Boston, MA 10/14/2013 (wallstreetpr) – That Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)’s shares declined in Friday’s trading, losing 0.45% to close $24.40, can cause a bit of anxiety among airline investors. But considering what the company has done in recent times and what it is planning to do, DAL is about to take investors places. This has nothing to do with the company being the world’s second largest airline, but a lot do with the business acumen of its CEO Richard Anderson.
Among the stellar actions which the company has taken to put more money into the wallets of its investors include buying nearly half of its rival Virgin Atlantic, avoiding gas guzzler jets and buying a refinery to cut its jets fuel cost. Remember, this is a $20.93 billion company.
Its purchase of a Philips 66 refinery at $180 million is expected to see the company cut its fuel cost by up to 8% this year with projections of bigger cuts in future.
Considering the passenger frustrations at airport terminals, DAL has a $1.4 billion budget for Terminal 4 at the JFK airport to deal with the mess which is denying most of U.S. airlines the competitive edge. Also, the company has recently announced paying of automated passport machines; a move intended to lower the wait-time at the airport.
The company says that it considers airports its factories in which it has to investing to improve the infrastructure.
The logic behind the company buying a fuel refinery is to cushion it from sometimes unforeseen market forces which push up fuel prices, leading to losses for airlines. So in this position, it can now eliminate middlemen and control fuel prices which makes great business sense.
By sinking $360 million to purchase almost half of rival Virgin Atlantic, DAL has effectively increased by 35% its share of passenger seats on the JFK to Heathrow route.
