Delta Profit Intact After Controversial SkyMiles Changes
Photo Credit: Delta check-in counters in Salt Lake City. Delta Air Lines
Skift Take
It must be nice having such loyal and high-spending customers as Delta.
Delta Air Lines hit a nerve with loyal fliers when it upended elite status qualification in its SkyMiles loyalty program last month. Customers provided the carrier with ample feedback of what CEO Ed Bastian described as a "360 [degree] view" of the controversial changes.
One thing that Delta did not see? Any drop in bookings or usage of its lucrative co-branded credit card with American Express.
"We're not seeing any change in trajectory, rather, on acquisitions or changes in spend levels," Bastian said during Delta's third-quarter earnings call on Thursday. "Everything continues to stay intact."
The airline brought in $1.7 billion under its credit card deal with American Express in the third quarter. That represents 11% of Delta's total revenue – $15.5 billion – for the period. Delta President Glen Hauenstein said Thursday that the carrier remains on track for $7 billion in total credit card-related revenue in 2023.
That hits at the crux
