Bangkok--8 May--jigsaw communications.com
Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today reported strong financial and operating performance for April 2012.
Delta's consolidated passenger unit revenue (PRASM) increased 11 percent for the month of April as compared to the prior year. During the month, Delta saw strong unit revenue improvement across all entities, driven by capacity discipline, corporate booking strength, and benefits from investments in products and services.
System traffic increased 1.1 percent on a 1.3 percent reduction in capacity, resulting in a 2.0 point improvement in load factor.
The company's fuel price per gallon was $3.44, consistent with expectations underlying recent second quarter fuel guidance. Delta expects to realize the majority of June quarter's hedge benefits in May and June.
Delta continued to make significant improvements in its operational performance during the month. Delta's completion factor of 99.8 percent was 0.8 points higher than prior year, and its on-time performance improved 12.6 points to 90.9 percent.
The company's financial and operational performance is detailed below.
Preliminary Financial and Operational Results — April 2012
Consolidated PRASM change year over year 11%
Consolidated average fuel price $3.44
On-time performance (preliminary DOT A14) 90.9%
Mainline completion factor 99.8%
Note: Fuel price includes taxes, transportation, settled hedges, and hedge premiums, but excludes mark to market adjustments on open hedges.
Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. During the past year, Delta was named domestic "Airline of the Year" by the readers of Travel Weekly magazine, was named the "Top Tech-Friendly U.S. Airline" by PCWorld magazine for its innovation in technology and won the Business Travel News Annual Airline Survey. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to nearly 350 destinations in 62 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of theSkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline's service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, a world-class airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than $2 billion through 2013 in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.