The covid-19 pandemic dragged the world through some harsh times a few years back and the airline industry was one of many that took heavy losses.
The sector lost $137.7 billion in 2020 and $42 billion the following year, according to the International Air Transport Association.
But 2023 is looking better and the association expects airlines to post a small net profit of $4.7 billion, or 0.6%.
Air travel demand remains strong compared with last year and was up 10% in April compared with a year ago. That's even with 2019 levels, the U.S. Travel Association said.
Making Progress on Financial Plan
Delta Airlines (DAL), the Atlanta-based air carrier, declared a quarterly divided of 10 cents per share that will be paid on Aug. 7 to shareholders of record as of the close of business July 17.
The company is resuming a payout that it had suspended in March 2020 during the pandemic.
"This resumption of Delta's quarterly dividend following the suspension of the program in March 2020 reflects Delta's progress on its three-year financial plan, including over $10 billion of debt repayment over the last two years," Delta said in a June 15 statement.
Airlines were prohibited from paying dividends or repurchasing stock as a condition of receiving $54 billion in government assistance during the pandemic. Delta received $11.9 billion in U.S. assistance, but those restrictions expired last fall.
Last month, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said that Delta has spent months preparing for the busy summer travel season, “investing heavily to ensure our team of 90,000 worldwide is ready to deliver a reliable, high-quality experience."
Beefing Up Service for the Summer
Delta said it will expand their offerings to include 1,500 weekly flights to 80 international cities, and has also introduced some brand new routes, including New York-JFK to Geneva, Switzerland and Atlanta to Nice, France.
The airline has also taken steps to cut down on congestion in airports and in their Delta Sky Clubs, and have begun to expand their clubs in Minneapolis, Chicago and Kansas City, and have added a second club in New York-JFK, set to open later this summer.
"We have reached an important step in our digital transformation with the rollout of fast free, high-quality WiFi, which has been a tremendous success," Bastian said during the company's April 14 earnings call. "We began this effort several years before the pandemic, and it has required significant investment and resources to achieve."
Delta’s investor day is scheduled for June 27.
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In December, Southwest Airlines (LUV) became the first major U.S. airline to reinstate its quarterly dividend, more than two years after suspending it in the wake of the pandemic.
CEO Bob Jordan said at the time that the reinstatement reflects "the strong return in demand for air travel" as well as Southwest's "solid" operating and financial performance since March, Reuters reported.
