We Won't Pay Tariffs on Airbus Deliveries, says Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian.

• The CEO of Delta Airlines says he has the threat of import tariffs on dozens of new Airbus aircraft figured out.
• In January, Bastian predicted this year would be “the best financial year in our history. Ed Bastian now says he's simply not going to pay them.
• The CEO openly criticized Trump’s tariff policy, calling it the “wrong approach,” and said demand for travel bookings is already weakening amid global economic uncertainty.
• Bastian said that he hopes that the tariff issues will be resolved through trade discussions.

Delta Air Lines has refused to pay the tariff costs imposed on planes made by the Airbus SE, a potential point of tension for carriers globally as US President Donald Trump’s trade war injects new volatility into the aviation market. 

As per the Delta Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian, he has been “very clear” with Airbus and would defer any deliveries with the additional expenses. The carrier is working with Airbus to minimize the impact of the delayed acceptance. 

“We will not be paying tariffs on any aircraft deliveries,” Bastian said on the carrier’s quarterly earnings call. “These times are pretty uncertain, and if you start to put a 20% incremental cost on top of an aircraft, it gets very difficult to make that math work.”

The carrier announced it would pause deliveries from Airbus factories in Canada and Europe to avoid the blanket 10 percent tariff that is now in effect on virtually all goods imported to the U.S. Delta was expecting 20 A350s by the end of this year but the number A220s from a plant near Montreal, Quebec wasn't announced.

“We’ll do our very best to see what we have to do to minimise tariffs,” he was quoted as saying on the airline's April earnings call. “But 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 we take.”

He later said there's simply no point in taking the planes if there is 10-20 percent added to the price, as was initially declared by Trump “It gets very difficult to make that math work,” he said.

Delta’s business was ramping up in recent years, driven by post-pandemic “revenge travel,” which Bastian said in 2023 was a $300 billion market opportunity.

Unlike competitors that depend on low prices to drive bookings, Delta correctly bet on the idea that consumers would pay a premium for a superior travel experience.

Bastian made the comments before President Donald Trump paused many of the tariffs he invoked on April 6 but retained the blanket 10 percent tariff applied to goods from almost all countries.

Bastian said his airline or any other company shouldn't have to negotiate with Trump over trade rules.

“We hope that this issue will be resolved through the trade discussions, as compared to actions either Delta or Airbus have to take,” he said.

The pause in deliveries coincides with a decrease in travel demand and makes the need for new hardware less urgent.

As part of its pullback, Delta now plans to take only 10 aircraft in 2025, all from Airbus. The carrier has 490 Airbus planes in its fleet and orders for 194 more, according to company filings.

Delta scrapped its full-year financial guidance and warned that “growth has largely stalled” because of the uncertainty over how global trade developments will affect the economy.

Delta President Glen Hauenstein released a statement, saying:

“2025 is playing out differently than we expected at the start of the year. As a result, we are adapting to current conditions while staying true to our long-term strategy.”