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Among the big U.S. carriers, Delta Air Lines has assiduously built a reputation as a premium airline, touting its punctual and reliable operations relative to peers. But over the last several days, its brand image has been dented. Following a global cyber outage, the Atlanta-based airline has been the slowest among major U.S. carriers to recover. Since last Friday, Delta has canceled more than 6,000 flights, leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded. Analysts estimate the hit to its bottom line could be in the hundreds of millions. Delta's operations recovered on Thursday, with the carrier cancelling just two flights as of 10:30 AM EST, according to data from FlightAware. Its disruptions were the latest in a series of unexpected problems that have hit individual U.S. airlines over the last few years. United Airlines bore the brunt of weather disruptions last year around the July Fourth holiday weekend. Southwest Airlines (LUV.N), opens new tab suffered an operational meltdown around the Christmas holidays in 2022 that upended travel plans for 2m customers. Prior to the cyber outage, Delta's reputation was strong, with aviation analytics firm Cirium and consultancy OAG ranking it as the most punctual airline in North America in both 2024 and 2023.<br/>"That (premium) image has now taken a hit," said Conor Cunningham, an analyst at Melius Research, adding the disruptions would result in a hit of at least $350m to its operating margin in the September quarter.<br/>

Air France-KLM trimmed its full-year capacity outlook amid a bigger-than-expected shortfall from tourists avoiding Paris during the Summer Olympics, with the group initiating a hiring freeze and additional cost cuts. Group capacity is now expected to rise 4% from last year’s level, compared with a previous estimate of 5%, Air France-KLM said in a statement on Thursday. It also tweaked its 2024 capital-expenditure target to below E3b from an already revised April goal of E3b. The second quarter “confirmed an increasingly challenging environment for aviation,” CEO Ben Smith said. Passengers avoiding Paris to skirt possible disruptions and high prices during the Olympic Games kicking off Friday is now expected to result in a shortfall of about E200m, the company said, more than a previous estimate of E160m to E180m. French residents have been postponing holidays until after the Olympics, while international customers are staying away, it said. Citizens also traveled slightly less in June and early July due European elections first and then snap French legislative vote, the company added. Air France-KLM’s report adds to a series of gloomy outlooks by international carriers in recent weeks, hurt by a decline in ticket prices, delays in aircraft deliveries and higher costs. Deutsche Lufthansa AG said it will struggle to break even at its namesake airline unit this year, and Ryanair Holdings Plc warned on Monday that yields will be materially lower as travelers cut back on spending during the most important months of travel. Airlines poured capacity into Paris in the run-up to the Olympic Games, with Air France and its low-budget Transavia airline, as well as Ryanair leading the charge. While it’s typical for corporate travelers to avoid a host city during the Olympics, just 24 hours before the opening ceremony the French capital’s streets and restaurants remain empty as more residents work remotely or have left teh city, while tourists have yet to show up. <br/>

Air France KLM faces a hit of about E10m from last week's global technology outage, finance chief Steven Zaat said on Thursday. The group is one of the first airlines to disclose a cost linked to the disruption. "The expectation is that it will cost us around 10 million (euros)," Zaad said in a press call, adding that KLM and Transavia bore the brunt of the disruptions while Air France was not seriously affected. A software update by global cybersecurity company CrowdStrike triggered systems problems that grounded flights, forced broadcasters off air and left customers without access to services such as healthcare or banking last Friday. Delta Air Lines has been the slowest among major U.S. carriers to recover from the outage. The carrier has cancelled more than 6,000 flights since Friday and analysts estimate the hit to its bottom line could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.<br/>