Delta Air Lines announced its third-quarter financial results on Thursday (October 10), continuing to demonstrate resilience in the business travel space, building on its strong performance from last quarter.
Corporate travel sales increased 7% and consistently outperformed Main Cabin sales as the company focused on premium products. Delta Air Lines officials said a recent survey revealed that 85% of companies expect to increase their travel budgets in 2025.
“Corporate travel continues to improve and Delta continues to be the corporate airline of choice,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said during the airline’s third-quarter earnings call. .
Additionally, revenue from Delta’s diversified revenue sources, particularly its loyalty program, accounted for 57% of total revenue, supported by a 6% year-over-year increase in loyalty revenue. Bastian said Delta’s loyalty program is attracting younger customers, as evidenced by an additional 3 million active members under the age of 40.
“Deeper engagement with Delta will increase customer satisfaction and loyalty,” he said.
The airline’s total revenue rose 1% to $15.68 billion, with net profit reaching $1.27 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.50, slightly below expectations. The 45 cent impact from the CrowdStrike outage in July disrupted operations and resulted in $380 million in lost revenue, primarily in the form of customer refunds and customer compensation for canceled flights. Cash and SkyMiles. Delta said 7,000 flights were canceled in five days. Delta is also seeking compensation from CrowdStrike and Microsoft for lost revenue during the outage.
Despite challenges in the domestic market, Delta’s premium service continues to grow, with plans to increase capacity by 3% to 4% in the fourth quarter. Delta Air Lines President Glenn Hauenstein said consumer spending may fluctuate around the next presidential election due to a decline in travel demand, but vacation bookings remain strong.
Hauenstein emphasized that Delta continues to focus on business customers and that its premium products are performing significantly better than Coach.
“We always have space for business customers,” he said. “Domestic and transatlantic flights are leading the way for the second half of the year. From this year to 2025, we’re in a pretty good position for everyone.”
Hauenstein pointed to an “interesting shift” related to changes in demand for transatlantic flights. He said peak travel months have shifted from July and August to September and October, likely due to changing weather patterns in Europe and the trend toward warmer travel conditions. said.
“July and August were less peaky,” he added.
This seasonal shift could be an opportunity for Delta to complement its strong performance in both the domestic and transatlantic markets and capitalize on increased demand during these months.
Looking ahead, Delta expects total revenue to increase 2% to 4% in the fourth quarter due to planned growth of 3% to 4% and strong holiday bookings.
