Siddharth Philip, Bloomberg Chief Correspondent for Global Aviation, discusses airlines’ upbeat outlook as travelers rush to lock in fares ahead of a potential fuel-cost-driven price surge.
US airline executives are seeing some of the strongest booking trends in the industry’s history as premium leisure and corporate travelers rush to buy tickets ahead of a likely surge in prices because of fuel costs.
Delta Air Lines Inc. now expects sales to grow in the high single digits through March, after previously guiding for a range of 5% to 7% growth. American Airlines Group Inc., meanwhile, said revenue in the quarter will rise more than 10% — a record for the company — even as more-expensive fuel pushes earnings projections to the more pessimistic end of its range.
The upbeat pronouncements show that airlines in the world’s biggest aviation market are finding ways to navigate the jump in costs triggered by the Iran war. Delta and American Airlines both said that they had some of the strongest-ever single days of sales in March, suggesting customers are locking in prices now ahead of the busiest months of travel.
At the same time, fuel charges are starting to eat into the bottom line. American Airlines said the rapid increase means it now expects its adjusted loss per diluted share to be toward the lower end of its initial first-quarter guidance range of 10 cents to 50 cents.
Delta rose as much as 4.8% in early US trading, while American airlines jumped 5.2%, putting it on track for its biggest gain in a month.
American Airlines could raise additional liquidity if fuel prices stayed elevated and if the demand environment changed, Chief Financial Officer Devon May said at an industry conference in Washington. The carrier has unencumbered assets that it could use to raise additional cash, though it’s still early days, he said.
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