Delta Air Lines’ bookings are tracking “off trend” immediately before and after the US presidential election on 5 November, which is expected to moderately impact the carrier’s fourth quarter revenue performance.
Company executives discussed the phenomenon during Delta’s third-quarter earnings call on 10 October, with president Glen Hauenstein describing slowing demand in the week leading up to the election and suppressed bookings through the following week.
“If you were looking at our internal numbers, it’s really obvious to see the trend lines where you have markets that are performing incredibly well, with positive momentum in October, and then again as soon as the week after the election is complete and on into December,” he says. “You’d see these two weeks just being way off trend.”
The Atlanta-headquartered airline is anticipating a ”one-point impact to total unit revenue from reduced travel demand around the election”.
Chief executive Ed Bastian notes Delta has historically observed a dip in air travel demand during presidential election periods.
Delta expects the election effect will be a blip in an otherwise strong fourth quarter, with robust transatlantic demand forecast through the Northern Hemisphere’s winter months.
“I think we’re sitting in a pretty good spot… as we head out of this year and into 2025, and [are] very encouraged by the trends when we look beyond the election,” Hauenstein says.
Delta is seeking to build on a third quarter in which profit rose to $1.27 billion from $1.11 billion during the prior-year period, and revenue climbed to $15.7 billion.
Bastian says the carrier anticipates fourth-quarter ”pre-tax profit to grow 30% over last year to $1.4 billion, which would mark one of the most profitable fourth quarters in our history”.
