ATLANTA, Jan. 7, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) today reported December traffic results, including record load factors for its Delta and Northwest operating units. Load factors for Delta system (80.1 percent), Delta domestic (82.3 percent), and Northwest system (81.9 percent) were higher than any previous December on record.
Delta
Delta's system traffic in December 2008 increased 0.7 percent versus December 2007 on a capacity decrease of 2.4 percent. Delta's system load factor increased 2.4 points to 80.1 percent.
International traffic increased 9.2 percent year over year on a 13.7 percent increase in capacity, and load factor declined 3.2 points. Domestic traffic decreased 3.7 percent year over year on 10.4 percent lower capacity. Domestic load factor increased 5.7 points to 82.3 percent.
Northwest
Northwest's system traffic in December 2008 decreased 3.6 percent on a capacity decrease of 4.5 percent. Northwest's system load factor increased 0.7 points to 81.9 percent.
International traffic decreased 2.0 percent year over year on a 0.3 percent decrease in capacity, and load factor declined 1.4 points. Domestic traffic decreased 4.7 percent year over year on a 7.2 percent decrease in capacity, and load factor increased 2.2 points.
Detailed traffic and capacity are attached.
Delta Air Lines is the world's largest airline. From its hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita, Delta, its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection carriers offer service to more than 377 destinations worldwide in 66 countries and serves more than 170 million passengers each year. Delta's marketing alliances allow customers to earn and redeem either SkyMiles or WorldPerks on more than 16,000 daily flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta and its 75,000 worldwide employees are reshaping the aviation industry as the only U.S. airline to offer a full global network. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and flight status at delta.com.
The Delta Air Lines, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1825
Delta
Monthly Traffic Results(a)
December 2008 December 2007 Change
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RPMs (000):
Domestic 6,164,759 6,404,406 (3.7%)
Mainline 4,884,870 4,971,205 (1.7%)
Regional 1,279,889 1,433,201 (10.7%)
International 3,614,654 3,311,293 9.2%
Latin America 903,424 962,648 (6.2%)
Mainline 881,860 914,338 (3.6%)
Regional 21,564 48,310 (55.4%)
Atlantic 2,494,860 2,210,663 12.9%
Pacific 216,370 137,982 56.8%
Total System 9,779,413 9,715,699 0.7%
ASMs (000):
Domestic 7,492,408 8,357,442 (10.4%)
Mainline 5,841,464 6,438,568 (9.3%)
Regional 1,650,944 1,918,874 (14.0%)
International 4,711,809 4,144,567 13.7%
Latin America 1,193,874 1,200,398 (0.5%)
Mainline 1,163,457 1,133,093 2.7%
Regional 30,417 67,305 (54.8%)
Atlantic 3,260,054 2,761,408 18.1%
Pacific 257,881 182,761 41.1%
Total System 12,204,217 12,502,009 (2.4%)
Load Factor
Domestic 82.3% 76.6% 5.7 pts
Mainline 83.6% 77.2% 6.4 pts
Regional 77.5% 74.7% 2.8 pts
International 76.7% 79.9% (3.2)pts
Latin America 75.7% 80.2% (4.5)pts
Mainline 75.8% 80.7% (4.9)pts
Regional 70.9% 71.8% (0.9)pts
Atlantic 76.5% 80.1% (3.6)pts
Pacific 83.9% 75.5% 8.4 pts
Total System 80.1% 77.7% 2.4 pts
Passengers Boarded 8,478,428 8,575,603 (1.1%)
Completion Factor 98.4% 98.2% 0.2 pts
Cargo Ton Miles (000):
Mail 5,537 7,232 (23.4%)
Freight 82,402 94,643 (12.9%)
Total System 87,939 101,875 (13.7%)
Delta
Year to Date Traffic Results (a)
December 2008 December 2007 Change
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RPMs (000):
Domestic 78,037,080 82,432,769 (5.3%)
Mainline 61,132,293 64,323,968 (5.0%)
Regional 16,904,787 18,108,801 (6.6%)
International 45,043,475 39,632,189 13.7%
Latin America 10,427,323 10,255,479 1.7%
Mainline 9,951,558 9,750,870 2.1%
Regional 475,765 504,609 (5.7%)
Atlantic 32,181,856 27,929,185 15.2%
Pacific 2,434,296 1,447,525 68.2%
Total System 123,080,555 122,064,958 0.8%
ASMs (000):
Domestic 94,104,177 101,776,645 (7.5%)
Mainline 72,638,788 78,467,605 (7.4%)
Regional 21,465,389 23,309,040 (7.9%)
International 56,967,158 49,986,893 14.0%
Latin America 13,306,209 13,475,576 (1.3%)
Mainline 12,679,723 12,770,049 (0.7%)
Regional 626,486 705,527 (11.2%)
Atlantic 40,510,485 34,721,389 16.7%
Pacific 3,150,464 1,789,928 76.0%
Total System 151,071,335 151,763,538 (0.5%)
Load Factor
Domestic 82.9% 81.0% 1.9 pts
Mainline 84.2% 82.0% 2.2 pts
Regional 78.8% 77.7% 1.1 pts
International 79.1% 79.3% (0.2)pts
Latin America 78.4% 76.1% 2.3 pts
Mainline 78.5% 76.4% 2.1 pts
Regional 75.9% 71.5% 4.4 pts
Atlantic 79.4% 80.4% (1.0)pts
Pacific 77.3% 80.9% (3.6)pts
Total System 81.5% 80.4% 1.1 pts
Passengers Boarded 106,070,264 109,181,968 (2.9%)
Cargo Ton Miles (000):
Mail 69,483 60,227 15.4%
Freight 1,148,301 1,069,191 7.4%
Total System 1,217,784 1,129,419 7.8%
Northwest
Monthly Traffic Results (a)
December 2008 December 2007 Change
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RPMs (000):
Domestic 3,549,905 3,725,103 (4.7%)
Mainline 2,800,608 3,245,099 (13.7%)
Regional 749,297 480,004 56.1%
International 2,491,797 2,543,892 (2.0%)
Atlantic 910,300 956,550 (4.8%)
Pacific 1,581,497 1,587,342 (0.4%)
Total System 6,041,702 6,268,995 (3.6%)
ASMs (000):
Domestic 4,329,916 4,666,320 (7.2%)
Mainline 3,337,042 4,022,715 (17.0%)
Regional 992,874 643,605 54.3%
International 3,047,057 3,056,159 (0.3%)
Atlantic 1,167,752 1,162,335 0.5%
Pacific 1,879,305 1,893,824 (0.8%)
Total System 7,376,973 7,722,479 (4.5%)
Load Factor
Domestic 82.0% 79.8% 2.2 pts
Mainline 83.9% 80.7% 3.2 pts
Regional 75.5% 74.6% 0.9 pts
International 81.8% 83.2% (1.4) pts
Atlantic 78.0% 82.3% (4.3) pts
Pacific 84.2% 83.8% 0.4 pts
Total System 81.9% 81.2% 0.7 pts
Passengers Boarded: 5,005,076 5,233,078 (4.4%)
Completion Factor 98.5% 98.2% 0.3 pts
Cargo Ton Miles (000): 85,947 189,222 (54.6%)
Northwest
Year to Date Traffic Results(a)
December 2008 December 2007 Change
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RPMs (000):
Domestic 46,336,469 46,919,329 (1.2%)
Mainline 38,347,770 41,512,059 (7.6%)
Regional 7,988,699 5,407,270 47.7%
International 32,868,249 31,412,025 4.6%
Atlantic 13,066,300 11,503,849 13.6%
Pacific 19,801,949 19,908,176 (0.5%)
Total System 79,204,718 78,331,354 1.1%
ASMs (000):
Domestic 55,624,429 56,873,611 (2.2%)
Mainline 45,041,916 49,681,500 (9.3%)
Regional 10,582,513 7,192,111 47.1%
International 38,839,708 36,460,854 6.5%
Atlantic 15,885,918 13,459,558 18.0%
Pacific 22,953,790 23,001,296 (0.2%)
Total System 94,464,137 93,334,465 1.2%
Load Factor
Domestic 83.3% 82.5% 0.8 pts
Mainline 85.1% 83.6% 1.5 pts
Regional 75.5% 75.2% 0.3 pts
International 84.6% 86.2% (1.6%) pts
Atlantic 82.3% 85.5% (3.2%) pts
Pacific 86.3% 86.6% (0.3) pts
Total System 83.8% 83.9% (0.1) pts
Passengers Boarded: 65,502,282 66,386,765 (1.3%)
Cargo Ton Miles (000): 1,637,861 2,059,915 (20.5%)
Endnote:
(a) Results include operations under contract carrier arrangements.