite corruption scandals and needed investment and growth, not a state take-over.

Bastian said the "biggest opportunity" now to change the passenger flying experience was at the boarding gate, and more space and new procedures were needed to "fix the scrum" as passengers are checked onto planes.

The Delta CEO highlighted the developments in his industry's dispute with several Middle East airlines. Last month, the Trump Administration announced an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to have its two major airlines, Emirates and Etihad Airways, open up their accounting books by publishing annual financial statements, subject to external audits that follow international standards.

In a side letter the U.A.E., which owns the two air carriers, said they have "no plans" to add more direct flights from other countries to the United States. A similar agreement was announced in January with the government of Qatar, which owns Qatar Airways.

The action had been sought by Delta, along with American and United Airlines. Bastian said massive subsidies by the Middle East governments had made it very difficult to compete with their airlines, which have grown rapidly. The U.A.E. and Qatar -- which have denied making improper subsidies -- have said that even though there are no plans to expand current third-country routes to the U.S., which now run from Athens and Milan, they are free to do so in the future.

Bastian said the agreements with the Middle East carriers had paved the way for Delta to resume nonstop service to India and expand flights to South Korea. He said the airline's greatest opportunities for growth were in its international routes and the agreements would help remove unfair obstacles to that expansion.