US air carrier Delta Air Lines lost a net $408 million in the final quarter of 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic weighed on its bottom line, with CEO Ed Bastian predicting some more negative impact from the Omicron variant of the virus before a rebound
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th January, 2022) US air carrier Delta Air Lines lost a net $408 million in the final quarter of 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic weighed on its bottom line, with CEO Ed Bastian predicting some more negative impact from the Omicron variant of the virus before a rebound.
"Omicron is expected to temporarily delay the demand recovery (by) 60 days, but as we look past the peak, we are confident in a strong spring and summer travel season with significant pent-up demand for consumer and business travel," Bastian said in a statement accompanying Delta's full year and fourth quarter 2021 results released on Thursday.
For all of last year, Delta reported a $280 million profit, its first since 2019, partly due to $4.5 billion in US government aid for airlines mired in the COVID-19 crisis. In the year the pandemic broke out 2020 Delta reported a record annual loss of $12.4 billion as travel virtually ground to a halt for several months.
Delta is the first US carrier to report fourth-quarter results for 2021, which are expected to be negative for most of the industry as the Omicron variant continues to discourage air travel. Thousands of flights, for instance, were canceled during the Christmas period as air crews got infected, leaving airlines without adequate staff to fulfill schedules.
Health officials across the world say the Omicron is far more transmissible than the original strain of COVID-19 and other known mutants, although it is also less lethal, especially among those vaccinated.
