Delta Airlines Shares Rise on Strong October Traffic Report

NEW YORK (
TheStreet) — 
Delta
(DAL) shares rose Tuesday after the carrier issued a strong traffic report for October.

Delta shares were rising $1.97 on Tuesday to $42.58, a gain of nearly 5%. Year to date, Delta shares have gained 55%.

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Other airline shares were also gaining Tuesday morning, with American
(AAL) up $1.60 to $43.60 and United
(UAL) up $2.25 to $56.54.

Before the market opened, Delta reported that consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile rose 3% in October, “driven by improvements in domestic and transatlantic unit revenue.” The carrier completed 99.9% of its scheduled mainline flights, and 86.8% of its flights arrived on time.

Delta had not provided specific guidance on October PRASM. On the carrier’s October earnings call, Delta President Ed Bastian said current quarter passenger revenue per available seat mile would grow by zero to 2%.

That level of PRASM growth, “combined with a significant decline in fuel prices, will lead to continued margin expansion,” Bastian said.

“There will be some noise between the individual months due to the timing of the Thanksgiving holiday, with the Sunday Thanksgiving return traffic, which is our largest revenue day of the year, shifting back into November this year,” he said.

Delta was the first airline to report October PRASM.
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— 
Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C.

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