Delta CEO says Atlanta-LaGuardia trip takes longer than in the 1950s
Ed Bastian blamed congestion and aging systems, but the supplied record has no data to verify the Atlanta-to-LaGuardia time comparison.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said the Atlanta-to-LaGuardia trip now takes longer than it did when Delta opened the route in the 1950s. He attributed the difference to a slow and congested air-traffic-control system, according to Fortune’s account of his May 2025 interview with TODAY.
The comparison has drawn attention to the broader push to upgrade U.S. aviation technology. But the available record does not include historical or current figures for the route, or say whether Bastian meant scheduled time, time in the air or gate-to-gate travel time, so the claim cannot be independently verified from the supplied evidence.
Why does Delta say Atlanta-LaGuardia flight time is longer?
Bastian said modernizing the system could improve efficiency. Fortune reported that he pointed to satellite technology, newer equipment and GPS as tools that could help, while describing controller screens as dated.
That is Bastian’s assessment rather than a demonstrated explanation for the Atlanta-to-LaGuardia comparison. The material supplied does not establish that air-traffic-control technology alone caused any difference in the route’s travel time over the decades.
What air-traffic-control upgrades are already in place?
The Federal Aviation Administration says its NextGen modernization programs are already operating. According to the FAA, digital communications supplement voice communications, while navigation and surveillance have shifted from ground-based systems to ones that are primarily satellite-enabled.
The agency said NextGen capabilities generated $10.9 billion in benefits from 2010 through 2023 across more than 200 implementations. The FAA says greater efficiency and capacity can reduce delays and cancellations, although it did not tie those results to Bastian’s Atlanta-to-LaGuardia assertion.
- The FAA says its En Route Automation Modernization system operates at 20 en-route centers.
- Its Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System serves more than 200 FAA and Defense Department terminal radar approach-control facilities and 600 FAA and Defense Department control towers.
- The FAA says ADS-B, which uses GPS signals and aircraft equipment to transmit location data, replaced ground-based radar as the primary source of aircraft surveillance.
Further work remains scheduled. The FAA said deployment of its Terminal Flight Data Manager had begun and was due to continue through 2029 at 49 airports. The system is intended to modernize tower equipment and operations and improve the sequencing of departing aircraft.
Fortune also reported that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and President Donald Trump announced a separate modernization plan on May 8, 2025. As described by Fortune, it calls for wireless and satellite technologies at more than 4,600 air-traffic-control sites, six new air-traffic coordination centers, and replacements for towers and terminal radar approach controls.
Bastian’s statement therefore highlights a dispute over the pace and scope of upgrades, rather than establishing that the national system has seen no modernization. Testing his route-time claim would require comparable data from the 1950s and today using the same definition of flight time and similar operating conditions.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.