Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian told employees that he expects two to three years will be needed before the company recovers from the impact of the coronavirus crisis.
Bastian said the airline only carries about 5% of its regular passengers and that demand for air travel is running out, due to travel restrictions in place to curb the spread of the virus.
“We are confident that people will start traveling again. We don't know when this will happen, but we do know that Delta will be a small airline for a while, and we need to be prepared for a slow and jerky recovery even after containing the virus. I estimate that the recovery period could take two to three years. I hope it will be sooner, but we have to be realistic in our planning, "Bastian wrote in a memo.
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The crisis resulted in a net loss of $ 534 million for Delta in the first quarter, its first quarterly loss in more than five years. The airline has landed more than 650 aircraft in its fleet of approximately 850 aircraft due to the pandemic. Bastian added that he thought second-quarter profits would be 90% lower than last year.