Delta Airlines Earnings Report Millions Made Amid Mass Flight Delays

Airlines have taken a major hit this summer as staffing issues combined with high summer traffic have caused massive delays, cancelations, and disgruntled customers.

But although packed planes and an influx of flyers have made for an undesirable travel experience for many, it’s done quite the opposite for the bottom line, per Delta’s new earnings report.

The U.S.-based airline reported a $735 million profit in Q2 2022, despite earnings falling short per share based on analysts’ expectations.

The company showed higher costs due to inflationary concerns and rising fuel costs but managed to surpass the major increase in cost thanks to an influx of customers willing to pay higher ticket prices.

“Our June quarter non-fuel unit cost performance of up 22 percent compared to 2019 was impacted by lower capacity, higher selling-related expenses and investments in operational reliability,” Dan Janki, Delta’s chief financial officer said in the company report. “We remain confident in our ability to meaningfully improve our unit costs as we fully scale the network and return our operations to Delta’s high standards.”

Notably, Delta explained that they’re expecting a positive uptick in business travel ahead of Q3, mostly thanks to the elimination of COVID testing guidelines coming into the U.S.

As of December 2021, Delta had only recovered business travel to about 60% of pre-pandemic levels. The company was also given the title of No. 1 in Business Travel for 2021 for the 11th year in a row, which profits the company’s business operations.

Delta announced earlier this year that it would be slashing flights and routes during its summer schedule, estimating about 100 flights a day would be slashed due to COVID, weather-related issues, and inadequate staffing from vendors.

The airline also caught heat last month when over a thousand flights were delayed and canceled in one day at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, hundreds of which were Delta.

Delta was down around 6% on Wednesday morning due to an earnings miss despite strong profit.