Delta Reports Business Travel Up 14% YOY

Delta Air Lines has seen growing demand for both leisure and business travel.

That’s according to company executives, who also announced that Delta delivered record revenue for the March quarter and expects to do so again for the June quarter, according to a Wednesday (April 10) earnings release.

“Delta’s core consumers are in a healthy position and travel remains a top purchase priority,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said Wednesday during the company’s quarterly earnings call. “Generational shifts and evolving consumer preferences are driving secular growth in premium experiences.”

“And business travel demand has taken another meaningful step forward this year with growth accelerating into the mid-teens over last year,” Bastian added.

Delta saw corporate travel demand accelerate, with managed corporate sales growing 14% year over year during the quarter, according to the earnings release. This growth was led by large corporate accounts returning to business travel, a trend that was especially strong among those in the technology, consumer services and financial services sectors.

The company said it expects that trend to continue. Among the companies it has surveyed, 90% said they expect their travel volumes to increase or stay the same in the next quarter and beyond, the release said.

Consumer demand is also robust, and Delta expects to see a record spring and summer travel season, executives said during the call.

Delta’s business travel revenue has returned to 2019 levels and its business travel volume is at 85% to 90% of its pre-pandemic numbers, Bastian told Bloomberg in a report posted Wednesday.

Demand from all travelers is expected to continue to grow, and Delta hasn’t seen the dip in demand that traditionally occurs before the start of the summer season, Bastian said in the report.

“Both Memorial Day and early peeks at the Fourth of July look quite strong,” Bastian said, per the report.

United Airlines reported in January that it flew its largest domestic schedule in company history (by available seat miles and excluding Canada) for the 2023 fiscal year.

“I hate to say the word exceptional, but we’re seeing really good strength in domestic right now,” United Airlines Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mike Leskinen said at the time..

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