Delta Air Lines flagship A350-900
viper-zero/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
As the airline industry reports its financial performance for yet another quarter, Delta Air Lines (DAL) has already proven that it runs a distinctly different and more financially successful business. Now that American (AAL), Delta and United (UAL) have reported their financial reports with the rest of the industry to report within days, it appears, once again, that Delta has defied analysts who have repeatedly said that global airlines would take a back seat in the return of profits to low cost and domestic airlines. Delta reported a fourth quarter 2021 adjusted net profit (excluding refinery performance, equity losses, and profit sharing) of 1.7% compared to double digit margin losses for American and United. Delta also managed to eke out a small profit in the third quarter. So how does Delta do things so differently than the rest of the airline industry? As with any business, the answer is ultimately about revenues, costs, and the balance sheet. Delta’s investor day presentation in December 2021 as well as its earnings report just a few weeks later provide insights.
![Delta Air Lines Stock: The Company Moves Ahead Of The Pack (NYSE:DAL) 2 - Delta Airlines Selected DAL financial stats](https://go.traveltrade.today/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/7197781-16428961301211147.png)
DAL selected financial stats
DAL Revenue
Delta first and foremost sees itself as a premium air transportation provider and that self-perception has enormous implications for its strategies and also for understanding how Delta and its peers have managed differently through Covid.
Delta’s self-perception of being a premium airline, early in the pandemic, meant that the reduced amount of business travel and the dramatic reduction in the amount of international traffic required Delta to set itself apart as offering a higher quality product than its peers. For the first year of the pandemic, it meant that Delta blocked middle seats, catering to the perception of a safer cabin but also using the reduced demand to provide extra space that passengers valued and paid more for, even in a…