Delta bullish on 2024 demand, Amex partnership; less so on the Paris Olympics

12.04.2024 - 14:39 / thepointsguy.com / Glen Hauenstein / Ed Bastian / Paris Olympics / Airlines

Delta Air Lines is forecasting another busy summer travel season, buoyed by a sustained demand for leisure travel — not to mention a far more robust business travel sector that's been slow to improve in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company reported its first-quarter 2024 earnings Wednesday, revealing it made $37 million — a modest profit, though that's not unexpected during the winter months.

During a conference call, executives at the Atlanta-based carrier shed some light on Delta's plans for this year and beyond.

The plans include a renewed focus on its longtime hubs, and a lot of anticipation for overseas travel — but a less-than-bullish view of perhaps the summer's biggest global event.

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As the calendar shifted to 2024, travel industry watchers wondered if the "revenge travel" craze witnessed ever since 2022 might finally begin to subside — or if the packed airport terminals and tourist hot spots seen the last two summers might be here to stay.

It appears to be the latter, at least as far as Delta is concerned.

During the first three-plus months of 2024, Delta has recorded its 11 highest sales days ever, CEO Ed Bastian noted during a conference call with analysts Wednesday.

Part of those surging sales, no doubt, are thanks to what Delta is characterizing as a "meaningful" step forward for business travel.

Ever since pandemic-related restrictions were lifted, travel's resurgence has been led by leisure travel and, more recently, "group" travel (think travelers headed to conferences). Classic, last-minute, one- or two-day business trips have consistently lagged behind pre-pandemic levels, though.

And the travel landscape's recovery across the U.S. has been uneven, as hospitality analytics firm CoStar noted in a February report. In 2023, the study showed, per-room hotel revenue surged over 2019 levels in some popular conference destinations like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tampa and San Diego ... but lagged far behind in the likes of San Francisco, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Might 2024 be different?

"Since the start of the year, we've seen a sustained acceleration in business travel," Delta President Glen Hauenstein said Wednesday, noting ticket sales via corporate accounts rose 14% during January, February and March over that same period in 2023.

But it's not just business travelers giving Delta reason for optimism this year.

"Delta's core consumers are in a healthy position, and travel remains a top purchase priority," Bastian added on Wednesday's conference call.

More broadly, there are signs of another big year for air travel; the Transportation Security Administration recorded its