Air TransportDelta Air Lines is already bracing for a decline in air travel caused by trade tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
On a earnings call, the carrier’s CEO, Ed Bastian, said flight bookings have been declining as uncertainty about the economy spreads.
The specter of tariffs is also looming over Delta’s fleet renewal. The Atlanta-based airline has been Airbus’s largest customer in the U.S., and that now means many of them could pay an extra fee under Trump’s trade policy.
Ed Bastian, however, was adamant: “The one thing that you need to know we’re very clear on is that we will not be paying tariffs on any aircraft deliveries,” he told analysts on Wednesday.
Part of the European Union, Airbus is subject to a 20% tariff on its planes. Trump suspended the measure for 90 days, but his administration is unlikely to back down in the trade war.
In February, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury anticipated problems and said the company could prioritize customers outside the United States.
Delta is already reviewing the delivery of 43 Airbus aircraft in 2025, including the A220, a jet produced mainly in Canada, a country that is one of the targets of the US president’s trade anger.
A350-1000 widebodies at risk
There is an assembly line in Mobile, Alabama, but most of the components come from abroad. This is not the case for the giant A350-1000s, wide-body aircraft with a large passenger capacity, for which Delta has 26 orders to be delivered starting in 2026.
In the current scenario, these aircraft are not expected to be delivered any time soon. At the same time, the expected drop in demand has prompted Delta to rethink its growth plans, focusing on reducing capacity across its network.
This means not only postponing deliveries of new, more efficient aircraft, but also bringing forward the retirement of older jets such as the Boeing 757 and 767 and some first-generation Airbus A319 and A320.
The chaos caused by Trump’s policy is so great that even engine manufacturers, among those most affected by the effects of Covid, are in a bind, since companies such as Pratt & Whitney operate integrated facilities in the United States and Canada.
The company has reportedly suspended deliveries given the uncertain situation regarding compliance with the rules of the USMCA, the free trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
