On February 24, 2021, a Delta Airlines Boeing 757-251 approaches Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia. Getty Images | Daniel Slim | AFP Delta Air Lines’ bookings haven’t been harmed by the spread of Covid-19’s highly transmissible delta version, according to CEO Ed Bastian. Bastian said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” immediately after announcing better-than-expected quarterly earnings, “We haven’t seen any impact at all from the variant.” Other airline CEOs, such as those of American Airlines and United Airlines, have lately stated that domestic leisure bookings have largely recovered to 2019 levels, and that corporate travel is also recovering, albeit at a slower rate. The CDC announced last week that the delta Covid variety had become the dominant strain in the United States earlier this month, raising concerns about its rapid spread, especially among the unvaccinated. Summer travel and future trip bookings, on the other hand, remain solid. Domestic leisure travel is at or above levels last seen in 2019, before the pandemic, according to Bastian. “We haven’t observed any delay at all as word of the variety spreads,” Bastian added, citing bookings 60 to 90 days in advance. “We’re figuring out how to live with it.” According to Bastian, 72 percent of Delta’s personnel are vaccinated, and a “great majority” of polled customers are as well./n
Read More
