Delta’s CEO Is Astonished by “Revenge Travel’s” $300 Billion Boom
Amidst the chaos that characterized the summer of 2022 for travel, this year has seen a surge in people hitting the road. Despite an ongoing rise in inflation and record-breaking ticket prices, the allure of taking trips remains undiminished.
According to a recent interview with Fortune, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has disclosed that the demand for their services continues to be exceptionally robust. On this week’s episode of the Leadership Next podcast, he revealed that his team has evaluated the current demand for “revenge travel” amongst American citizens, and the results are staggering.
Bastian says that the concept of revenge travel or pent-up travel falls short in describing the current surge in travel demand. “We went through several years of people not being able to get back out and travel and experience and see loved ones, see their business colleagues, adventures—all the reasons we travel”, he said, adding “and people had a lot of time.”
He said that he had his staff calculate the proportion of innate demand for travel within the United States that had gone unmet over the course of the previous three years, taking into account “any kind” of historical pattern: “That gap is $300 billion—with a B.”
Delta is experiencing unprecedented demand with little sign of slowing down, he noted. “ We’ve had the 20 largest cash sales days in our history all occur this year.”
Explosive demand is usually positive, but it’s impossible to predict what tomorrow holds for the travel industry. Lev-Ram mentioned that “revenge travel” is a recent invention. Since vaccines became readily available in the spring of 2021, the idea has been widely forecasted in the media, but it has gained momentum as restless people sought to escape boredom at home. The reasons to stay inside became completely irrelevant, and people flocked to ticket websites, especially when remote work became an option in almost all white-collar industries.
The economic phenomenon known as “revenge buying,” or “baofuxing xiaofei” in 1980s China, when the country’s expanding middle class had an insatiable thirst for imported luxury items, is the ancestor of “revenge travel.” Due to this, European high-end brands have been able to expand internationally, and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault has been the wealthiest person on the planet for the better part of the past two years.
Per Bastian, Delta is adapting to the nationwide trend of revenge travel. He added that consumer behaviors have undergone significant changes since the onset of the pandemic. As per his observations, people now tend to book their reservations much further in advance, and Delta’s business model has undergone a major shift.
“One of the things that we did during COVID, which I’m glad we did, and we’re not going to change back, is we eliminated change fees from our products,” Bastian said. “So people can book with confidence because people want to make certain they get their trip.”
To put it simply, when you’ve saved up for years to finally take that dream vacation and end up paying a higher price, the last thing you want to worry about is an added change fee.
According to Tina Edmundson, the luxury president at Marriott International, the pandemic has compelled individuals to reassess the value of travel in their personal lives, as reported by Fortune in October 2021. A mere desire has now transformed into a necessity.
“Travel is good for the world,” Edmundson continued. “It opens minds, fosters connection, broadens perspectives and fuels inspiration. The pandemic made people reprioritize, and travel has risen to the top of the list as many people have developed a new appreciation for travel, or it has taken on a greater meaning and higher importance.”
The Traveler Insights Report by Expedia Group has revealed that almost half (46%) of global consumers have expressed that travel holds greater significance for them now as compared to the pre-pandemic era.
This past summer, when travel was once again in full swing, was “very hard,” as Bastian put it, because everyone appeared to want to go on vacation at the same time. “It didn’t matter where they went or what they paid. They just wanted to be out,” he said.
The aviation sector faced an enormous obstacle when it came to improving the skills of their workforce and recruiting fresh talent to keep pace with the growing demand. According to Bastian, Delta Airlines is fully prepared for the upcoming summer season. The airline has effectively recruited over 25,000 skilled and experienced individuals who are well-equipped to handle the anticipated surge in passenger traffic.
Evie Blanco is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Queens, New York. She is extremely well-versed in hip-hop music and culture and is always aware of its developments. Whether it’s the latest in pop culture, a fascinating foreign destination, a truly amazing new restaurant, or breaking news, she loves to write about it all. Evie can be reached at [email protected]
If you enjoy our perspective on travel and Black culture, please sign up for our newsletter. You should consider joining our travel club, too. Or maybe write a piece for us about your favorite destination. In other words, let’s stay connected!
©2023 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
