Delta CEO Predicts Omicron Peak Will Mark Shift to an Endemic Covid-19
Photo Credit: Delta expects the impact of Omicron to wane quickly but that it marks the point where Covid-19 becomes endemic. Delta Air Lines
Skift Take
Delta took an Omicron-sized hit in December that has continued into the new year. But the airline remains bullish on the recovery, which CEO Ed Bastian says can move forward apace now that Covid-19 is likely moving toward being an endemic, like the flu.
The Omicron variant came in hot and heavy for Delta Air Lines in December. After a relatively smooth Thanksgiving holiday travel period, the carrier saw elevated numbers of crews call out sick as Covid-19 cases spiked, and demand slacken over just a three week period. The fallout were hundreds of cancelled flights, and disrupted Christmas and New Year’s trips for thousands of travelers.
But the worst may be in the rearview mirror, at least according to Delta CEO Ed Bastian. He expects Covid-19 case numbers in the U.S. to begin subsiding in the “next few days,” followed by a similarly steep decline to ones seen in other countries, including South Africa and the UK, he said during the Atlanta-based carrier's fourth quarter results call on Thursday. This outlook has Delta forecasting losses in January and February with profits returning by March. Omicron is showing no adverse effect on bookings past the Presidents Day holiday weekend — February 19-21 — in the U.S., he added.
"While the new variant is not done, it appears the worst might be behind us," said Bastian.
But while Omicron may be on the outs, it has left its mark. "The variant is likely to mark the shift in Covid-19 from being a pandemic to a manageable and ordinary seasonal virus, which shou
