Surge in transatlantic travel drives Delta Air Lines earnings record

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Delta Air Lines reported the highest revenue and earnings in its history on Thursday, with a 65 per cent surge in sales of transatlantic flights providing vital lift to the company’s top line.

The Atlanta-based carrier raised its full-year guidance for the second time in less than three weeks, to a range of $6 to $7 per share, after beating Wall Street’s earnings expectations.

“Anywhere you go in Europe these days, you’re seeing an awful lot of Americans,” said chief executive Ed Bastian. “They haven’t been able to get there in four years, and there’s a lot of pent-up demand that’s going to stay strong for some time.”

“We’re not seeing a lot of slowdown into the fall,” Bastian added. Historically, the airline would fly less to Europe following the busy summer, but this year “we’re extending the season a bit longer because of the demand”.

Delta’s transatlantic capacity exceeded pre-coronavirus pandemic levels late last year, with the airline adding seats and flights faster than for domestic routes. Four out of five of the carrier’s transatlantic tickets were purchased from the US during the quarter, Bastian said, with top destinations including Spain, Italy, Greece and the south of France.

Airlines have benefited from strong demand for travel since the pandemic has ebbed, handing them pricing power even as they have struggled with staffing, a shortage of jets and a dearth of air traffic controllers. Delta said three months ago that it would trim its summer flying schedule by 2 per cent to avoid operational shortfalls.

Because domestic flying recovered more quickly than international, which is now improving, conditions in the third quarter looked “more compelling for Delta, United and American than it does for domestic growth airlines”, said Melius Research analyst Connor Cunningham.

While revenue from Delta’s domestic flying ticked up 8 per cent to $8.9bn, revenue from transatlantic flights rose 65 per cent to $2.8bn. The growth on Pacific routes was even stronger — 175 per cent to $532mn — while revenue from Latin American routes rose 24 per cent to $926mn.

Delta reported record adjusted operating income of $2.5bn in the second quarter, rising 73 per cent from a year earlier for earnings per share of $2.68 per share, exceeding Wall Street’s expectations of $2.40. Its adjusted revenue grew 19 per cent to a record $14.6bn.