# Delta's Ed Bastian on spiking fuel, summer travel, and a blunt reality check on AI

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/masters-of-scale/delta-s-ed-bastian-on-spiking-fuel-summer-travel-and-a-blunt-reality-check-on-ai
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Podcast: [Masters of Scale](https://stenobird.com/podcast/masters-of-scale)
Published: 2026-07-21T09:00:00+00:00
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Duration seconds: 1702

## Resource

Few companies have a better real-time read on the American economy than Delta, and few CEOs are more willing to say what they actually think. Ed Bastian returns to Rapid Response to share what Delta's booking data is telling him that the headlines aren't, why he's not convinced by AI until it moves his top line, and how he decided to yank congressional travel perks during the government shutdown. He also explains what it takes to stay optimistic when fuel costs are spiking, the Strait of Hormuz is in the news, and the world keeps finding new ways to be unpredictable. Visit the Rapid Response website here: https://www.rapidresponseshow.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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