Buffett has long "scoffed at" the airline industry, but Berkshire's "new king" bought $2.6 billion worth of Delta Air Lines.

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Berkshire’s "new king" invested $2.6 billion heavily in Delta Air Lines, marking the investment giant's third foray into the aviation industry—previously, Warren Buffett had scoffed at airline stocks for decades.

According to Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F holding report submitted on May 15, 2026, for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, the company held 39,809,456 shares of Delta Air Lines, with a market value of about $2.6465 billion, and a stake of about 6.1%. Delta Air Lines also promptly confirmed this information through its own 13F disclosure.

After the news was announced, Delta Air Lines' stock price rose significantly in after-hours trading. For Berkshire, which holds nearly $400 billion in cash and is looking for investment opportunities, this deal has sparked widespread speculation in the market as to whether it will increase its bets on the aviation sector.

Warren Buffett, now 95, has stepped down as CEO, retaining only the position of chairman of the board. This decision was led by the new management. Given Buffett’s personal caution and history of losses in aviation investment, this deal has drawn particular attention.

Buffett’s “Aviation Phobia”: From Anecdote to Creed

Buffett's dislike of the aviation industry has become legendary in the investment world.

In his 1996 investor letter, he quoted Richard Branson’s famous saying, claiming the easiest way to become a millionaire is "first become a billionaire, then buy an airline."

In 2007, while reflecting on poor investment returns in the aviation industry, Buffett joked that a "visionary capitalist" should have shot down Orville Wright in Kitty Hawk to benefit mankind. He also said he had a free hotline that he'd call whenever he had an impulse to buy airline stocks: "I'm Warren, I'm an ‘aviation addict’," and the operator would convince him to give up.

In Buffett’s view, aviation is capital intensive, highly unionized, and heavily regulated, and most of the key elements of the product—airports, security checks, air traffic control, cabin standards, etc.—are determined or provided by the government, resulting in a weak industry moat.

Two Failed Attempts: From USAir to Pandemic Exit

Berkshire’s entanglement with the aviation sector spans nearly forty years.

In 1989, Berkshire bought $358 million in USAir convertible preferred shares, with a coupon rate of 9.25%, convertible to common shares at $60 per share. This structure seemed safer than the underlying business risk.

However, between 1990 and 1994, USAir accumulated losses of $2.4 billion, shareholder equity almost wiped out, and suspended dividend payments to Berkshire’s preferred stock in 1994. Berkshire then wrote down 75% of this investment. Buffett later characterized this deal as an "unforced error" and "rash analysis". In the end, Berkshire barely recovered the principal, but Buffett admitted that was just luck.

In 2016, Berkshire entered again, holding positions in American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines. The logic then was that industry consolidation, multiple bankruptcy reorganizations, and self-discipline in capacity made buying airline stocks at low valuations potentially lucrative—Buffett didn’t call airlines a good business, but felt the timing was right. By the end of 2019, Berkshire held about 11% of Delta, 10% of American, 10% of Southwest, and 9% of United.

In April 2020, Berkshire completely exited these positions, incurring significant losses, and made it clear it was unwilling to continue funding "cash-burning" enterprises.

Third Entry: The New Leader’s Calculations

This Delta investment was an independent decision made under the new management of Berkshire.

In scale, $2.6 billion is just a fraction of Berkshire’s $400 billion massive cash reserves. Effectively deploying that cash is the core challenge for the new management. The Delta Air Lines position is Berkshire’s 14th largest investment, indicating a tentative priority in allocation.

It’s worth noting that, unlike the diversified holdings in 2016, this time Berkshire only chose Delta Air Lines, making the investment more concentrated and purposeful. Delta was eager to disclose, publishing the information first in its own 13F filing.

This is Berkshire's third attempt in the aviation sector. With so much cash under pressure, the market is closely watching whether the new management will increase their stake in airlines.

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