ATLANTA, June 4, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) today reported record load factors for May 2008. Load factors for system (82.9 percent), domestic (84.2 percent), Latin (77.6 percent) and regional system (80.8 percent) were higher than any previous May on record for Delta.
System traffic in May 2008 increased 4.2 percent over May 2007 with a capacity increase of 1.5 percent. As a result of Delta's combination of unique markets and improved product offerings, international traffic remained strong in May, increasing 20.9 percent year over year on a 17.4 percent increase in capacity. Delta's international load factor was 80.8 percent, an increase of 2.3 points compared to May 2007. Domestic traffic in May 2008 decreased 3.8 percent year over year on a capacity decrease of 6.5 percent.
In addition, a record number of passengers flew internationally on Delta during May. The number of international, Atlantic and Latin passengers increased 14.9 percent, 17.4 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively, versus the same period last year.
"May's strong unit revenue performance was driven by Delta's expanding international presence and the company's commitment to domestic capacity rationalization," said Glen Hauenstein, Delta's executive vice president -- Network Planning and Revenue Management. "With continued yield growth, summer demand strength and growth in our cargo and ancillary revenues, we expect a solid summer. Our pre-emptive move in March to cut capacity for this fall leaves us well positioned to continue to deliver on our revenue targets."
Detailed traffic and capacity are below.
Delta Air Lines operates service to more worldwide destinations than any airline with Delta and Delta Connection flights to 324 destinations in 62 countries. Delta has added more international capacity than any major U.S. airline during the last two years and is the leader across the Atlantic with flights to 43 trans-Atlantic markets. To Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta offers 600 weekly flights to 62 destinations. Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on more than 16,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Including its SkyTeam and worldwide codeshare partners, Delta offers flights to 474 worldwide destinations in 104 countries. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.
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Statements in this news release that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections or strategies for the future, may be "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections and strategies reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the cost of aircraft fuel; the impact that our indebtedness will have on our financial and operating activities and our ability to incur additional debt; the restrictions that financial covenants in our financing agreements will have on our financial and business operations; labor issues; interruptions or disruptions in service at one of our hub airports; our increasing dependence on technology in our operations; our ability to retain management and key employees; the ability of our credit card processors to take significant holdbacks in certain circumstances; the effects of terrorist attacks; and competitive conditions in the airline industry. Additional information concerning risks and uncertainties that could cause differences between actual results and forward-looking statements is contained in Delta's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2008. Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on Delta's forward-looking statements, which represent Delta's views only as of June 4, 2008, and which Delta has no current intention to update.
Delta Air Lines
Monthly Traffic Results(a)
May 2008 May 2007 Change
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RPMs (000):
Domestic 6,537,219 6,798,216 (3.8%)
Delta Mainline 5,031,827 5,277,936 (4.7%)
Comair 382,130 388,723 (1.7%)
Contract Carriers 1,123,262 1,131,557 (0.7%)
International 3,971,206 3,283,396 20.9%
Latin America 832,978 747,695 11.4%
Delta Mainline 786,705 713,010 10.3%
Comair 0 1,071 NA
Contract Carriers 46,273 33,614 37.7%
Atlantic 2,892,393 2,438,260 18.6%
Pacific 245,835 97,441 152.3%
System 10,508,425 10,081,612 4.2%
ASMs (000):
Domestic 7,760,585 8,298,887 (6.5%)
Delta Mainline 5,902,924 6,380,057 (7.5%)
Comair 489,153 505,867 (3.3%)
Contract Carriers 1,368,508 1,412,963 (3.1%)
International 4,912,730 4,183,198 17.4%
Latin America 1,073,514 1,073,555 0.0%
Delta Mainline 1,010,534 1,022,236 (1.1%)
Comair 0 1,370 NA
Contract Carriers 62,980 49,949 26.1%
Atlantic 3,517,576 2,995,906 17.4%
Pacific 321,640 113,737 182.8%
System 12,673,315 12,482,085 1.5%
Load Factor
Domestic 84.2% 81.9% 2.3 pts
Delta Mainline 85.2% 82.7% 2.5 pts
Comair 78.1% 76.8% 1.3 pts
Contract Carriers 82.1% 80.1% 2.0 pts
International 80.8% 78.5% 2.3 pts
Latin America 77.6% 69.6% 8.0 pts
Delta Mainline 77.9% 69.8% 8.1 pts
Comair 0.0% 78.2% NA pts
Contract Carriers 73.5% 67.3% 6.2 pts
Atlantic 82.2% 81.4% 0.8 pts
Pacific 76.4% 85.7% (9.3) pts
System 82.9% 80.8% 2.1 pts
Passengers Boarded 8,960,838 9,134,570 (1.9%)
Completion Factor 99.6% 99.5% 0.1 pts
Cargo Ton Miles:
Mail 6,337,000 4,963,911 27.7%
Freight 98,368,203 89,196,719 10.3%
Total System 104,705,203 94,160,630 11.2%
Endnote:
(a) Results reflect operations under our contract carrier arrangements with the following airlines: Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc., Chautauqua Airlines, Inc., Freedom Airlines, Inc., Shuttle America Corp. and SkyWest Airlines Inc. for all periods presented, and ExpressJet Airlines and Pinnacle Airlines, Inc beginning June 2007 and December 2007, respectively.
Delta Air Lines
Year to Date Traffic Results (a)
May 2008 May 2007 Change
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RPMs (000):
Domestic 32,128,359 32,645,225 (1.6%)
Delta Mainline 24,861,835 25,525,061 (2.6%)
Comair 1,828,622 1,815,207 0.7%
Contract Carriers 5,437,902 5,304,957 2.5%
International 16,654,566 14,472,467 15.1%
Latin America 4,647,655 4,334,630 7.2%
Delta Mainline 4,385,900 4,151,854 5.6%
Comair 5,202 4,690 10.9%
Contract Carriers 256,553 178,086 44.1%
Atlantic 11,200,909 9,669,935 15.8%
Pacific 806,002 467,902 72.3%
Total System 48,782,925 47,117,692 3.5%
ASMs (000):
Domestic 39,774,523 41,020,941 (3.0%)
Delta Mainline 30,396,963 31,645,585 (3.9%)
Comair 2,493,998 2,523,801 (1.2%)
Contract Carriers 6,883,562 6,851,555 0.5%
International 21,368,443 18,798,212 13.7%
Latin America 5,867,929 5,904,940 (0.6%)
Delta Mainline 5,525,503 5,639,896 (2.0%)
Comair 6,489 5,940 9.2%
Contract Carriers 335,937 259,104 29.7%
Atlantic 14,422,309 12,341,060 16.9%
Pacific 1,078,205 552,212 95.3%
Total System 61,142,966 59,819,153 2.2%
Load Factor
Domestic 80.8% 79.6% 1.2 pts
Delta Mainline 81.8% 80.7% 1.1 pts
Comair 73.3% 71.9% 1.4 pts
Contract Carriers 79.0% 77.4% 1.6 pts
International 77.9% 77.0% 0.9 pts
Latin America 79.2% 73.4% 5.8 pts
Delta Mainline 79.4% 73.6% 5.8 pts
Comair 80.2% 79.0% 1.2 pts
Contract Carriers 76.4% 68.7% 7.7 pts
Atlantic 77.7% 78.4% (0.7) pts
Pacific 74.8% 84.7% (9.9) pts
Total System 79.8% 78.8% 1.0 pts
Passengers Boarded 43,469,218 43,582,553 (0.3%)
Cargo Ton Miles:
Mail 27,672,050 23,750,690 16.5%
Freight 471,812,749 422,103,396 11.8%
Total System 499,484,799 445,854,086 12.0%
Endnote:
(a) Results reflect operations under our contract carrier arrangements with the following airlines: Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc., Chautauqua Airlines, Inc., Freedom Airlines, Inc., Shuttle America Corp. and SkyWest Airlines Inc. for all periods presented, and ExpressJet Airlines and Pinnacle Airlines, Inc beginning June 2007 and December 2007, respectively.