The U.S. airline industry is dominated by four major players: Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines. Competition is fierce, and flyers’ demands and expectations are constantly growing. 

Political and geopolitical turbulence make smooth flying more difficult, in addition to weather conditions and general operating challenges. 

The four airline giants seem to be up unperturbed, staying afloat while several other carriers have filed for bankruptcy this year, such as Play and Braathens Aviation, Air Belgium, Ravn Alaska, SKS Airways, and most recently — Verijet. 

Delta Air Lines runs up to 5,000 daily flights to more than 300 destinations across six continents. In 2024, the carrier served more than 200 million passengers. 

Earlier this month, the Atlanta-headquartered carrier reported strong third-quarter earnings, revealing record September quarter revenue with positive momentum through the quarter. 

During the earnings call, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian made a bold statement on the industry trends. 

Delta Air Lines’ CEO claims a 60% share of overall industry profits and expects further market divergence.

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Record Delta Air Lines revenue driven by premium, corporate, and loyalty 

During the earnings call on October 9, Delta Air Lines executives revealed several interesting details. 

Revenue growth of 4.1% year over year was led by premium, corporate, and loyalty. 

“Our premium offerings, industry-leading loyalty programs and elevated experiences we provide across the entire travel journey [are] driving increased customer preference for flying Delta and underpins our differentiated financial results,” CFO Daniel Janki said on the call.  

Delta Q3 2025 vs. Q3 2024 earnings highlights: 

  • Operating revenue of $15.2 billion, compared to $14.6 billion
  • Operating income of $1.7 billion with an operating margin of 11.2%, compared to $1.4 billion and 9.4% respectively
  • Pre-tax income of $1.5 billion, compared to pre-tax income of $1.3 billion
  • Earnings per share of $1.71, versus $1.50 in the same period a year ago
  • Operating cash flow of $1.8 billion, compared to $1.3 billion

“At the heart of our position of industry leadership is a relentless focus on elevating the customer experience. We’re investing across every phase of the journey to make travel with Delta more seamless, personalized and premium, growing our value proposition to customers,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. 

Earnings in Q3 were significantly better than at the beginning of the year. In April, Delta Air Lines reinstated its guidance to address growing economic uncertainty amid the global trade war. However, since then, the carrier has been working tirelessly to upgrade its premium seating offering, reports CX Dive. 

Bastian further compared the premium experience to driving a car, saying that most people today probably drive a better car now than the first one they had. 

“You don’t see many people going back to cars that are worse, and I think once people get used to traveling in a certain product, whether it’s Comfort+, Delta Premium Select or Delta One, they tend not to go back,” Bastian said. 

Delta CEO claims 60% share of overall industry profits, sees market splitting further

During the earnings call, caller Niraj Chokshi asked about the industry bifurcation, suggesting that Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are performing very well on one side, while the rest of the industry struggles on the other. 

“It’s clearly happening. If you look at the results this quarter, as I mentioned on CNBC this morning, we expect 60% of the overall industry profits to be driven by Delta Air Lines. Expect the rest of it probably to be driven by United, largely. And then you have everybody else, and this is not a new phenomenon,” Bastian said. 

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He explained that this dichotomy evolved over the last four or five years following the Covid pandemic. The airline has focused on providing higher-quality experiences, and Bastian believes that amid “congestion” in the U.S. sky, the disparity will continue. 

Eventually, there’ll need to be rationalization to enable the lower end of the price spectrum to continue to sustain itself, to be able to continue to attract capital. 

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian

Shutdown is not having a meaningful impact on Delta flights 

During the interview on CNBC on October 9, Bastian made another surprising statement. When asked about staffing issues at airports across the country during the shutdown, Bastian bluntly stated: “I don’t see any impacts at all.” 

Bastian said that Delta had hardly any cancellations in the first eight days of the shutdown. 

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“Our completion rate relative to schedule was 99.99%.”

However, Bastian also warned that if the shutdown doesn’t get resolved in another 10 days or so, consumers will probably start to see some impact. He shared that no one has lost a paycheck yet. 

Meanwhile, on the fifth day of the shutdown, TSA Union leader and Vice President of the American Federal Government Employees Council 100/TSA Region 7 Joe Shuker warned that TSA agents might start calling in sick soon.

He said they need to rationalize the money they have now, because they may not get their next paycheck. 

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