Delta Air Lines' profit more than doubled over the holiday period

Delta Air Lines closed out 2023 with "the highest holiday travel volumes in its history" and a quarterly net income that more than doubled.

For the October-December period, the Atlanta-based carrier posted net income of $2 billion, an increase of 146%.

"In 2024, demand for air travel remains strong, and our customer base is in a healthy financial position with travel a top priority." said Ed Bastian, Delta's CEO, in a statement.

Delta reported $14.2 billion in revenue for the period, an increase of 5.9% from a year ago. The company topped Wall Street expectations with $1.29 earnings per share.

"Business is going great. Just go to any airport," Bastian told CNBC in an interview Friday morning.

Delta, which operates one of its main hubs at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, is the first major U.S. airline to report earnings results for the holiday season.

"Delta carried more travelers this holiday season than any other time in our history," Bastian said in a morning conference call with stock analysts, adding Delta tallied 9 million passengers on 60,000 flights with fewer than 40 cancelations in its system.

The company trimmed its 2024 full-year forecast slightly, now projecting between $6 and $7 per earnings per share — down from a previous estimate of more $7 a share. As a result, its stock fell 9% in trading Friday.

International travel passenger revenue was 25% higher than a year ago.

Delta saw an uptick in business travel with sales in the month of December increased more than 10%. The company said technology and financial-services companies were leading those gains.

After the strong financial results, Delta will pay $1.4 billion in profit sharing next month to its 100,000 employees. Bastian said those Valentine's Day payouts will average 10% of an employee's annual pay.

Delta's on-time arrival rate last year was 84.72% ranking it as the top North American airline.

The company is projecting revenue will increase 3% to 6% in the first quarter of this next fiscal year.

The company drew sharp criticism from customers in September when it announced significant changes to its SkyMiles loyalty program, which were subsequently revised. Delta made no mention of the flap in its Friday earnings release and said that the program was seeing "record membership growth."

A small note in the company's report indicated the airline has started testing using paper cups onboard rather than plastic, as that could "eliminate nearly 7 million pounds of single-use plastics."