In general, airlines have scaled back flight schedules significantly and laid-off workers to cope with the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on travel. Bastian said, “The actions we are taking now to take care of our people, simplify our fleet, improve the customer experience, and strengthen our brand will allow Delta to accelerate into a post-COVID recovery.”
He added, “We have been encouraged as more customers travel and we are seeing a path of progressive improvement in our revenues, financial results, and daily cash burn.”
Even still, airline’s revenue is down 79% year-over-year and passenger capacity is down 63%. Delta says it ended the quarter with $21.6 billion in liquidity and believes it is laying a “Foundation for Recovery”.
Delta cut its expenses from salaries and benefits by 32% percent. Around 18,000 employees took early retirement packages and thousands more opted for voluntary unpaid leaves of absence and work hour reductions.
Those reductions allowed Delta to avoid layoffs through the end of the year. Conversely, other airlines like United (NASDAQ: UAL) and American (NASDAQ: AAL) have furloughed more than 32,000 employees.
Turbulence still ahead
Recovery for the airline industry is still moving slower than first expected when Congress passed the $2.4 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act last March. The legislation included billions of dollars for the airlines through the Payroll Support Program. Airlines are now lobbying for an additional $20 billion PSP extension from Congress as the pandemic continues to keep travel to a minimum.
