- 5 months ago
Delta CSO Amelia DeLuca reveals at the Fast Co. Innovation Festival how tech, sustainable aviation fuel, and smart operations are revolutionizing air travel.
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00:00With a 17-year career at Delta Airlines pushing the boundaries of operational innovation,
00:06we're joined now with Amelia DeLuca, who leads the airline's journey to net zero emissions by 2050.
00:13So thank you so much for being here. Thank you. We really appreciate it. And we have a few questions
00:18for you. First of all, we want to know, can you describe for us the key milestones that Delta
00:23has set on the path to net zero by 2050, and also how your role drives those objectives?
00:30Yep, absolutely. Well, just quickly, 90% of our footprint on the planet comes from jet fuel. So
00:36you're going to hear me talk a lot about the jet fuel milestones. But broadly, it's in three phases.
00:41Do what you can do today to save jet fuel and how you operate. The second phase is innovate the
00:46conventional jet fuel space to move into a biofuel space that has less carbon emissions per gallon of
00:51jet fuel. And then the third one is to look towards revolutionary fleet technology to bring the aircraft
00:57to the future that also uses less jet fuel. And all of that makes sense. We want to know what
01:02specific operational changes Delta has implemented recently to improve fuel efficiency, reduce
01:09emissions, and where you've had the biggest gains in that. Because obviously, that's a big goal with
01:13a lot of moving parts. Yeah, well, it's actually been a fantastic year for us. This is 2025 was our first
01:19year that we had a climate target. So it was our short term climate target. And it was to save 45 million
01:24gallons of jet fuel from our operational efficiencies. We're on track to actually save 60 million by the
01:29end of the year $150 million. So good for business, good for the planet. And we've done it through a
01:34number of ways. One, any weight you can get off the aircraft just immediately saves on jet fuel. And so
01:39we always want to make sure all of our customers have their drink of choice, but we don't want to
01:42over provision. So we've been using AI camera technology to better provision on board. A second thing is
01:48when you cool the aircraft at the gate, you can do it with a really inefficient small engine on the back of
01:53the plane, or you can look towards ground power. And all of our airport partners now are providing
01:58really adequate ground power, often from renewable sources. So that's a better way to cool the
02:03aircraft and use less jet fuel. And then finally, when you're in the air, just like when you're in
02:07your car, right, the more direct you can go with the right speed, you can save a lot of fuel. And so
02:11again, we're looking towards the automotive industry. We're looking and leveraging AI technology
02:15to save jet fuel every day. That's amazing. That's so many different efforts you guys are doing.
02:20What do you think sets Delta apart from all the other airlines when it comes to sustainability?
02:25Well, you know, I would be remiss if I didn't say that all of those major milestones were because
02:29of the 100,000 people that work at Delta. So my team is a small team. We sit at the Nexus,
02:34try to make sure that our teams have what they need to be successful. But then every single day,
02:38our team sets out to provide an on-time premium experience and a sustainable experience. And so
02:44whether it is on board through our new paper cups, or again, how we are operating as fuel efficiently as
02:49possible. It's the 100,000 people at Delta that have brought us. This is our centennial year. So
02:52we're celebrating 100 years with our 100,000 employees. And we look forward to 100 years to
02:57come. That's awesome. And how do you balance the pressure of trying to achieve all of these goals
03:02when you also have costs, regulation, customer demands in such a kind of industry that's heavy
03:08like aviation? Yeah. I think the thing is, you have to remind yourself as a company, what's our value set.
03:13And so for Delta, it's always been, if you take care of your employees, they'll take care of our
03:17customers, they'll take care of the bottom line. We know that the people we care about,
03:21both employees and customers, care about this topic. So one, it's an expectation now. Any premium
03:25brand is also expected to be sustainable. It's that and. It's not the or, it's the and. That's
03:30the first. The second thing is, it's good for business, right? What we're doing is saving money
03:34to Delta's bottom line every single day. And then I think the third part, which has been our motto this
03:38year, is just control what you can control, right? We're not going to solve this existential crisis
03:42overnight. But every single day, we want to make sure we're making progress in a way that makes us
03:46feel proud as a company. And you've talked about some of these innovations. You've talked about AI,
03:50some of the other things that you're doing. What are some of the other innovations that you guys are
03:54looking at, like SAS, sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen, electric aviation, and how can Delta
04:00kind of work on those and scale that up? Yep, absolutely. So a couple of things I will just
04:05mention. Innovation takes all kinds of forms, some things you may not think about. So for example,
04:10last year, we took our first delivery of sustainable aviation fuel out of the state of Minnesota,
04:14Minnesota. And it was actually created using a novel crop in Minnesota that has 80% less emissions
04:20when you look at the life cycle. So very exciting innovation through our farmers through rural America.
04:26Innovation also takes the form of working with startups who are trying to create the aircraft
04:30of the future that also will use less jet fuel through that process, as well as offer a better
04:35customer experience. And so those partnerships, like I said, they go from rural farmers to startups in
04:40California. And we're looking at all those partnerships to help us move forward. And when
04:44you think about trying to reduce waste, you've talked a little bit about using AI cameras on board,
04:48things like that. When it comes to ground operations, other supply chain factors, what kind of things are
04:55you looking at there? And what challenges are you facing trying to implement those? You know, I think
04:59it probably goes without saying that every airport is different. So we always say that if you've seen one
05:05airport, you've seen one airport. And so I think the thing is, when you talk about waste on board,
05:09we're essentially trying to, one, make sure that the product that our customers see feels sustainable.
05:13So this year we rolled out paper cups across our aircraft, which is amazing. And now it's a matter to
05:18make sure we can change our operational procedures, leveraging our airport partnerships to make sure you
05:23can always recycle that, for example. But like I said, a big one is things that are already happening
05:27through our system. So if you're traveling on us, potentially in a premium cabin or internationally,
05:31we'll ask you to pre-select your meal. That is a great customer experience moment that also helps
05:36us to reduce waste, because then we don't have to pack extra meals on board. So again,
05:40we're doing waste through a lot of also customer experience lenses, and it's seen a lot of success.
05:45And when it comes to measuring all of these amazing initiatives you guys are doing,
05:50tell me a little bit more about that. You have data, you have technology, different ways to measure that.
05:54How are you doing that to make sure you're staying accountable?
05:57Yeah, I mean, what gets measured gets done, right? And so we've had a big effort within
06:01Delta to make sure we provide visibility into what we're doing within every individual business
06:06unit. So all of our operational leaders now have sustainability KPIs that they carry on their
06:11own scorecards that allows us to measure essentially every day. We can send to a station
06:15manager in Atlanta every single day and say, how did you do versus your fuel efficiency KPIs? And so
06:20it's helping with change management. It's helping with motivation. We ran a contest this last year
06:25called Green Station of the Month during Earth Month to see who could operate as efficiently as
06:29possible. And all of that is able to be done through the great data that we have.
06:34And what role do industry collaborations and also regulation and policy play with all of this?
06:39Because obviously you're not acting alone here. You have all of that policy. So what role does that
06:43play? And also what challenges do you see with that policy that maybe is lagging or maybe is helping?
06:49Yeah, actually in the sustainable aviation fuel space, it's been a really great year on the policy
06:53side in the United States. So there's a number of states who have said,
06:56creating jet fuel from products that come from the earth not only helps our airlines and our
07:02airports, but also helps our farmers and our rural communities. Producing this product on U.S.
07:07soil allows for some of these rural communities to have some more economic viability. And so we've
07:11seen states that are both red and blue put policies in place to try to spur innovation around
07:16sustainable aviation fuel. So that's been great. The United States is at the forefront of creating
07:20sustainable aviation fuel. I think policy on the other side is allowing us potentially to kind of
07:27work with innovative companies while also bringing groups like the FAA along to say, hey, we want to
07:32trial this innovative idea, but we want you to be with us. Because our whole thing is it has to fly
07:36and it has to fly within our system and it has to fly safely. So we can't do it in a silo. So we work
07:41with the government across almost everything that we do to make sure that we're successful. And that is super
07:45helpful. And as we've discussed, sustainability is only getting to be a more and more popular
07:50thought and also important for brand perception with customers. So how are you kind of taking into
07:55account what customers want to see in terms of sustainability with what you're actually able to
07:59do? Yeah, I mean, our mantra for the last two years has been green is the new black, right? Customers
08:04expect this. And it's not just Gen Z. That was what was really interesting. We knew Gen Z would expect this.
08:08But our premium, our most loyal customers, all three quarters and above say, I expect you, when I travel on
08:15you, Delta, when I travel on my preferred premium brand, I expect you to also be sustainable. But that's a
08:20really personal experience about what sustainability means. And so we're really constantly listening to make sure
08:24that we meet their needs. They told us some individual things, get the single use plastic off the plane, which is
08:29why we put the paper cup on there, make sure that there's always a recyclability option. So we're working on that
08:34right now. Now they're telling us some things like, hey, I want to participate. And so we're going to look for more ways for
08:39them to be able to engage as they travel. That's exciting. Yeah, it is really exciting to kind of get people
08:43involved and excited about it. Exactly. And what do you think when it comes to your role? So chief
08:48sustainability officer, how has that evolved with all of this kind of continued focus on
08:54sustainability? I mean, I am very lucky to have the job I have. I'm very honored and humbled. I think the
09:00biggest thing, though, is there's 100,000 people at Delta that have to deliver on this huge mission.
09:05It's not me. Again, I have a team of about 20 people and we can't, we can come up with the ideas, but then we
09:09have to put it within this complex operation. And so we've been so grateful that across the company,
09:14we have had just wonderful partners who go out of their way, even though they have heavy workloads
09:17to say, hey, we believe in this too. We believe in this technology, this idea, this, you name it,
09:22business case. And they've helped us to be able to shore it up and figure out how we move it forward.
09:26And so couldn't do it without 100,000 people. And I'm just lucky to have the title, but the work and
09:30credit goes to the rest of Delta. Well, that's great. It's so nice that it can be a collaborative
09:33effort on all of that. And when you look forward to 2026 and beyond, what do you think is next for
09:40Delta when it comes to sustainability? We've talked a lot about individual initiatives,
09:43but what do you kind of feel is the overall message for what you see for Delta moving forward?
09:49I think it's a steady drumbeat of we're doing everything that we can today. So that continued
09:53to build trust, to build brand power through this concept of if we can do it, we will do it. We're not
09:59going to wait. Things again, like the paper cup are such a great example of that. Bring your customers
10:02along, keep that corporate trust, but then continue to inspire through innovation. So continuing to
10:07find things like this concept of formation flying that right now is in research mode. But if you fly
10:13across the transatlantic with aircraft paired together, you can use five to 10% less jet fuel.
10:17Those are just innovations, but our goal is to move them into applied innovation in the near term.
10:22And is there anything else that you want to add when it comes to the future of aviation
10:25overall in terms of sustainability? Like what you just mentioned is a great example of that,
10:30but anything else where you're kind of looking and hoping towards the future to see kind of in the
10:35overall space of aviation?
10:36Look, there's some really cool startups. Many of them are here with us today at Fast
10:41Company Innovation Festival who are really trying to rethink the aircraft of the future. And I am
10:46really excited. I, you know, it may not fly when I'm even in my career anymore, but if I can look
10:50back and say that I allowed it to get started by bringing them into the Delta family, lending them our
10:55operational expertise and kind of saying, we want this aircraft to fly just as much as you do.
10:59That to me is something that will make me feel very proud one day.
11:02That's great. Is there anything else you want to add? Anything we haven't touched on that?
11:06No, this is great. Thank you for the opportunity.
11:07Well, thank you so much. It was so nice to have you on here and we look forward to seeing what you
11:11guys come up with next.
11:12Great. Thank you.
11:13Thanks, Justine.
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