Delta CE Ed Bastian has said the US carrier will return to profitability in the summer as it starts to recover from the pandemic. He also said it will break even in the second quarter, although the recovery in international business travel will take at least another year. Demand will be choppy at first this year as passengers wait until last-minute to buy tickets, Bastian forecast. This will be followed by a turning point when the market starts to revive, paving the way for sustained increases in ticket sales. “By the summer, we hope to be back to profitability,” Bastian said. Airlines have struggled to forecast accurately cash flow in a rapidly changing operating environment and many big carriers have shied away from specific earnings guidance. Neither United nor American Airlines gave a date on when they expected to break even in their most recent earnings in October. In Europe, BA owner IAG had hoped to break even in Q4 of last year, but withdrew that guidance as a new wave of coronavirus infections spread across its key markets. Cowen analyst Helane Becker said in a note that Atlanta-based Delta’s plan to break even after March was “aggressive” given the current state of bookings. With business travel down 85%, “it is becoming increasingly clear that business travel will not be a meaningful contributor to revenue in 2021 as vaccination timelines continue to shift out”. Delta projects seats it has available to sell on flights will be down 55% in Q1 compared with the same period in 2019. The airline’s policy is to block middle seats on the plane, diminishing the total number it can sell by about a third. Revenue will fall by up to 65% to $3.7b in Q1.<br/>