Skift Take
Travelers are eager to see the sights of London or mountains of Peru this summer. More international travelers lift Delta and other network carriers' domestic numbers, too, by feeding passengers onto flights.
Delta Air Lines saw strong profits in the second quarter thanks to booming international travel to Europe and Latin America.
International revenues jumped at the Atlanta-based carrier an impressive 61% from last year, while domestic revenues were up just 8%, Delta President Glen Hauenstein said during a quarterly earnings call Thursday. Europe and Latin America were the strongest regions for the airline, he added.
The return of international travel is a big deal for global airlines. Longhaul markets between the U.S. and Europe or Asia, for example, have been among the slowest to recover from the pandemic owing to border and other Covid-19 travel restrictions. China, one of the last country's to ease border rules, only reopened in January, and restrictions remain on the number of flights to the country. Some longhaul international markets have recovered, but a full global recovery in passenger numbers is not expected until next year.
At airlines like Delta, which have large domestic and international operations, the recovery of the latter is a key step towards returning to normal. U.S. domestic travel was the first to rebound in 2021 but, while dema