Vegas party: Delta celebrates 100 years with event at Sphere during CES

A giant Delta-branded plane stared down the crowd at the Sphere, seemingly getting closer and closer to the 240-foot-tall screen wrapped around the building’s interior. The venue’s seats rumbled while plumes of air shot at the crowd as the plane turned to its side.

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Delta went all out.

The CES keynote late Tuesday was the first to use the high-tech arena on the trade show circuit, and Delta CEO Ed Bastian brought heavy hitters throughout the hourlong program.

Oscar-winner Viola Davis introduced the presentation, football legend and Raiders minority owner Tom Brady previewed a wellness show exclusive to the airline and a Lenny Kravitz performance served as the grand finale.

"We can only imagine how exciting the world must have seemed a century ago," Bastian said. "Could you imagine? The very concept of powered flight was only a few years old, but this brand-new technology, it carried the promise of changing the world."

He compared that feeling to today, referring to recent fast-paced developments in artificial intelligence and sustainability technology. For Delta, that means using AI to ease the stress of flying and developing more energy-efficient, eco-friendly aircraft.

Air travel plays a crucial role in Las Vegas' economy, transporting around half of all visitors who come to the city, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Excluding December, 4.9 million people in 2024 flew in or out of Harry Reid International Airport using Delta.

Starting this year, the company will roll out "Delta concierge," a new AI assistant in the Delta app that will help travelers from start to finish. In the presentation, the chatbot notified a customer of heavy car traffic, booked travel to the airport and provided directions to bag drop.

The video presentation also featured some more futuristic applications. Bastian said that "in the next couple of years," the AI will be able to book home-to-airport electric air taxis with California-based company Joby.

The video also showed a Delta customer quickly going through security, using their biometric data as ID instead of a passport.

Qualtrics co-founder Ryan Smith, whose company hosts online surveys, and Delta flight attendant Jeanie Brady detailed a future where Delta employees can better use customer data to personalize trips.

"What if you could let Delta know yourself how you're feeling, how you actually want to be cared for? This is the opportunity that we’re unlocking together through AI," Smith said. "It's the years ahead that we’re looking forward to because that is what’s making every single interaction feel personal."

And the airline already has a wealth of data to work with. Along with Delta’s information about flight patterns and passenger traffic, Qualtrics has analyzed nearly seven million pieces of feedback from Delta’s nearly 200 million customers. Smith said he wants the data to be used to "anticipate" people’s needs.

Along with celebrity appearances, the presentation was a carousel of Delta’s newest partnerships with companies like YouTube and Uber. But the partnership most important to Delta’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 is the one with plane manufacturer Airbus.

Around half of Delta’s planes are made by Airbus, and the two companies' research teams will now collaborate on sustainability initiatives.

Julie Kitcher, Airbus’ chief sustainability officer, described wings with moving parts that change shape to mimic eagles’ wings, improving aerodynamics. Copying nature again, Delta and Airbus will also test-fly planes in a V formation later this year. The wake from the leading plane provides a natural lift for the ones following it.

"For those of you who grew up with ‘Star Wars’ like I did,” Kitcher said, "that means science fiction is actually becoming a reality."

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