Delta reported a second-quarter profit of $652 million, breaking a five-quarter streak of losses, boosted by rising travel demand and a fresh round of government aid to cover workers’ salaries.
Delta is the first major airline to report financial results for the quarter, with other carriers slated to follow in the coming weeks.
Still, full recovery for airlines is a long way off.
Delta’s profit was 55% below the $1.4 billion it generated in the second quarter of 2019, as corporate and international travel remained weak.
And while planes and airports are more packed than they were last year, Delta isn’t flying a full schedule and its operating revenue during the quarter was half of 2019 levels.
Without $1.5 billion in proceeds from government grants and other one-time items, Delta incurred a $678 million loss in its latest quarter.
Delta chief executive Ed Bastian said Wednesday that the airline expects to continue posting profits this year, excluding the remaining government aid it expects to receive.
Air travel roared back this summer as newly vaccinated travelers flocked to airports in even greater numbers than many airline executives were expecting.
Delta said its average daily net cash sales — new bookings minus refunds — doubled compared with the first three months of the year and came in 20% higher than the airline’s initial forecast.
“This volume has surprised us, how quickly people have gotten back to travel,” Mr. Bastian said in an interview. “It’s been, candidly, overwhelming.”
The fast rebound has led to some growing pains for the industry amid staffing constraints at airlines and airports, severe weather that has scrambled flight schedules, and tense standoffs with unruly passengers during some flights.
While Delta said it hasn’t had trouble staffing its recent flights, Mr. Bastian said the third-party contractors the airline works with have struggled to hire people to push wheelchairs, refuel planes and cater flights.
The airline has sent some of its own workers to help.
Delta is also hiring more people to take customer service calls after call-center shortfalls and an overwhelming number of inquiries contributed to hourslong waits for customers.
“The volumes are beyond anything we’ve ever seen,” Mr. Bastian said. “By September we’re going to have that back down to normal levels.”
Delta on Tuesday said that it will add 36 jets to its fleet by acquiring 29 used Boeing Co. 737 narrow-bodies and leasing seven used Airbus SE A350 wide-bodies due to be delivered next year.
The airline has also said it plans to hire 1,000 pilots by next summer, and 1,000 mechanics and technicians by the end of this year.
Delta has said it is also calling back 1,600 flight-attendant candidates who had been in training or had conditional job offers before the pandemic hit.
Cre: The Bankok Post
Nguyen Xuan Nghia – COMM
