Thread by @ByERussell

"Total unit revenues are expected to be 7 to 8 points better than initially expected ... Driven by broad-based demand and pricing strength across consumer, business and international travel."

Strong guidance from @Delta today. $DAL

"The challenges we have now are in the other side of the house, the operations," Delta CEO Ed Bastian says at a Bernstein conference Wednesday.

Delta announced capacity cuts due to a variety of operational issues just before Memorial Day weekend: bit.ly/3lNavHq $DAL

Pricing will be up 25-30% (year-over-year?) this summer, says Delta CEO Bastian.

😮

"This weekend was disappointing, but we’re on it," Delta CEO Bastian says of the airline's poor Memorial Day weekend operation.

Delta cancelled more than 700 flights over the holiday weekend. skift.com/blog/memorial-…

"Our business share would be doing better if they didn’t have to fight to get back on the airplane," Delta CEO Bastian says.

In other words, there is so much demand out there that corp travel is "fighting" with leisure for seats on planes. $DAL

"I think the human spirit wants to travel. It’s tough to keep it bottled up. I don’t think it’s something that’s going to be this summer or this year … I think it’s going to settle out at a higher level of activity than we were in 2019," Delta CEO Bastian on long-term outlook.

"It’s always been hard but fuel prices make that much harder," Delta CE Bastian says of new long-haul low-cost carriers.

Case in point, startup Play Airlines cancelled planned Orlando flights due to high fuel prices.

https://twitter.com/ByERussell/status/1529471855328894979

"Pilots are a constraint in the system right now, and I think they’ll be a constraint for some time," Delta CEO Bastian says.

$DAL bit.ly/3yQqDzy

"We’re not having any problem getting great applicants, it’s getting them through the training cycle," Delta CEO Bastian says.

He estimates ~12 months of pilot training backlog at Delta. $DAL

But the pilot shortage is making pilot recruitment at smaller airlines and regionals more challenging, which Bastian says will drive up costs — and potentially make air service to some destinations uneconomical. $DAL

Delta CEO Bastian does not support lowering the 1,500 hour requirement for new air transport pilots, he says. $DAL

Delta CEO Bastian reiterates that there is a place for the #737Max at the airline.

"We’ve been trying to get a deal done with Boeing on that … Hopefully we’ll be able to figure something out.”

Bastian has said this since at least September: bit.ly/3lTgOZx $DAL