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Delta is joining the seemingly ever-expanding club of companies rolling out AI chatbots.
That was just one of a slew of announcements CEO Ed Bastian made during a keynote address at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, speaking during a splashy event at the Sphere that featured appearances from Viola Davis and Tom Brady.
“The goal is to create a seamless, connected travel experience, from start to finish,” Bastian told the crowd.
Delta Concierge: Across the Sphere’s massive LED screen, a hypothetical scenario played out: While a business traveler got ready for her flight, Delta Concierge provided updates on her estimated travel time and offered to summon a Joby electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to get her to the airport.
The scene reflected the vision for the future of air travel that Bastian described: personalized, seamless, and requiring little effort on the part of the human traveler.
In a news release, Delta said that customers will be able to engage the tool using text or voice inputs. It’ll notify users of upcoming passport expiration and visa requirements. And, according to the company, the chatbot will become smarter and more predictive over time. Future capabilities could include, for example, giving users “destination-specific notifications” on the weather, help navigating through airports, and notifying them “when there’s a dedicated TSA PreCheck Touchless ID line for an expedited security experience.”
“Delta Concierge will serve as a thread across your experience, a GenAI-powered personal assistant that anticipates your needs, provides real-time guidance, and delivers tailored recommendations—combining the context of who you are and how you travel with the deep knowledge and insights that we’ve already built as the world’s most reliable airline,” Bastian said.
Partner up: Delta Concierge also will be integrated with Joby Aviation’s electric air taxi service in the future. The two companies have had a partnership since 2022 and are preparing to bring eVTOL service to Delta’s hubs in New York and Los Angeles.
Bastian also unveiled new partnerships with Uber and YouTube.
The Uber deal will let customers earn miles for Delta’s SkyMiles rewards program when they order rides and deliveries on Uber’s platform, marking the end of Delta’s partnership with Lyft.
And Delta is preparing to roll out free in-flight YouTube access as part of a series of upgrades to its entertainment offerings. The airline also announced the addition of 4K HDR QLED seatback screens and expanded Bluetooth connectivity, among other changes.
Sustainability: Delta will broaden its relationship with aircraft manufacturer Airbus on innovations aimed at making aviation more sustainable.
For example: Delta will test a technique known as “fello’fly,” which pairs flights together in a practice modeled after migrating geese and that can help improve fuel efficiency.
The companies also will work together on using more sustainable aviation fuel, with the aim of significantly increasing the use of renewable fuels by decade’s end.
“The real challenge,” Julie Kitcher, Airbus’s chief sustainability officer, said onstage with Bastian, “is to make those fuels more affordable and increase production—and fast.”