ATLANTA, Feb. 5, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) today reported record load factors for January. Load factors for international (76.3 percent), Latin (82.3 percent), domestic (74.9 percent) and system (75.4 percent) were higher than any previous January on record for Delta.
System traffic increased 2.5 percent from January 2007 on flat capacity. International traffic increased 11.1 percent year over year on an 8.7 percent increase in capacity. Domestic traffic in January 2008 decreased 1.4 percent year over year on a capacity decrease of 3.6 percent.
In addition, Delta's continued international expansion coupled with strong demand for Delta's international product resulted in a record number of passengers flying internationally on Delta during the month of January. The number of Pacific, Latin (regional affiliates), Atlantic and international passengers increased 38.4 percent, 31.8 percent, 11.7 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively, versus the same period last year.
"In January, consolidated unit revenues increased significantly compared to the prior year period," said Glen Hauenstein, Delta's executive vice president -- Network Planning and Revenue Management. "International unit revenues continued to show strong gains, particularly in the Atlantic and Latin regions, driven by increased yield and traffic. In addition, capacity reductions implemented in the domestic system resulted in the anticipated effect of increased yields, driving solid improvement in year-over-year domestic unit revenues."
During January 2008, Delta operated its schedule at a 97.2 percent completion rate compared to 98.6 percent in January 2007. Delta boarded 8.1 million passengers during the month of January 2008, down 0.5 points year over year. Detailed traffic and capacity are attached.
Delta Air Lines operates service to more worldwide destinations than any airline with Delta and Delta Connection flights to 321 destinations in 58 countries. Delta has added more international capacity than any major U.S. airline during the last two years and is the leader across the Atlantic with flights to 36 trans-Atlantic markets. To Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta offers more than 500 weekly flights to 63 destinations. Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on nearly 15,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Including its SkyTeam and worldwide codeshare partners, Delta offers flights to 485 worldwide destinations in 106 countries. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.
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Delta Air Lines
Monthly Traffic Results(a)
January 2008 January 2007 Change
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RPMs (000):
Domestic 6,007,761 6,093,116 (1.4%)
Delta Mainline 4,667,508 4,792,111 (2.6%)
Comair 338,498 349,998 (3.3%)
Contract Carriers 1,001,755 951,007 5.3%
International 3,067,903 2,762,396 11.1%
Latin America 1,000,514 974,492 2.7%
Delta Mainline 952,590 939,092 1.4%
Comair 787 649 21.3%
Contract Carriers 47,137 34,751 35.6%
Atlantic 1,933,877 1,692,710 14.2%
Pacific 133,512 95,194 40.3%
System 9,075,664 8,855,512 2.5%
ASMs (000):
Domestic 8,021,368 8,318,851 (3.6%)
Delta Mainline 6,147,416 6,429,418 (4.4%)
Comair 513,073 552,935 (7.2%)
Contract Carriers 1,360,879 1,336,498 1.8%
International 4,019,555 3,697,650 8.7%
Latin America 1,215,592 1,299,724 (6.5%)
Delta Mainline 1,151,774 1,245,624 (7.5%)
Comair 1,191 948 25.6%
Contract Carriers 62,627 53,152 17.8%
Atlantic 2,638,398 2,284,148 15.5%
Pacific 165,565 113,778 45.5%
System 12,040,923 12,016,501 0.2%
Load Factor
Domestic 74.9% 73.2% 1.7 pts
Delta Mainline 75.9% 74.5% 1.4 pts
Comair 66.0% 63.3% 2.7 pts
Contract Carriers 73.6% 71.2% 2.4 pts
International 76.3% 74.7% 1.6 pts
Latin America 82.3% 75.0% 7.3 pts
Delta Mainline 82.7% 75.4% 7.3 pts
Comair 66.1% 68.5% (2.4) pts
Contract Carriers 75.3% 65.4% 9.9 pts
Atlantic 73.3% 74.1% (0.8) pts
Pacific 80.6% 83.7% (3.1) pts
System 75.4% 73.7% 1.7 pts
Passengers Boarded 8,058,031 8,101,755 (0.5%)
Endnote:
(a) Results reflect operations under our contract carrier arrangements with the following airlines: Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc., Chautauqua Airlines, Inc., Freedom Airlines, Inc., Shuttle America Corp. and SkyWest Airlines Inc. for all periods presented, and ExpressJet Airlines and Pinnacle Airlines, Inc beginning June 2007 and December 2007, respectively.