Delta Air Lines Reports Strong November Traffic, Stock Up

Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL shares moved up 1.6% to eventually close at $52.91 on Dec 4, following its traffic release for the month of November.

Consolidated traffic, measured in revenue passenger miles (RPMs), came in at 16.15 billion, up 3.5% year over year. This upside was driven by a 3.9% increase in international RPMs.

Consolidated capacity (or available seat miles/ASMs) also rose 2.9% year over year to 18.91 billion, primarily owing to 4% rise in domestic ASMs. Moreover, load factor improved 40 basis points to 85.4% in the month on the back of traffic growth exceeding capacity expansion. Additionally, the airline recorded a 93.6% on-time performance (mainline) and 100% completion factor (mainline) for the same month.

On a year-to-date basis, Delta generated consolidated RPMs of 200.98 billion (up 2.4% year over year) and ASMs of 234.46 billion (up 1% year over year). Notably, load factor was 85.7% compared with 84.5% recorded last November.

Another Important Event in November

The carrier has received approval from US regulators for the joint venture with Korean Air announced in June. The joint venture will offer an expanded network, industry-leading products and services plus an enhanced customer experience to boot. (Read more: Delta Air Lines & Korean Air Ink Trans-Pacific Joint Venture)

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Delta carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the airline space are Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. GOL, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA ICAGY and Deutsche Lufthansa AG DLAKY. While Gol Linhas and International Consolidated Airlines sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Deutsche Lufthansa carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of Gol Linhas, International Consolidated Airlines and Deutsche Lufthansa have surged more than 200%, 58% and 100%, respectively, in a year.

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