Delta Air Lines says they will cut capacity through reduced schedules as the economy shows fears of weakness.
Delta Air Lines says their summer is “overbuilt,” with schedule reductions coming after flights are announced at the end of March.
The insights come from both carrier’s presentations at the J.P. Morgan 2025 Industrials Conference on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
Despite Headwinds, Delta Remains Optimistic for 100th Year
The good news for Delta is their loyalty program, SkyMiles, remains a strong profit center. According to airline chief executive Ed Bastian, cobrand spending has increased by double digits over the first two months of 2025, without the fears of a spending drop off. But on the downside, leaders for the carrier say their planned summer schedule will see a reduction.
“We had a bias to fly whatever we could as we headed into the summer. And I think on the margin we’ve tempered that down to make it fly what needs to be flown,” Delta president Glen Haustein told the conference, as quoted in a transcript. “As we go through the year and as most people know here is that the schedules for the summer…are overbuilt and you will see those coming down over the next couple of weeks. I think our spring schedule load is going to be out on March 22. So, expect that to be reduced from what’s outselling today.”
Looking towards the rest of 2025, Bastian said their original profit aspirations were cut because of larger economic concerns. Beyond tariff issues and international trade worries, the Delta leadership says they are seeing hesitation from price-sensitive domestic customers who are concerned about economic disruption.
“But in the face of the amount of macro uncertainty that’s out there, I think people are cautious and they’re pulling back a little bit on travel, not in an organized manner, but just kind of waiting to see what’s going to transpire,” said Bastian. “Whether it’s trade and tariff challenges or macroeconomic policy changes or just a little bit of the unsettledness of the market that we all see.”
Above all else, Delta is still confident that their product is attractive not only to the broader market, but to the important younger traveler. Between modern amenities and their customer experience, Bastian and Haustein said they expect the remainder of the year to offer positive growth for the carrier.
“Whether it’s through the free Wi-Fi that works that we’re already implemented in or the partners that we’re bringing into the ecosystem or the live TVs that are ubiquitous around Delta,” said Bastian. “All of that, the new airports, the lounge designs, every all of that is to be an aspirational brand that they want to be part of the loyalty membership, and they want to continue to feel great about their choice when they’re on Delta.”
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