Delta Air Lines has had a record number of advance bookings for its coming summer season (June-August 2023), the highest recorded in its history.
In a statement, President Glen Hauenstein said: “With record advance bookings for the summer, we expect June quarter revenue to be 15% to 17% higher on capacity growth of 17% year over year.”
According to Foxbusiness.com, for the quarter ended March 31, advance cash bookings for Delta travellers were about 20% higher than 2019, while small and medium business bookings had fully recovered compared with 2019.
The airline reported revenue of US$12,76 billion (R232bn) in the period, while operating income reached $546 million (R9,9bn) with an operating margin of 4,6%, while pre-tax income was $217 million (R3,9bn).
CEO Ed Bastian said the airline had generated nearly $5 billion (R90bn) of operating profit over the last 12 months. "We expect to deliver record revenue, and an adjusted operating margin of 14% to 16% with earnings per share of $2 to $2,25 (R36 to R41). With solid March quarter profitability and a strong outlook for the June quarter, we are confident in our full-year guidance for revenue growth of 15% to 20% year over year, earnings of $5 to $6 (R90 to R109) per share and free cash flow of over $2 billion (R26bn)."
