Delta Air Lines Records 4,000+ Flights per Day

Detroit - Metro Airport - AirTeamImages.com - Ryan Patterson

The Atlanta-based airline Delta Air Lines experienced a +77.64% growth compared to last year. Since the beginning of June (2nd), the airline has consequently registered an average of 4,000+ flights per day.

In July, during an eighteen-day period, Delta recorded an average of 4,347 flights per day for a total of 78,256 flights. The figures are higher than pre-pandemic levels and well above 2020.

The image above: Delta Air Lines fleet

On Tuesday, July 16th, the airline operated over 4,446 flights, one of the year's busiest days, second only to June 28th with 4,497 flights.

The image above: Delta Air Lines flight statistics

On July 14th, Delta released its financial results for 2Q21. After 5 quarters of losses due to the impacts of the 2020 pandemic, the airline showed a net income of $652 million, compared to a loss of $1.171 billion in 1Q21.

This figure represents a recovery of 45.2% from the profit recorded in the corresponding quarter of the same period in the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2Q19, net income totaled $1.433 billion.

Delta's net income results:

4Q19: +$1.099 billion - 2Q19: +$1.433 billion

April/May & June 2021 - +$652 million

Delta's revenue loss:

1Q20: Loss of $534 million
2Q20: -$5.717 billion
3Q20: -$5.379 billion
4Q20: -$755 million
1Q21: -$1.177 billion

And also, according to the airline, leisure travel and domestic routes are fully recovered to 2019 levels, and there are signs of recovery on international routes and business travel.

Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, states that as demand for air travel has increased, the airline's operating revenue has improved by 76% over the March quarter.

It is worth remembering that aviation in the USA was severely affected by the pandemic in the past. The relaxation of sanitary measures due to mass vaccination led to an increase in the number of flights in the country, which was one reason for such growth.

The top three most utilized aircraft  

1st - McDonnell Douglas MD-88 - with an average duration of 1.4 hours per flight and 3.6 flights per day, it is the first most operated aircraft by Delta Air Lines, which has 52 units of the MD88.

Delta Air Lines McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (N904DL) - AirTeamImages.com - Ivan P. Nesbit "THUD"

2nd - Boeing 717-200 - with an average duration of 1.4 hours per flight and 6.9 flights per day, it is the second most utilized aircraft by Delta with 71 aircraft units. 

Delta Air Lines Boeing 717 (N920AT) - AirTeamImages.com - Wouter Cooremans

3rd - McDonnell Douglas MD-90 - with an average duration of 1.0 hours per flight, 1.7 flight hours per day, the third most used aircraft, and the carrier owns 18 units. 

Delta Air Lines McDonnell Douglas MD-90 (N927DN) - AirTeamImages.com - Vincenzo Pace

Delta Air Lines Fleet Utilization Statistics

Delta Air Lines' statistics on aircraft utilization highlight the high demand for domestic flights.

The top three airports most flown to destinations 

1st- Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta Intl. Airport
2nd - Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
3rd - Minneapolis-St Paul Intl./Wold-Chamberlain Airport

The SkyTeam alliance airline has 9 hubs across the USA: Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York–JFK, New York–LaGuardia, Salt Lake City, Seattle/Tacoma.

Delta Air Lines currently has a fleet of 750 aircraft and operates in over 325 destinations.