Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) stock rose 9.67% (As on January 10, 11:23:38 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after reaping the benefits of robust demand for its lucrative premium seats, a trend the airline said shows no sign of retreat. While fares dipped in January as usual from 2024’s fourth quarter, domestic ticket prices have been about 12% higher than the same month a year ago, according to booking app Hopper Inc. US fares are expected to remain above 2023 and 2024 levels at least through mid-year. Delta has predicted that sales from premium seats will exceed economy tickets by the end of 2027, as the carrier seeks to push more travelers into the front of the cabin. Following the pandemic, more leisure travelers upgraded to premium economy and business-class seats, offering some respite to airlines as corporate passengers cut back. At the same time, the airline will keep offering some cut-rate basic economy fares to lure travelers away from deep-discounters, highlighting how it’s seeking to stay in control of both ends of the travel experience. For the quarter, Operating cash flow was of $1.9 billion, Payments on debt and finance lease obligations was of $1.5 billion and Total debt and finance lease obligations was of $16.2 billion at quarter end.

DAL in the fourth quarter of FY 24 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $1.85, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $1.76, according to the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company had reported the adjusted revenue of $15.56 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 24, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue by 3.82%.

Additionally, for fiscal 2024, adjusted debt to EBITDAR was of 2.6x, down from 3.0x at the end of 2023 and return on invested capital was of 12.9 percent.

Adjusted profit will be 70 cents to $1 a share for the first quarter of 2025. That compares with a 76-cent average from analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue will increase as much as 9% from a year ago, the carrier said, while analysts expected a 5.75% jump. 1Q 2025 Operating Margin is expected to be in the range of 6% – 8%. 2025 guidance for earnings to be greater than $7.35 per share is more than 10 percent growth year-over-year compared to a normalized 2024 earnings per share baseline, excluding the 45-cent impact of the CrowdStrike-caused outage in the September quarter.