DELTA CEO SAYS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WILL REVERSE GOVERNMENT 'OVERREACH' SEEN UNDER BIDEN

The chief executive of Delta Air Lines says the incoming Trump administration will be a “breath of fresh air” for airlines after what he called government “overreach” under President Joe Biden.

The airline industry has chafed under consumer-protection regulations imposed by the Biden administration. And Delta is facing a federal investigation into its slow recovery from a global technology outage this summer.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian made the comment as he and fellow Delta executives prepared to host Wall Street analysts at an investor day Wednesday in Atlanta.

Bastian noted that President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to reform the federal government and reduce its size.

The airline executive said Trump promised “to take a fresh look at the regulatory environment, the bureaucracy that exists in government, the level of overreach that we have seen over the last four years within our industry. I think that will be a breath of fresh air.”

Delta is using its investor day to build support for the company, which reported a profit of $2.6 billion in the first nine months of this year after earning an industry-leading $4.6 billion last year.