Delta Airlines CEO Talks Immigration Reform on CBS THIS MORNING

By: Caryn Robbins Nov. 25, 2014

Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson addressed the company's decision to put out a statement supporting immigration reform following President Obama's speech on Thursday night, saying that he believes the airline "needs to reflect the diversity and values and differences of all the people that we carry around the world," in an interview which was broadcast live today, Nov. 25, 2014 on CBS THIS MORNING (7:00-9:00 AM).

Anderson said that from a business perspective, "having freedom to move across the border and to attract high-quality talent" is important to Delta's long-term goals.

Anderson also discussed rising ticket prices, saying that fares reflect predicted fuels costs over the next year, which he called "a bit of a thumb in the wind." He added that Delta plans to unveil a new segment in the cabin that will be "a no-frills fare that will reflect a lower price for the price-conscious consumer."

A partial transcript of the interview is below.

ROSE: Why are prices going up?

ANDERSON: Well, I think we should be careful about how we think about fuel prices long-term. We've had different points in time over the last five years where we've seen fuel go down $20. Next year, we're still looking at $100 a barrel when we talk about refining costs, taxes, movement of the crew and movement of jet fuel into airport.

GAYLE KING: But if the prices go down, does it translate to better prices for us?

ANDERSON: Ultimately, an economist will tell you that lower input costs will equal lower consumer costs, and I think if you take a look at real airfares in the last 15 years, real airfares are still down, 2000 compared to 2014 if you look at the DOT data, so it's still a tremendous bargain.

O'DONNELL: But Richard, we always hear that when ticket prices are up, people say it's because fuel costs are up. So then why isn't it also true that when fuel costs go down, ticket prices go down?

ANDERSON: I think you will see in the course of 2015, Delta is going to introduce a value fare. In other words, we're going to segment a cabin of the airplane and have a basic economy fare that is a no-frills fare that will reflect a lower price for the price-conscious consumer.

ROSE: Have mergers been good for the consumer?

ANDERSON: I believe they have been good for the consumer, and let me tell you why. You still have an incredibly competitive marketplace, and more than any other consumer product, airfares are perfectly TRANSPARENT to consumers. So you can go to any number of websites that are available 24/7 and get perfect transparency in pricing. And those websites are run by independent organizations that do a good job for consumers. We have very contestable markets. We have three big global carriers, three big national carriers, and then a number of deep discount carriers.

Watch the appearance below