Greetings from India, where I’ve been for the past week for a wedding. It’s been great getting to try all the food, wearing a ton of different outfits for the ceremonies, and escaping the New York City heat (it’s been a breezy 80 degrees here in Bangalore). Getting here in business class on a flight that had Starlink has also been a nice plus, to say the least.
Just this Friday, Delta Air Lines reported second-quarter earnings, and despite all the volatility with fuel prices, the carrier is expecting to meet its original profit targets for 2026, riding on high demand, a high fuel recapture rate, and high airfares.
“Fuel has decreased in the last couple weeks, certainly, and the demand for the products has never been greater,” Delta chief financial officer Erik Snell told reporters. “I’ve been here 21 years and can’t remember a point in time where demand across the board for not only Delta, but for travel experiences, is so great.”
Snell noted demand has been high across all segments, not just premium. In fact, Delta said main cabin revenue increased double-digits, partly due to a readjustment in domestic capacity following the collapse of Spirit Airlines.
“There’s no sign of weakness or shift in patterns in demand,” Snell said. “We haven’t seen elasticity, and the interesting thing about airfare is it remains well below overall inflation.”
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On July 14 at 2pm ET, we're launching a six-week series of Skift Playbooks to help the travel industry better understand all angles of its business, from hard news to content marketing to leadership development to market sizing and beyond.
Next Tuesday’s session is led by Airline Weekly experts to discuss airlines' most volatile year since Covid.
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EDITOR’S PICKS
If India Is Going Premium, Why Are its Airlines Fighting for the Budget Traveler?
by Peden Doma Bhutia
July 6, 2026
While India's premium travel boom is real, Air India and IndiGo's new entry-level fares reveal that the country's biggest aviation opportunity remains attracting cost-conscious first-time flyers.
UAE Bets on Discounts, Insurance, and New Visa Markets to Refill Hotel Rooms After Iran War Hit
by Deepthi Nair
July 2, 2026
The UAE is running two recovery tracks at once — emergency incentives to plug a war-driven demand hole and multibillion-dollar infrastructure bets. The gap between those timelines is the story.
SKIFT PODCAST NETWORK
Castlelake's escalating bid for EasyJet — now valuing it around £5.2 billion — has the board "minded to recommend" a deal, sparking speculation over who else in Europe's airline landscape could be next on the takeover radar.
Meanwhile, Gordon and Jay preview Delta's Q2 earnings, the traditional kickoff to airline earnings season, expecting strong margins tempered by fuel costs that rose year-over-year but eased late in the quarter.
SKIFT TRAVEL 200
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