Delta Air Lines reported a $652 million profit in the second quarter of the year, its first since the pandemic began and the latest sign that the airline recovery is well underway. The carrier reported $7.1 billion in revenue. There were also promising indications that the business is returning to normal, Delta said, noting that booking trends recovered as customers bought tickets further out, with average daily sales beating Delta’s internal expectations by 20 percent. “Domestic leisure travel is fully recovered to 2019 levels and there are encouraging signs of improvement in business and international travel,” the airline’s chief executive, Ed Bastian, said in a statement. Corporate travel recovered as offices reopened throughout the quarter, with the number of business travelers down 60 percent in June compared with 80 percent in March, according to the airline.

Source: International New York Times July 14, 2021 13:07 UTC