Delta Air Lines’ corporate volume increased 5 percent year
over year during the third quarter, Delta president Ed Bastian said during the
carrier’s earnings call Wednesday.
Domestic demand proved particularly strong on
transcontinental flights and between West Coast markets, he said. Financial
services, healthcare and media segments also posted strong demand, offsetting
weaker business from energy and manufacturing segments.
Nevertheless, Delta’s operating revenue declined 0.6 percent
year over year to $11.1 billion, owing largely to foreign currency pressure
that affected transatlantic markets, in particular. As that pressure continues,
Delta plans to keep capacity flat in the fourth quarter and temper its 2016 increase
to between 0 percent and 2 percent to boost revenue in the coming months,
according to Bastian.
For the third quarter, Delta’s consolidated capacity
increased 3 percent year over year, and traffic increased 4 percent, combining
for a load factor increase of 0.4 percentage points to 86.8 percent.
Passenger revenue per available seat mile declined 5 percent
year over year, and operating cost per available seat mile declined 17 percent.
Yield declined 5 percent.
Delta’s net income for the quarter was $1.3 billion,
compared with $357 million in the third quarter of 2014.