The Atlanta-based airline, Delta Air Lines, has recorded a record amount of advanced bookings for this upcoming summer of travel. This is another sign that the travel industry is recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Record bookings for summer 2023

The airline has disclosed that the upcoming bookings for summer 2023 are the highest recorded number in Delta Air Lines history. The President of Delta Air Lines, Glen Hauenstein, released a statement saying,

"With record advance bookings for the summer, we expect June quarter revenue to be 15% to 17% higher on capacity growth of 17% year over year."

In the first quarter of 2023, the airline reported that advance cash bookings for passengers were almost 20% higher than the recorded levels in 2019, which was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Small and medium business bookings have fully recovered to pre-2019 levels, matching what was recorded that year.

The advanced booking of flights shows that Delta Air Lines has a positive outlook for the remainder of the year due to the strong travel demand. The advanced booking of flights also means that fares are increased to meet the higher travel demand.

The average fare per mile on Delta flights was up 17% compared to last year and compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The travel demand increasing also meant fuller planes for the first quarter. The airline was selling 81% of available seats, which was up from 75% in 2022.

Positive outlook after a first-quarter loss

Delta Air Lines posted a first-quarter net loss, mostly due to rising labor costs. The company reported a profit when excluding special items, of $163 million. This was a massive increase compared to last year's numbers of reporting a $784 million loss.

The operating income for the airline reached $546 million in the first quarter. This led to an operating margin of 4.6% and a pre-tax income of $217 million.

Revenue in the first quarter of 2023 was up 45% compared to last year and reached $11.8 billion. This was also up 14% compared to 2019, prior to the pandemic. Delta Air Lines' Chief Executive Officer, Ed Bastian, spoke about the earnings, saying,

"We expect to deliver record revenue and an adjusted operating margin of 14% to 16% with earnings per share of $2 to $2.25. With solid March quarter profitability and a strong outlook for the June quarter, we are confident in our full-year guidance for revenue growth of 15% to 20% year over year, earnings of $5 to $6 per share, and free cash flow of over $2 billion."

The airline also reported a loss of 57 cents per share. However, when adjusted for one-time gains and costs, this came out to earnings of 25 cents per share. This was less than Wall Street's expectations of earnings of 29 cents per share.

Both the revenue and earnings were less than what Wall Street had forecasted, but the company still had a positive outlook for the remainder of the year. This led to Delta Air Lines shares increasing the morning of the earnings release.