Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said international and business passengers are coming back strong.
, especially in recent weeks as carriers contend with fluctuating oil prices, and a looming pilot shortage could pose particular challenges for smaller, regional flights.Delta continued to fly less during the first quarter of the year than in 2019. Its capacity was 83% of 2019 levels, the company said in its first quarter earnings report in April.Staffing is at good levels, Bastian said.
But summer thunderstorms and air traffic control challenges could mean headaches for passengers. And the airline has recently been flying very full planes, Bastian said, which means there could be little room to rebook passengers whose flights are canceled. Delta has taken steps to try to address that challenge, including building in more crew rest and “firebreaks” that will allow it to catch up with its schedule, he said. He anticipates flight loads could stabilize next year.
Even as Delta looks to the busy summer travel season, business travel has already returned, Bastian said during a lecture at Northwestern University. The volume of business travel is more than 80% of where it was pre-pandemic, and revenue is nearing 100%., as people were quicker to plan vacations than business trips and employers delayed reopening offices as the delta variant, then the omicron variant, of COVID-19 surged.
The rise of Zoom and other technology in business will eliminate some traditional business travel, he said. But shifts in the workplace will drive other, new types of business travel.
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