Delta discloses record advance summer bookings

Bookings for the summer are at their highest level in Delta Air Lines’ history, the company announced on Thursday. 

Glen Hauenstein, Delta Air Lines president, said in a company release, “With record advance bookings for the summer, we expect June quarter revenue to be 15% to 17% higher on capacity growth of 17% year over year.”

For the quarter ended March 31, advance cash bookings for travelers was nearly 20% higher than 2019, while small and medium business bookings fully recovered compared to 2019 levels.

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Amid the rise in bookings, the Atlanta-based air carrier also reported revenue of $12.76 billion in the period. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $12.77 billion.

Delta’s operating income reached $546 million with an operating margin of 4.6%, while pre-tax income was $217 million.

The Atlanta-based company said it had a loss of 57 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 25 cents per share.

The results did not meet Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 29 cents per share.

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Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive officer, said the airline generated nearly $5 billion of operating profit over the last 12 months.

“We expect to deliver record revenue, and an adjusted operating margin of 14% to 16% with earnings per share of $2 to $2.25,” he added. “With solid March quarter profitability and a strong outlook for the June quarter, we are confident in our full-year guidance for revenue growth of 15% to 20% year over year, earnings of $5 to $6 per share and free cash flow of over $2 billion.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.