- The CEO of America's most profitable airline, Delta, openly criticized Trump's tariff policy, calling it the "wrong approach," and said demand for travel bookings is already weakening amid global economic uncertainty.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian is slamming President Donald Trump's tariffs as the "wrong approach," warning travel bookings are already in decline.
"In the last six weeks, we’ve seen a corresponding reduction in broad consumer confidence and corporate confidence,” the CEO of America's most profitable airline told CNBC in an interview. "We're acting as if we're going into a recession."
Bastian's comments are a notable departure from earlier predictions that 2025 would be Delta's most profitable year in history. Delta cut its first-quarter earnings outlook in March, citing weaker-than-expected demand for corporate and leisure travel. As stock and bond markets spiral in reaction to Trump's trade war—with no end in sight—consumer spending on luxuries like travel could decline even further.
Delta's business has been booming in recent years, driven by post-pandemic "revenge travel," which Bastian said in 2023 was a $300 billion market opportunity. Unlike competitors that depend on low prices to drive bookings, Delta correctly bet on the idea that consumers would pay a premium for a superior travel experience.
Bastian is one of the latest in a growing cohort of business leaders and economists who are openly criticizing Trump's approach to tariffs.
Dimon, Musk sound off on tariffs
In his annual shareholder letter, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon wrote he was worried the sweeping tariff policy could increase the risk of recession. He expressed even more concern about the long-term implications, which could break down alliances and weaken America's status as a global superpower.
"Keeping our alliances together, both militarily and economically, is essential,” Dimon wrote. "The opposite is precisely what our adversaries want.”
Investor Bill Ackman publicly pleaded with the president not to declare "a global economic war against the whole world at once," while Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy said he personally lost $20 million in the ensuing stock market crash.
Even Trump ally Elon Musk has spoken out, calling top trade advisor Peter Navarro "dumber than a sack of bricks," and "truly a moron." Navarro had previously mocked Musk, saying he is known not as a "car manufacturer," but a "car assembler."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt praised President Trump's transparency amid the public sparring.
"He has people at the highest levels of this government, in this White House, you have very diverse opinions on very diverse issues but the president takes all opinions in mind and then he makes the best decision based on the best interests of the American public," Leavitt said.
