With the COVID-19 pandemic having a devastating effect on air travel since March 2020, Delta Air Lines has incurred damage as reflected in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report. All in all, the major U.S. carrier lost $15.6 billion dollars in 2020, with its adjusted operating revenue plummeting by 69% year on year.
With a specific focus on Delta’s Q4 results, the company generated an operating revenue of $3.5 billion for the period, falling slightly short of an expected sum of $3.58 billion. This resulted in an adjusted loss per share of $2.53 (instead of $2.49 per share) as well as an adjusted pre-tax loss of $2.1 billion.
According to CEO Ed Bastian, Delta’s December financial results proved that the airline operator had endured the toughest year in its history. Despite the challenges that 2020 held for the company, Bastian remained confident of his organization’s ability to tackle the obstacles posed by the coronavirus pandemic, even as they persist in 2021.
Bastian expects the airline’s recovery to take a number of years. He explained that he expects domestic travel to rebound quicker than international and that leisure travel will far outweigh business. Currently, Delta anticipates receiving approximately $3 billion from the U.S. Treasury under the PSP extension.
