The ongoing government shutdown has paralyzed U.S. airports just weeks into the holiday travel season. The shutdown officially ended Wednesday night amid a House vote.
“It’s been very disruptive over the last week – when you come in without warning and just arbitrarily reduce the number of flights in the system for all of us, it’s incredibly disruptive for our customers,” Delta (DAL) CEO Ed Bastian said at Yahoo Finance’s Invest event on Thursday.
Bastian added: “It’s our industry that’s forcing, I guess, even the government to come back together and open up… The good news is that I anticipate we’ll be fully flying very, very soon, in the next day or so.”
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The FAA plan led to a 4% cut in flights starting Friday, Nov. 7, rising to 6% on Tuesday. On Thursday, the reduction was scheduled to reach 8% and finally 10% on November 14.
Bastian, who has led Delta since 2016, said people need more from government leaders and the company has made its points known to elected officials.
“Do your job, do your job. And I understand there are disagreements, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of asking people to work in particularly stressful areas, in incredibly sensitive areas, without pay for weeks on end. That’s inexcusable.”
Bastian is no stranger to nightmarish operational problems.
As the longest-serving CEO of a major U.S. airline, Bastian led Delta through the COVID-19 pandemic. He joined Delta in 1998 and helped the company through bankruptcy and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
The government shutdown comes as Bastian moves forward with a series of improvements to the travel experience, from opening new Sky Lounges to overhauling aircraft décor.
The company expects premium seat sales to surpass its traditional main cabin offering in 2026. It would be a first for Delta, and a year earlier than expected.
The efforts to get premium seats are reflected in its finances. Delta’s third-quarter operating earnings rose 23%, driving a 14% improvement in earnings per share. September quarter revenue rose 4.1% from a year earlier to a record $15.2 billion.
The company brought its full-year profit forecast to the upper end of its previous range.
“Simply put, we continue to view Delta as the industry leader among full-service airlines,” said JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker.
Baker rates Delta shares an equivalent of Overweight or Buy.
Of the 22 sell-side analysts covering Delta, 95% rate the stock a Buy, according to data from Yahoo Finance.