Delta Airlines has announced record September quarter revenue with earnings growth of over 30% year-over-year, with full year adjusted revenue growth of 20% compared to 2022.
The airline’s GAAP report showed operating revenues of $15.5bn in Q3 of 2023, with an operating income of $2bn and a pre-tax income of $1.5bn.
“Thanks to the outstanding work of our entire team, Delta delivered record September quarter revenue and a double-digit operating margin. said Ed Bastian, Delta CEO. “Our operational reliability continues to strengthen, thanks to our people, and I’m pleased to recognize their outstanding efforts with over $1 billion accrued year-to-date towards profit sharing.
“Delta continues to set itself apart as a trusted consumer brand delivering welcoming, caring and elevated service by the best people in the industry. Our differentiated position supports our expectations for full year revenue growth of 20% over 2022, and pre-tax earnings of over $5 billion, a near doubling over prior year earnings.”
Domestic and international boost
The financial success was partly attributed to an increase in domestic passenger revenue, which saw a 6% rise on 2022 with 11% additional capacity, as well as increased international passenger revenue (up 35% compared to 2022). Growth in diverse revenue steams such as loyalty, cargo and MRO, which accounted to 55% of total revenues year-to-date, also so double-digit growth over 2022 figures.
Delta president Glen Hauenstein commented, “Robust demand for travel on Delta is continuing into the December quarter where we expect total revenue growth of 9-12% compared to the December quarter 2022 with total unit revenue (TRASM) expected to decline 2.5% to 4.5%. Within this outlook, domestic and transatlantic trends are consistent with the September quarter on a year-over-year basis, while unit revenue trends in the Pacific and Latin America are expected to modestly decelerate given capacity growth related to China re-opening and investment in our LATAM JV.”
Read the full report here.
