Delta Airlines Expects Profits Next Year, Predicts Limited Omicron Impact

The Coronavirus vaccine seemed to have eased affairs, and many industries are starting to reopen. However, the emergence of the Omicron variant poses a threat to normalcy, and some companies could feel its impact.

Delta Airlines Expects to Generate Profits in 2022

Delta Airlines Inc. announced earlier today that it expects to generate profits next year despite the Covid variant affecting activities. The company said it is recording strong domestic flight bookings in the current quarter.

According to Delta Airlines, the Omicron Variant has slowed international bookings at the moment as some countries have imposed new travel restrictions. However, the company expects a limited hit from Omicron in the coming year.

Chief executive officer Ed Bastian told CNBC that “Omicron [is] not going to impact our holiday bookings.” Delta Airlines expects to generate $200 million as pretax profits in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The company told the United States SEC in a recent filing that its executives will outline its plan to boost profits next year and surpass pre-pandemic levels by 2024.

Business Travel is Resuming

Bastian told CNBC that business traveling volume is currently about 60% of 2019 levels, and he expects it to stay around that range over the next few months. Meanwhile, small business travel is about 75% of 2019 levels as the demand is higher compared to the larger companies.

Delta Airlines’ stock price has been underperforming over the past few hours despite the CEO’s recent projection. At press time, DAL is trading at $35.83, down by more than 2% over the past 24 hours.

The stock has underperformed since the start of the year, losing more than 10% of its value during that period. The dip is due to the pandemic affecting the travel industry. DAL could suffer further losses in the coming weeks as the Omicron variant is causing concerns amongst businesses around the world.