Delta Air Lines says travelers are avoiding Paris this summer due to the upcoming Paris Olympics, set to take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
Due to a significant drop in tourists booking flights to the city, the carrier is facing a $100 million loss, Delta CEO Ed Bastian revealed in an interview with CNBC. Bastian also said that travelers are largely avoiding Paris due to large crowds.
“Unless you’re going to the Olympics, people aren’t going to Paris…very few are,” Bastian said while speaking to CNBC. “Business travel, you know, other type of tourism is potentially going elsewhere.”
Despite the decrease in travel to Paris, Delta’s overall results remain strong. The airline reported a record adjusted operating revenue (GAAP) of $16.7 billion for the second quarter of 2024, marking a 7% increase from the previous year.
However, net income (GAAP) fell nearly 30% to $1.31 billion and operating expenses rose by 10%. Delta’s adjusted earnings were $1.52 billion, meeting analysts’ expectations.
Additionally, Delta reported that premium flight tickets, such as first class, increased by 10% in the second quarter, reaching $5.6 billion, while income from coach seats increased by 0.3% to approximately $6.7 billion.
The carrier plans to increase its flight capacity from 5% to 6% in the third quarter compared to 2023, a slower pace than the 8% growth seen in the second quarter. For the September quarter the carrier expects a double-digit operating margin and a pre-tax profit of approximately $1.5 billion.
Delta Air Lines is the official airline of Team USA for the Paris Olympics in 2024 and the inaugural founding partner of the LA 2028 Olympics.
In March 2024, a Delta Airbus A350-900, registration F-WZNU, was photographed sporting a special ‘LA28’ livery, but was still without engines.