Boston, MA 04/16/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) expanded its seasonal services to offer more travel options for passengers to leisure destinations. The airline will operate from Atlanta (ATL), JFK-New York (JFK) and Boston (BOS) airport to Caribbean and Bermuda from September 2014 onwards.
Benefits from new route
Demand is growing for leisure destinations and customers prefer the most convenient routes from their own cities. Therefore, Delta airlines see the opportunities and open the gateway for such destinations and offer more connectivity from the U.S. cities.
Currently, Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) provides airline service to 29 countries and 50 destinations between Latin America/Caribbean and the U.S. The additional services will further improve the connectivity in those regions. In addition, the airline continues to grow with long term alliances with local players such as GOL in Latin America.
Performance gain
During the last quarter ended in December 31, 2013, passenger traffic retains positive growth with 2% due to ~3% increase in capacity as a result of high potential from Latin America (+16%). Load factor was down marginally to 82.6%, but, passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) increased by 3% compared to the prior year period with 4% increment in yield.
Going ahead
The airline expects mild growth in PRASM up to 3-4% in 1Q2014 due to the impact of bad weather conditions in early 2014. Corporate revenues continue to shore high and anticipate 6% in 1Q2014. Transatlantic joint venture will further increase revenue base as it accounts 25% of the passenger capacity. So, the partnership with Virgin Atlantic expects to produce ~$120 million benefits annually to the airline.
Moreover, solid demand environment and increasing capacity addition in domestic and Latin America will continue to provide growth opportunities for Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) due to strong connectivity in those regions. The airline expects margin growth in coming quarter from the expansion of routes to leisure destinations.
