DELTA AIR LINES IS SOARING TO A RECORD $1.8 BILLION PROFIT AS SUMMER VACATIONERS PACK PLANES

Delta Air Lines soared to a record quarterly profit of more than $1.8 billion as summer vacationers packed planes, especially to international destinations, and the airline enjoyed a tailwind from falling fuel prices.

The results released Thursday beat Wall Street expectations, and Delta raised its forecast of full-year earnings.

Delta officials said strong demand for tickets has continued into the July-through-September quarter, when it expects revenue similar to the record second quarter.

"I think it's going to be more of the same," CEO Ed Bastian said in an interview. "International bookings, which traditionally start to trail off into the fall, are still going to be at a higher level than normal."

Some analysts have urged caution after summer ends because business travel, which usually picks up in September, has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

Bastian conceded that corporate travel "is off sizably, especially considering recent economic growth. He remains confident, however, that it will grow steadily. At the same time, he said, some customers are taking advantage of hybrid work arrangements to take trips that combine work and pleasure.

A key part of Delta's strategy involves pursuing high-income travelers, whom it says account for three-fourths of all spending on air travel. Drawing on government and private research, Delta says high-income households have accumulated $27 trillion in wealth since 2019.

"They have the means, and when we ask them where they are going to spend, their No. 1 priority is premium travel experience," Bastian said. "That's our bread and butter.