Delta Air Lines: 14.7 million passengers in September 2017

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today reported operating performance for September 2017. The company carried 14.7 million passengers across our broad global network in the month.

During the month, Hurricanes Irma and Maria impacted operations across the Caribbean and Southeastern United States. Hurricane Irma significantly impacted operations with 2,200 flights cancelled from September 7-12 at airports in Florida, the Caribbean, and Georgia, including the company’s Atlanta hub.

Over the course of the month, Delta took the following action to assist customers impacted by the storms:

• Added 12,000 additional seats departing Florida and Caribbean markets to assist evacuation efforts related to Hurricane Irma.

• Capped fares for flights to and from hurricane-affected areas before, during and after the storm for itineraries throughout the continental United States.

• Provided waivers for customers transiting more than 40 destinations where flights were affected by hurricanes and suspended baggage and pet-in-cabin fees for customers traveling to or from impacted cities.

• Contributed an additional $1.75 million specific to hurricane relief to the American Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society (IFRC) and British, Dutch and French Red Cross organizations.

In an Investor Update issued this morning, Delta announced that it expects its operating margin to be 15.5%-16.5%1. Hurricane Irma negatively impacted results by approximately $120 million which translates to approximately one point of margin.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 180 million customers each year. In 2017, Delta was named to Fortune’s top 50 Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the sixth time in seven years.

Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for an unprecedented six consecutive years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 311 destinations in 54 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs more than 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 800 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry’s leading transatlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic.

Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK and LaGuardia, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Seoul, and Tokyo-Narita.

Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products and services, and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground.

Monthly Traffic Results (a)
Year to Date Traffic Results (a)

Sep 2017 Sep 2016 Change Sep 2017 Sep 2016 Change

RPMs (000):
Domestic 10,526,699 10,492,829 0.3% 101,862,838 98,608,152 3.3%
Delta Mainline 8,920,552 8,803,704 1.3% 86,419,931 83,035,495 4.1%
Regional 1,606,147 1,689,125 (4.9%) 15,442,906 15,572,657 (0.8%)
International 7,127,900 7,104,670 0.3% 64,669,919 64,504,441 0.3%
Latin America 1,212,585 1,198,938 1.1% 16,044,458 15,347,022 4.5%
Delta Mainline 1,194,474 1,161,396 2.8% 15,738,017 14,919,893 5.5%
Regional 18,111 37,542 (51.8%) 306,441 427,129 (28.3%)
Atlantic 4,144,444 3,894,243 6.4% 32,836,381 31,358,414 4.7%
Pacific 1,770,871 2,011,489 (12.0%) 15,789,080 17,799,005 (11.3%)
Total System 17,654,599 17,597,499 0.3% 166,532,757 163,112,593 2.1%


ASMs (000):
Domestic 12,591,574 12,314,577 2.2% 118,913,689 116,184,487 2.3%
Delta Mainline 10,579,237 10,208,864 3.6% 99,646,553 96,679,003 3.1%
Regional 2,012,338 2,105,713 (4.4%) 19,267,136 19,505,484 (1.2%)
International 8,331,622 8,481,876 (1.8%) 75,349,779 76,968,001 (2.1%)
Latin America 1,428,763 1,412,213 1.2% 18,389,390 18,102,457 1.6%
Delta Mainline 1,404,305 1,362,514 3.1% 17,997,091 17,570,715 2.4%
Regional 24,457 49,699 (50.8%) 392,299 531,742 (26.2%)
Atlantic 4,829,936 4,773,905 1.2% 38,706,415 38,706,024 0.0%
Pacific 2,072,923 2,295,758 (9.7%) 18,253,974 20,159,520 (9.5%)
Total System 20,923,196 20,796,453 0.6% 194,263,468 193,152,488 0.6%

Load Factor:
Domestic 83.6% 85.2% (1.6) Pts 85.7% 84.9% 0.8 Pts
Delta Mainline 84.3% 86.2% (1.9) Pts 86.7% 85.9% 0.8 Pts
Regional 79.8% 80.2% (0.4) Pts 80.2% 79.8% 0.4 Pts
International 85.6% 83.8% 1.8 Pts 85.8% 83.8% 2.0 Pts
Latin America 84.9% 84.9% 0.0 Pts 87.2% 84.8% 2.4 Pts
Delta Mainline 85.1% 85.2% (0.1) Pts 87.4% 84.9% 2.5 Pts
Regional 74.1% 75.5% (1.4) Pts 78.1% 80.3% (2.2) Pts
Atlantic 85.8% 81.6% 4.2 Pts 84.8% 81.0% 3.8 Pts
Pacific 85.4% 87.6% (2.2) Pts 86.5% 88.3% (1.8) Pts
Total System 84.4% 84.6% (0.2) Pts 85.7% 84.4% 1.3 Pts

Mainline Completion Factor 97.9% 99.9% (2.0) Pts

Mainline On-time Performance 88.7% 90.2% (1.5) Pts
(preliminary DOT A14)

Passengers Boarded 14,652,094 14,991,797 (2.3%) 140,946,044 138,716,755 1.6%

Cargo Ton Miles (000): 187,231 171,112 9.4% 1,609,400 1,473,263 9.2%

aResults include flights operated under contract carrier arrangements