Delta Air Lines reports lower fuel costs amid increased usage

Between 2019 and 2024, Delta's efforts towards fleet renewal resulted in a notable improvement of approximately 6.6% in fleet-wide fuel efficiency. In the past year alone, Delta added new aircraft including Airbus A220-300s, A321neos, A330-900s, and A350-900s which are on average "28% more fuel efficient per seat mile than the aircraft it has been retiring since 2019." The airline also invested in retrofitting existing planes with updated technologies aimed at reducing fuel consumption.

Delta is fitting split-scimitar winglets on its Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft—a process completed for the Boeing 737-900ER model and expected to finish for the Boeing 737-800 fleet by late 2025—anticipating potential savings of over three million gallons of fuel.

In terms of financial performance, Delta disclosed net income figures for Q4 and full-year results for 2024 on January 10: a net income of $843 million for Q4 and $3.4 billion for the entire year were reported as non-adjusted figures; adjusted quarterly net income was $1.2 billion while full-year adjusted net income stood at $3.9 billion.

CEO Ed Bastian expressed optimism about continued strong demand for travel into this year, highlighting consumer interest in premium products offered by Delta Air Lines.