DLASflyer

• Adjusted operating loss of $793 million excludes a net gain of $9 million
• Pre-tax loss of $1.2 billion with adjusted pre-tax loss of $1.0 billion, excluding a net expense of $164 million
• Adjusted operating revenue of $8.2 billion, which excludes third-party refinery sales, was 79 percent recovered versus March quarter 2019 on capacity that was 83 percent restored
• Total operating expense of $10.1 billion increased $679 million compared to the March quarter 2019
• Adjusted for costs primarily from third-party refinery sales, total operating expense of $9.0 billion decreased $400 million or 4 percent in the March quarter 2022 versus the comparable 2019 period
• Generated $1.8 billion of operating cash flow and $197 million of free cash flow, after investing $1.6 billion into the business, primarily related to aircraft purchases and modifications
• At the end of the March quarter, the company had $12.8 billion in liquidity, including cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and undrawn revolving credit facilities
• Unit revenue exceeds 2019 levels in March month for the first time in two years: March quarter adjusted total unit revenue (TRASM) was 5 percent lower than the same period in 2019. As demand improved, March month adjusted TRASM inflected to positive versus 2019, marking the first month of positive unit revenue versus 2019 since the start of the pandemic. This strength was led by premium revenue and diversified revenue streams, including loyalty and cargo.
• Business travel recovery boosted by improvement in corporate: Domestic corporate sales* for the quarter were ~50 percent recovered, with March improving to ~70 percent versus 2019. International corporate sales for the quarter were ~35 percent recovered, with March improving to ~50 percent versus 2019. Internationally, Transatlantic improved the most as European countries reopened.
• Premium cabin revenue recovery outpacing Main Cabin: Premium products continued to lead the recovery with Domestic premium revenue approximately 100 percent restored to 2019 levels in the month of March. Domestic and Latin premium product revenue recovery outpaced Main Cabin by approximately 10 points during the March quarter.
• American Express remuneration 25 percent higher than 2019 levels: American Express remuneration of $1.2 billion in the quarter was up 25 percent compared to March quarter 2019. Co-brand spend was up 35 percent compared to March quarter 2019, reflecting a significant increase in T&E spend, with air travel spend outpacing lodging in the month of March for the first time since 2019. Co-brand acquisitions were nearly 95 percent recovered compared to March quarter 2019.
• Cargo strength continues with record revenue month in March: Cargo revenue was $289 million for the March quarter, a 51 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019 on strong demand and yields.

https://ir.delta.com/news/news-detai...s/default.aspx

DLASflyer

Ed says he wants the mask mandate gone, within minutes it gets extended.

Delta also ending its $200 surcharge for unvaccinated employees.

Gertjaars

With all of these outrageous prices for US Main cabin, I'm not surprised there are people on this forum willing to pay $1K+ for a one-way domestic first from SFO-JFK.

No words for these people who are adding to this "premium cabin revenue recovery".

Duke787

What's wrong with people adding to a "premium cabin revenue recovery"

WFBF and that's clearly what a lot of people are doing in our new COVID reality. Sucks for when wanting to clear and upgrade or RUC but no reason to begrudge folks who decide it's worth paying for premium cabin.

CalebMCO

People make their purchasing decisions based upon their needs, not yours.

jetsfan92588

With corporate travel revenue restored to 70% and premium restored to 100%, does that mean that leisure travelers buying premium is significantly increased compared to pre-pandemic, or am I thinking about that wrong (obviously not all business travel falls under corporate sales, but trying to understand broad strokes)?

Gertjaars

1. Pre-Covid: Roundtrip FC JFK-SFO can easily be found for around $1K, not much struggles to apply RUCs, decent upgrade lists

2. Covid era: people are paying for FC JFK-SFO each way at $1K+, you have folks struggling to apply RUCs, folks complaining the upgrade lists are way too long, cutbacks in service, but people are willing to pay more for domestic FC? Lol!

If you call point 2 above as "premium cabin revenue recovery", you guys are seriously misinformed.

Delta, an airline that got a massive bailout in 2020, is "struggling" in premium cabin revenue by continuing to charge asinine one-way rates for mediocre Domestic FC while still having cutbacks in service? You don't see the irony in that?

Those of you continuing to pay those high prices = setting the bar for minimum fixed prices for Domestic FC now and for the future.

Lux Flyer

Good for us. And I suppose I'm also setting the minimum fixed price for an Escalade when I pay 80k for it. If I want it and it is at a price I can afford , I'll pay for it. If it's a price I can't afford, I won't pay for it. But i'm not in the business of depriving myself of something I want, just so it gets cheaper so others can afford it too, and I'm not expecting that of other people to do for me either,

Regarding "cut backs in service", I could care less, if still it gets me from A to B. I'm paying the premium to be at the front of the plane, and even though I'm a relatively normal sized person (maybe even a little on the smaller side) that can fit comfortably in a MC seat, enjoy the extra space to stretch out. I'm hardly paying a $300-$1000 premium for the food, snacks, or "additional attention" from the dedicated cabin FA, if I cared about those those things I'd go out to a nice expensive restaurant to be pampered and fed with food fitting that price point.

Might also explain why my last 3 times flying have each been on different airlines FC, and haven't bought MC outright in 2+ years, because when you're buying FC outright all the other benefits from "staying loyal" seem to not matter. I suspect many other people who normally wouldn't get FC, tried out FC when fares were lower the past few years, and now choose its still worth it to them, even though fares have shot up.

findark

Not necessarily - it could easily be (and likely is) that disproportionately more premium-purchasing pax (both business and leisure) have resumed flying than have pax who purchase Y. However, yes, it is suggestive that leisure paid F is up versus pre-pandemic. That's a trend I am all for: anything to drive demand should also drive supply.

ethernal

$1K roundtrip in a lie flat on a 6 hour flight is an absolute money loser from Delta (and any other legacy, and likely Jetblue for that matter). I assume the increase in price is due to capacity getting reset after an excess existed between NYC-SFO/LAX routes. Sometimes lower J fares can be enabled by strong Y demand, but JFK-SFO also had super low Y fares pre-COVID. So, to me, that's just excess capacity. You should never "get used" to airline money losing routes.. eventually the subsidies end and capacity gets rightsized.

Anyone flying out of JFK has no room to complain about Delta pricing. That's a historical money losing market with great prices, especially relative to the cost of operating at JFK. MSP, SLC, and ATL captives mostly subsidize money losing operations at JFK. My (and others) $1500 main cabin ex_ATL tickets on a 4 hour 739 flight are what enabled Delta to give you those $1.2K lie flats on a 6 hour flight.

StayingHomeIsBetter

"Domestic premium revenue approximately 100 percent restored to 2019 levels in the month of March"

So when are we going to see premium service 100 percent restored to 2019 levels?

Bastian wants mask requirements gone. Alcohol disinfectant packets are now being phased out.

If DL believes that Covid concerns have significantly moderated, why not restore the service cuts that were justified as being Covid warranted?

Goodoldflyer

Even if domestic revenues are the same, costs are up. 8% inflation, increased gas prices, increased salary expectations, etc, mean the revenues have to be higher in order to generate the same income.

These are positive signs, but we're not over the hump yet.

The Situation

Lowest fares are $699 right now and many people (including myself with my own money) would happily pay that just for the seat given the length of the flight. The last time I took JFK-SFO was just before the pandemic and my flight cost somewhere around $1400 OW. While yes, I do remember roundtrips in D1 available for $1K, "easily be found" is a bit of a stretch, as the flights that had that pricing were generally not very desirable (no I really don't want to arrive in SFO at 1 a.m., get to my hotel room around 2 a.m. and be up at 6 a.m. to prep for a 9 a.m. meeting).

dcstudent

If more people are buying First (for whatever reason), I can't begrudge them, even if it makes my life more difficult/or expensive. I've been booking Comfort+ or First on nearly 100% of my flights this year - just for the comfort. But, on some routes (they've priced me out so exit row it is. For instance ATL-LAS is now running $1000 for C+ and $1500 for First...on most weeks through September for a Sunday to Vegas, Friday return. I'm not paying $1500 for a 3-4 hour flight on a 737, my loss if Delta can get it from someone else.