Delta Air Lines Keeps Capacity Growth Flat Amid ‘Broad Economic Uncertainty’

Delta Air Lines saw year-over-year revenue growth of 3.3% in the March quarter as it dealt with “broad economic uncertainty.”

While the results were different from what the company expected at the beginning of the year, they remained “solid” in the current, uncertain environment, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said Wednesday (April 9) during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

“Consistent with our update last month, February and March reflected a much more challenging macro environment than anyone initially planned for,” Bastian said. “Coming into 2025, we were positioned for another year of strong growth. However, given broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled.”

In this environment, the company is taking action on things it can control, Bastian said. These measures include protecting its margins, managing its costs and keeping its capacity growth flat in the second half of the year, compared to last year, to align supply with demand.

The company did not provide an updated full-year outlook because it would be premature to do so “given the broad macro uncertainty,” Bastian said during the call.

The company’s revenue was consistent with a revised guidance it issued in March.

Delta Air Lines revised its March quarter outlook downward on March 10, compared to the guidance it provided Jan. 10, saying that macro uncertainty had softened demand in the domestic market. In a press release issued a day before its presentation at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference, Delta said it expected its total revenue to grow 3% to 4% year over year during the March quarter, down from its earlier guidance of 7% to 9%.

A day later, in presentations made at the conference, three more airlines — American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines — made similar comments about the macroeconomic environment and revised their outlooks downward or said they expected earnings to come in at the lower end of their guidance.

Delta Air Lines reported in a Wednesday earnings release that it saw continued resilience in its premium, loyalty and international businesses, while the domestic and main cabin businesses were soft.

Its revenue was up 7% in premium products, 11% in loyalty travel rewards and mid-single digits in international, while revenue was down 1% in main cabin and 3% in domestic, according to the release.

The company saw corporate growth moderate, with corporate sales up low-single digits year over year.

“After starting the year with momentum, a reduction in corporate confidence stalled growth in February and March,” the release said.