Delta took a nine-figure hit from the fed shutdown. But holidays look strong.
After having to cancel and refund thousands of flights and a general drop in bookings, Delta Air Lines saw a $200 million hit from the longest government shutdown in history.
“None of that was in our forecast or plan,” the company’s CEO Ed Bastian told investors at a conference on Wednesday.
But despite the year’s volatility, from tariffs to the shutdown, end-of-year travel is looking solid, he said.
People delayed their booking decisions but are still traveling during the upcoming busy holiday season.
“Christmas and New Year’s look strong. So I think we’re through it,” Bastian said of the November downturn from the shutdown, which saw FAA-mandated capacity cuts across the nation’s busiest airport to alleviate pressure on air traffic controllers.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving set an all-time bookings record for the airline, he said.
While the industry is expecting to be down 40% this year, Bastian said Delta will see $5 billion in 2025 profits — just shy of its 2024 adjusted pretax income total.
In January, Bastian had predicted 2025 would be the company’s most profitable ever, but tariffs and global economic volatility threw those plans out the window.
“Our consumer is fairly healthy,” he said. Delta’s target consumer base is households making more than $100,000.
The company’s long-term strategy to appeal to the premium travel market, he said, has paid off.
About the Author
As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
