Delta Draws a Line: No Tariffs, No Planes, Says CEO Ed Bastian

Delta Air Lines has weighed in on the debate surrounding the Trump Administration’s trade policies, deciding to take a hard stance and insisting it won’t pay any tariffs on any incoming Airbus aircraft.

With much of the economic world facing uncertainty over the effects of potential widespread tariffs imposed by the White House, aviation leaders have discussed the possible impacts on the industry. While some carriers, such as United Airlines, have suggested support for tariffs, others, like Delta,  have taken a tougher view on them.

Photo: Courtesy of Airbus SAS / Artem Tchaikovski

Speaking during the airline’s Q1 earnings call last week, Delta CEO Ed Bastian insisted the carrier will refuse to pay any potential tariffs imposed on its aircraft deliveries in 2025. Instead, he confirmed that Delta will defer any deliveries of incoming aircraft if they are charged tariffs on them.

Economic Implications for Delta

Any potential tariffs would likely hit Delta hard, considering it’s currently undergoing a significant refresh of its aging fleet. The Atlanta-based airline is awaiting delivery of 285 aircraft as of March 2025, according to its latest 10-Q filing.

All but 100 of those are from Airbus, which would be subject to tariffs as it is headquartered in France. Currently, a 10 percent tariff on all imported goods has been suspended until July 14.

Photo: Courtesy of Airbus SAS

“Obviously, in this environment, we are going to work very closely with Airbus, which is the only airline we’ve got deliveries coming from for the balance of this year,” said Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, during the Q1 earnings call. “And they’ve been a great partner. We’ll do our very best to see what we have to do to minimize tariffs.

“But the one thing that you need to know is that we are very clear on this: we will not be paying tariffs on any aircraft deliveries we take. These times are pretty uncertain. And if you start to up a 20 percent incremental cost on top of an aircraft, it gets very difficult to make that math work. So we’ve been clear with Airbus on that, and we’ll work through it and see what happens from that.”

United Supports Tariffs

While Delta has taken a firm stance in its insistence that it won’t pay tariffs, others have been less critical of the White House’s policy. Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, said at a company event last week that he admired the ultimate goal of what the Trump Administration is trying to achieve.

“There is a genuine desire from the administration to actually create more careers like we create here at United Airlines for middle-class Americans, to strengthen the middle class here in the country,” he said.

Photo: United Airlines, first A321neo. Courtesy of Airbus

“You may disagree fairly with the way we get there and the tactics to get there, but the goal of creating great middle-class careers, I think, is a laudable one.”

Airbus Responds

Airbus itself has also commented on the evolving situation, suggesting that it would pass on the costs of any tariffs to its clients, which could potentially lead to a standoff with Delta. However, it’s not clear how the U.S. airline will successfully negotiate with the French supplier should the tariffs go ahead.

“We’ve looked at plenty of scenarios of what could potentially happen,” said Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus. “In most cases, it’s very damaging to the U.S. industry.”