delta

Delta Air Lines Inc. Chief Executive Ed Bastian said travelers care more about their seat than extras like lounge access or limousine shuttles often thrown into costly tickets, as he defended a stripped-down premium product that has irked some customers.

“Consumers want different value decisions to take,” Bastian said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Monday. “If you can give people the opportunity to sit in first class, they may not want different elements and they may not need to go in the lounge.”

Delta is bringing the basic-economy playbook to Delta First, Delta Premium Select and Delta One, offering passengers the same onboard seats, meals and service at a lower price in exchange for fewer benefits. Depending on the product, restrictions can include reduced mileage earnings, lower checked-bag allowances, fees for changes or cancellations and limits on lounge access and advance seat selection.

“What consumers care more about than anything is the seat,” Bastian said. “All the other things are nice, but it’s the seat and the comfort of the seat that’s most important.”

Bastian’s comments contrast Delta’s recent investments in its ground amenities. The airline has spent years opening and expanding swanky Sky Clubs and Delta One lounges, which remain in such high demand that crowding and lines have prompted tighter access rules.

Delta last month opened the first phase of a second Delta One Lounge at Los Angeles International Airport, a 4,000-square-foot space with table-service dining, showers and a premium bar. By 2028, Delta plans to operate four lounges at LAX spanning 60,000 square feet and seating more than 1,000 guests, part of a global network that now includes five Delta One Lounges and more than 50 Sky Clubs.

“One of the things we’re disappointed about is the continued segmentation of the fare structure,” Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu said in an interview with Bloomberg Television, referring to how Delta has refined its premium offering into different, sometimes hard-to-follow groups. “You could accidentally get locked out of a lounge if you don’t pick that main business fare.”

Delta last week reported second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations despite recording the highest quarterly fuel expense in its history. The airline earned an adjusted $1.56 a share, topping analysts’ estimate of $1.51, while revenue rose 14% from a year earlier and capacity increased just 1%. Delta also reaffirmed its full-year profit guidance.

Bastian said strong demand for premium, corporate and international travel helped offset the surge in fuel prices caused by fighting in the Middle East. Although fuel costs eased as the war in Iran appeared to be winding down, renewed US military strikes have raised the risk of another escalation and kept energy markets volatile.

The CEO reiterated that Delta would continue pricing tickets to recover those higher costs and did not expect airfares to decline. The new basic premium fares give the airline another way to appeal to price-conscious travelers without broadly discounting its most valuable seats.

The strategy also allows Delta to widen the pool of passengers who can afford premium cabins while still charging more to corporate travelers and frequent fliers who value flexibility, loyalty benefits and lounge access. It reflects how airlines are increasingly selling each component of the travel experience separately.

But it risks alienating premium and loyalty travelers by introducing complexity or making it seem harder to get the same level of access.

“Delta’s change to its premium-seating offerings suggests competition is weighing on pricing at the front of the cabin, a negative for earnings,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst George Ferguson said.

Taylor and Abramowicz write for Bloomberg.

TONIGHT, Delta Goodrem is hoping to turn Australia’s Eurovision fortunes around.

The Born To Try singer is banking on her track Eclipse to get her country into Saturday’s grand final for the first time in three years.

She will compete in the second Eurovision Semi-Final live in Vienna alongside the UK’s entry Look Mum No Computer and former Love Island
star Antigoni Buxton .

The reality star is representing Cyprus with her song Jalla.

Australia, who have competed in the contest since 2015, has failed to make it past the semi-finals since 2023, when Voyager’s track Promise saw them finish in ninth place in Liverpool.

Speaking to Bizarre, Delta revealed she has put just as much effort into the production of her performance as she has the song itself.

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Delta said: “I have definitely been learning on the job.

“This is my first ever Eurovision. The staging is just as important as the song.

“When I was working on the track, I wanted to make sure there was a lyric that lends itself to a journey in the production.

“I wrote it thinking about what the staging looks like and what exactly we are saying in the song.”

Admitting she was like a kid in a candy store when choosing her stage
effects, Delta added: “You can do all sorts of things.

“They give you a long list.. honestly, what an amazing opportunity.

“You can have fire, wind, you name it. I felt like I was going shopping.”

Last year’s 2025 contest in Basel, Switzerland, was watched by a
staggering 166 million people.

However, Delta insists she isn’t fazed by the massive global audience
set to watch her tonight.

She said: “It doesn’t matter if it’s Hackney, the Commonwealth Games,
Eurovision, or my outdoor pop-up in Camden earlier this year, I care
just as much about every single performance.

“My game plan is simple, stay true to myself and bring it.”

While Delta is determined to make her country proud, she isn’t taking
things too seriously.

In fact, she says bonding with fellow contestants has been a highlight.

Delta said: “Eurovision is completely its own world. I met a lot of artists in Oslo earlier this year and you naturally find your friends. Denmark’s Soren Torpegaar came up to me and told me how he went to one of my shows the last time I was in Denmark. It was really sweet.

“Honestly, the whole process has been amazing.”

It can be frustrating waiting for your suitcase to appear but one strategy could help you get your bags off the baggage carousel first

Airport security checks and baggage restrictions can turn holidays into a source of stress, and the anxiety only intensifies as you wait to see whether your suitcase has actually made it off the plane.

The dread of lost luggage hangs over many travellers right up until the moment they spot their bag on the carousel — and even then, there’s the worry that someone else might accidentally grab it. But there’s a straightforward trick that could see your suitcase come off the plane first, allowing you to get your holiday underway without unnecessary delays.

Guidance from Escape.com suggests checking in for your flight as late as you possibly can. The logic? Late check-ins mean your luggage gets loaded last, and in theory, should emerge first upon landing, according to Thomas Lo Sciuto, a ramp worker and gate agent at a regional US airport.

The airport worker explained: “Your best option is to be one of the last passengers to check your bags. This is because bags will always be loaded front to back on the bag carts.”

That said, bags aren’t solely loaded according to check-in times. Anyone who can’t stomach the idea of leaving check-in until the eleventh hour will be relieved to hear that weight is also a factor in certain circumstances, reports the Express.

SmarterTravel told HuffPost that US aviation giant Delta, which flies out of Terminal 3 at London Heathrow Airport (LHR), sorts luggage into large and small loads to ensure proper weight distribution across the aircraft. As passengers check in their luggage, it gets sorted into “cans” – large containers that hold multiple bags and can be transported as one unit.

SmarterTravel said: “In other words, how far back your bag ends up depends on the weight of the can and the needs of the plane, not when you check it.”

Aircraft with a single aisle typically “loose-load” bags one by one rather than bundling them into cans, as is the case with wider-bodied planes. When this happens, checked bags generally go into a holding area.

Luggage gets transported to the aircraft and loaded shortly before departure, meaning its chances of being loaded first hinge on when it was checked in.

If a bag was checked in early, it could end up at the rear of the storage space, meaning it would be last onto the plane and potentially first off.

Other tactics to ensure your bags come off the carousel first upon landing include marking them as “fragile”.

News.com.au suggests this clever trick often results in your luggage being loaded onto the aircraft last and therefore unloaded first, which can significantly reduce your wait at the carousel.

That said, when opting for “fragile” stickers, travellers ought to strip off any old tags from their bags to prevent mix-ups. To make luggage stand out, opting for vibrant colours, customised tags, or securely fastened ribbons could help your bags catch your eye more easily.

The most reliable way to get out of the airport as swiftly as possible is to travel with hand luggage alone. Make certain this meets your specific airline’s requirements to avoid being forced to check your cabin bag at the gate.

A personal item, sometimes referred to as a small bag, needs to fit beneath the seat directly in front of you and typically measures no larger than 40x30x20cm.

Cabin bags are stowed in the overhead locker and can generally weigh up to 10kg, with dimensions not exceeding 56x45x25cm.

Among UK carriers, British Airways typically provides the most generous complimentary hand luggage allowance on its basic tickets.

Travellers can bring one 23kg cabin bag (56x45x25cm) and one smaller personal item (up to 40x30x15cm) without charge.

Jet2 and Virgin Atlantic similarly permit a complimentary cabin bag (10kg, 56x45x25cm) alongside a personal item.

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom said his administration is “moving forward aggressively” to continue laying the groundwork for a giant tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to replumb the state’s water system.

“We got to move faster. Move faster,” Newsom said to regulators during a speech Thursday at a conference held by the Assn. of California Water Agencies. “We all have to be held to a higher level of accountability.”

California’s 40th governor provided a chronological look back at his water policies since taking office in 2019 and asserted the need to continue his effort to modernize state infrastructure to provide for cities and farms into the future.

Newsom cast the tunnel as a “climate adaptation project,” noting that climate change is projected to shrink the amount of water the state can deliver with its current infrastructure.

With his term expiring at the end of the year, Newsom acknowledged that he will soon “pass the baton” on water policy to the next governor. Democrat or Republican, that person could decide the fate of his signature water project.

“The Delta Conveyance, if we had it last year alone, would have provided enough water, in terms of what we could have captured with an updated system, enough water for 9.8 million Californians’ needs for over a year,” Newsom said. “We’ve got to get that done.”

Water has been a focus of the Newsom administration since his first day in office, when the governor took his cabinet to Monterey Park Tract, a rural Central Valley community that lacked access to safe drinking water.

Described by Newsom as “the forever problem” in California, water policy is also among the most politically contentious issues in the state.

The tunnel would create a second route to transport water from new intakes on the Sacramento River to the south side of the Delta, where pumps send water into the aqueducts of the State Water Project.

The project is particularly acrimonious, drawing out geographical battles between north and south and thorny fights between officials who want to build the tunnel and environmentalists and Delta residents seeking to protect the local ecosystem and their way of life.

Newsom and other supporters have said the tunnel would protect the state’s water system as climate change intensifies severe droughts and deluges. Opponents call the project a costly boondoggle, arguing it’s not necessary and would destroy the Delta.

It’s been mired with regulatory hurdles and other challenges for years.

The State Water Resources Control Board is considering a petition by the Newsom administration to amend permits so water could be tapped where the tunnel intakes would be built.

There have also been other complications. A state appeals court in December rejected the state’s plan for financing the project, and the California Supreme Court in April declined to take up the case. The state Department of Water Resources said it still plans to issue bonds to finance the project.

Other court challenges by Delta-area counties and environmental groups are also pending.

Whether the project is ultimately built may hinge on whether large water agencies, including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, decide to participate and pay for its building.

State officials have said that the tunnel, called the Delta Conveyance Project, ultimately would be paid for by participating water agencies.

The state estimated in 2024 that the tunnel would cost $20.1 billion, while opponents say it could cost three to five times more than that.

In the last seven years, California has invested $11 billion in water infrastructure, Newsom said.

The Democratic governor reflected on other parts of his water policies, saying he has prioritized securing funds to provide clean drinking water to more communities where Californians live with contaminated tap water.

He said while there has been progress in bringing safe drinking water to more communities, there is still “a lot more work to be done.”

Newsom touted his administration’s investment in replenishing groundwater in the Central Valley and its efforts supporting plans to build the Sites Reservoir near Sacramento.

Newsom said the Sites Reservoir is critical for the state’s future, and he indicated some frustration about the pace at which it’s advancing.

“We’ve got to do the groundbreaking at Sites,” he said. “If you can’t agree to an off-stream investment in this world of weather whiplash, we’re as dumb as we want to be.”

He said his administration has also made progress on environmental projects including restoring wetlands around the shrinking Salton Sea, removing dams on the Klamath River, and developing a strategy to help salmon, which have suffered major declines in recent years.

Touching on issues that generate heated debate, Newsom talked about a controversial plan for new water rules in the Delta that relies on so-called voluntary agreements in which water agencies would contribute funding for wetland habitat restoration projects and other measures.

Newsom described the approach, called the Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program, as a solution to break away from the traditional conflict-ridden regulatory approach and improve the Delta’s ecological health.

“Got to maintain the vigilance on these voluntary agreements. At peril, we go back to our old ways,” he said.

Environmental advocates argue that the proposed approach, which is widely supported by water agencies, would take too much water out of the Delta and threaten native fish that are already in severe decline.

Newsom said climate change is increasingly driving “weather whiplash” in California and that the state must prepare. He noted that his tenure included the extreme drought from 2020-22, followed by extremely wet conditions in 2023, which revived Tulare Lake on thousands of acres of farmland.

He said the state needs to manage water differently because the effects of climate change have been apparent over the last several years: “The hots were getting a lot hotter, the dries were getting a lot drier, and the wets were getting a lot wetter.”