Business Travel News has named Delta CEO Ed Bastian one of the 25 Most Influential Executives in the business travel industry at the publication's Business Travel Trends and Forecast in New York this week. This is the second time that the publication has awarded Bastian this accolade.​

"This recognition is not for me, but for Delta's 80,000 employees, who work tirelessly each day to innovate and deliver industry-leading customer service across the globe," Bastian said. "It really shows the power of our strong culture and that nobody beats Delta people."

A key reason for the award was the vision to increase Delta's global footprint through robust alliances with leading international airlines that echo Delta's values of excellence, service and innovation. Partnerships with Aeromexico, Air France, China Eastern, Alitalia, Jet Airways, GOL, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia and Korean Air have expanded Delta's global footprint, allowing Delta customers to travel to virtually anywhere in the world, while enjoying the same level of services they have come to expect from Delta. Just this week, Delta announced its latest planned partnership, with Canadian airline WestJet.

In honoring Ed, BTN also noted Delta's increasing use of technology to provide a fast, reliable and satisfying travel experience in the air and on the ground. The publication cited advancements such as the introduction and implementation of boarding pillars, TSA innovation lanes and biometric boarding passes, all put in place to improve the efficiency of airport navigation. Partnerships with Airbnb and Lyft give SkyMiles® Members the opportunity to earn miles across their travel experiences.

Over the past year, Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport renovations, technology enhancements and global partnerships to continue to improve the customer experience for the Corporate Traveler.

Together, these efforts are helping to position Delta as the airline of choice for the next generation.

Past Delta honorees as BTN 25 Most Influential include Bob Somers, Senior Vice President — Global Sales; Dave Holtz, Senior Vice President — Operations and Customer Center; Steve Sear, President-International and Executive Vice President — Global Sales; and Kristen Shovlin, Vice President — Commercial Operations.