Delta Cuts 2026 Profit Outlook as Fuel Costs Soar, Yet Flyers Keep Booking

Delta Air Lines, the most profitable airline in the United States, just warned that it expects to make less money in 2026 than it previously thought — mostly because the price of jet fuel has shot up dramatically.

Despite the bad news, Delta's CEO Ed Bastian says there's a silver lining: people are still buying tickets, even as prices rise.

Why the lower forecast? Delta cut its profit outlook (its estimate of how much money it expects to earn) because fuel has become far more expensive. Jet fuel prices nearly doubled over the past year, pushing up Delta's fuel bill by about $6 billion in 2026.

Here are the key numbers:

• Expected 2026 earnings per share (profit divided by the number of company shares): now $5.10–$5.60, down from the earlier estimate of $6.50–$7.50
• Free cash flow (cash left over after running the business): cut to $2.5 billion, from up to $4 billion
• Jet fuel price: jumped to $4.34 from $2.19 a year earlier

• Earnings per share: $1.72 vs. $1.75 analysts expected
• Revenue (total sales): $17.59 billion vs. $17.67 billion expected

The good news for Delta: Travelers aren't scared off by higher fares. Airfare prices are up more than 23% from a year ago, yet demand stays strong across business and leisure travel. Premium (more expensive) seats are selling especially well, growing 18% versus just 12% for standard main cabin seats.

A side drama: Delta chose Amazon's satellite internet for its planes instead of Elon Musk's Starlink. Musk publicly criticized Bastian online, but the CEO shrugged it off, saying "everyone's entitled to their opinion."

Bottom line: Rising fuel costs are squeezing airline profits, but strong travel demand is helping Delta pass those costs onto customers — for now.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/09/delta-air-lines-dal-q3-2026-earnings.html