The numbers: Good. Delta’s net income of $1.2 billion for the quarter was up 58% on a year ago. Earnings of $1.41 per share beat Wall Street estimates for $1.36. Total passenger revenue was up 6.7% to $9.3 billion. Shares are up about 3.5% in premarket trading,
The takeaway: The company cited ”particularly strong” performance in the key hubs of Atlanta, New York and London for the strong results, and in another good sign, said it is seeing “solid” bookings for the upcoming holiday season. Delta’s solid numbers follow those of its bankrupt rival American Airlines, which swung back to profit last week. Suddenly, the skies are clearing up for the US airline industry.
What’s interesting: Who said no one uses Microsoft’s mobile devices? During the quarter, Delta announced plans to equip its 11,000 pilots with the Surface 2 tablet, to substitute for their heavy flights bags of charts and documents, predicting that it would save $13 million a year on “fuel and associated costs” as a result. All of its flight attendants will get Windows 8 Phones to “streamline on-board purchasing and improve the customer experience.”