Delta took advantage of a unique opportunity last year. As other airlines struggled with surging travel demand, the Atlanta-based carrier used the capacity it was flying to grab share in several of its most competitive hubs. “We wanted to maintain and increase our shares in the coastal gateways because without that, our opportunity for growth in the future is somewhat limited,” Delta President Glen Hauenstein said at an investor event in December. And that’s what the airline did. It began this year larger in terms of seats in Boston, New York, and Seattle than it was in 2019, according to Diio by Cirium schedules. All three, plus Los Angeles, benefit from big investments by Delta, including multi-billion dollar new terminals or facilities in Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle. These markets are clearly where the airline plans to grow in the years to come. But what about Delta’s core? The recovery of its core hubs — Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Salt Lake City — was postponed amid operational challenges that forced the airline and others to fly less than hoped during the second half of last year. Those challenges included airline staffing, particularly of pilots, air traffic control constraints, and aircraft delivery delays. That plan, owing to many of the same operational constraints that affected the airline industry last year, remains at the gate. It faces, in industry parlance, a rolling delay. “Aviation infrastructure is still fragile,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said during a Q1 earnings call earlier in April. Seats at three of the carrier’s core hubs remain down from 2019 levels through at least the third quarter. Atlanta is down 8.1% in the second quarter and 2.9% in the third; Detroit 18% and 16%; and Minneapolis-St. Paul 11% and 8.5%, Diio schedules show. Seats in Salt Lake City, owing in part to the surge in demand for outdoor-oriented destinations in the West during the pandemic, are roughly flat in the June quarter, and up 3% in the September quarter.<br/>
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Three years ago, major US carrier Delta Air Lines was “at the bottom”– revenue had dipped to a mere 5% of 2019, the last year unaffected by the Covid-19 pandemic. ”In three years’ time, to go from that to where we are today – this year, we’re expecting to be 10% to 15% above 2019 – is pretty incredible,” says Ed Bastian, Delta’s CE, during the MRO Americas conference in Atlanta on 18 April. Delta recorded its “10 highest sales days, all in the past couple of months”, Bastian says. ”We just had our second-highest day in our history in terms of people putting cash down to buy tickets.” “Demand has never been higher,” he adds. The airline’s CEO says he believes strong demand for air travel will continue beyond this summer, and that the lines between business and leisure travel will blur even further. “What we are seeing is not a short-term phenomenon called ‘revenge travel,’” he says. “The nine-to-five work location is probably a thing of the past, and I think anything that enhances mobility enhances our industry.” Aircraft delivery delays could hinder Delta’ ability to fully capitalise on the demand environment, however. ”Of course, we do our best to make sure that we get every single delivery on schedule because this is the richest demand set we may ever see,” Bastian says. During Delta’s Q1 earnings call on 13 April, Bastian said the carrier anticipates a “strong operational summer” following the chaotic summer of 2022, during which airlines, airports and the broader air traffic system struggled to keep up with rebounding demand for air travel. Despite generating record revenue in Q1 2023, Delta reported a $363m loss as costs surged – an improvement over the company’s $940m loss in the same period of 2022. Delta finished 2022 strong, with a $1.3b profit for the full year. <br/>
Air France KLM has agreed revolving credit facilities (RCF) worth E2.2b, it said on Tuesday, adding that these are linked to environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets. The airline added that as a result of this new credit deal, KLM had cancelled the remaining direct loan and the previous, existing credit facility guaranteed by the Dutch state. The ESG targets linked to the credit facility entail a commitment by Air France KLM towards a gradual decarbonisation of its activities, said the company.<br/>