If you're planning an international trip somewhere during the warmer months and you haven't booked a ticket yet, it's probably a wise idea to do so immediately.
At least, that's the case if you prefer to fly via certain airlines.
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On its most recent earnings call on Thursday, Delta (DAL) President Glen Hauenstein told participants that the airline is almost fully booked.
"On international, we are excited with the momentum we’re seeing and expect record revenues and profitability for the summer travel season. To meet increasing demand, we are growing our international seats by more than 20% in the June quarter compared to prior year, and we already have about 75% of our bookings on hand," he said.
Hauenstein added that Delta is "seeing strong demand on our largest ever summer schedule. Our Amsterdam hub performance continues to improve, and we are pleased with the outlook for all of our new markets."
Delta Airlines Is Back and Better than Ever
Delta has earned itself a reputation as one of the nicest affordable airlines to fly for long haul trips. It has spa-like Delta Sky Club lounges in 50 locations that make flying feel like a treat. (It's hard to argue with warm showers and its long assortment of menu items, including warm breakfast sandwiches, frittatas, grain salads, soups, bisques, wraps, plus a fully stocked bar and Starbucks drinks).
And Delta's already seen a record number of enrollments in its rewards program.
"This month, we began rolling out Delta Sync for SkyMiles members, which will unlock a more personalized customer experience in the air and on the ground," CEO Ed Bastian said on the call. "When customers join the SkyMiles loyalty program, it enables us to deepen our trusted relationship and create stronger brand preference. As we’ve rolled out fast, free Wi-Fi as well as other benefits, new SkyMiles memberships have accelerated at a record pace."
"Growth has been particularly strong among younger customers with a record 3 million total enrollments during the quarter. Thanks to the size and growth of our loyalty program, the value of our Amex co-brand card portfolio continues to reach new highs and leading brands are joining our consumer ecosystem, creating further opportunities."
Treating its customers right while they're on the ground has its perks, as Delta's advance summer bookings have already surpassed its previous record.
Interestingly, Hauenstein also mentioned that Delta will no longer be comparing its performance to pre-pandemic (2019) levels -- an important indicator that travel has robustly returned to a new normal.
"Moving forward, we are sunsetting the comparisons to 2019 and returning to year-over-year metrics," he said. "Domestically, we are growing our seats mid-single digits over last year with our core hub rebuild beginning to take hold in June and accelerating through the fall."
