Delta Air Lines Shares Good News on Fall Travel

• Delta Air Lines has reported a better-than-expected end to the 2025 travel season and a good start to next year.
• The surprise boom in revenue is from rising airfares and strong luxury travel demand.
• In a statement, Delta's chief executive officer Ed Bastian gushed over the building momentum going into the 2026 travel season.

Travel to the United States has been down this year from Canada and other foreign countries, which is a troubling trend, but it's not all doom and gloom. On Thursday, October 9, Delta Air Lines reported a better-than-expected end to the 2025 travel season and a good start to next year.

The surprise boom in revenue is from rising airfares and strong luxury travel demand. So, even if fewer people are traveling, Delta, in its 100th year, is making better-than-projected earnings for their Q3 period.

Delta Air Lines By the Numbers

Looking at the numbers, "Delta projected adjusted earnings of between $1.60 and $1.90 a share for the fourth quarter, compared with the $1.65 per share analysts polled by LSEG were expecting," according to CNBC. "Revenue in the last three months of the year will grow as much as 4 percent, Delta said, above the 1.7 percent Wall Street expects."

In a statement, Delta's chief executive officer Ed Bastian gushed over the building momentum going into the 2026 travel season.

“Delta's competitive advantages and differentiation have never been more evident, and thanks to the hard work of our people, we continue to elevate the customer experience and extend our industry leadership. We delivered September quarter results at the top end of our expectations on a combination of strong execution and improving fundamentals," Bastian said.

He added, "Momentum is continuing into the final stretch of our Centennial year, positioning us to deliver strong December quarter earnings. Looking to 2026, Delta is well positioned to deliver top-line growth, margin expansion and earnings improvement consistent with our long-term financial framework."

Yahoo Finance added that Delta's stock rose jumped more than 4 percent Thursday, and that caused other airline stocks to go higher. United Airlines, for example, went up more than 4 percent on Thursday.

"Our teams continue to deliver for our customers, achieving operational performance that has led the industry," added Dan Janki, Delta's chief financial officer. "Non-fuel unit cost growth was approximately flat compared to prior year, bringing year-to-date non-fuel unit cost growth to less than 2 percent, consistent with our low-single digit guidance at the start of the year even as we reduced capacity post summer to align to demand."

So, travel is up for Delta, or at least revenue is heading that way, and that's good news for the travel industry, in general.