by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:25 AM ET, Thu October 10, 2024
Delta Air Lines has reported the impact of the CrowdStrike outage in its September quarter, reporting a downturn in its third quarter revenue, and predicting record December quarter revenue, even with less travel demand due to the upcoming election.
Third Quarter Earnings, CrowdStrike Impact
Delta reported a quarter revenue of $14.6 billion in its third quarter. It saw a $380 million impact from the CrowdStrike-caused outage that occurred in August and stranded thousands of passengers flying with the airline. Because of the outage, adjusted total unit revenue (TRASM) was down 3.6 percent year over year, with a 1.1 percent impact from the outage.
Growth and Success
Yet it wasn’t all negative. Transatlantic travel continues to be popular, especially in Latin America, Europe and the Pacific. Managed corporate sales also increased 7 percent year over year, demonstrating a growing corporate travel landscape. The airline debuted its Delta Business Traveler Program in August.
Delta also took delivery of nine aircraft during the past quarter, including A321neo, A330-900 and A350-900 aircraft. To-date, Delta has added 27 new aircraft this year.
It also accrued $320 million in profit sharing during its September quarter. Shareholders earned a diluted earnings per share of $1.97, a 15 percent increase from last year.
End-of-Year Predictions
Delta is predicting its total unit revenue for the last quarter of the year to fall one percent due to the upcoming election. Yet even with this fall, its total revenue growth is expected to increase 2-4 percent year over year. The airline expects to provide shareholders with $1.60 to $1.85 per share during the quarter.
"With an improving industry backdrop and strong demand for travel on Delta, we are positioned to finish the year strong,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive officer. “We expect our December quarter pre-tax profit to grow 30 percent over last year to $1.4 billion, which would mark one of the most profitable fourth quarters in our history."
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