DELTA AIR LINES, INC. (DAL)

Delta Air Lines is a U.S.-based global airline that connects customers across an international network. In 2025 it served over 200 million customers, and it positions itself on operational reliability, customer service, premium products, loyalty and technology. The company had approximately 103,000 full-time employee equivalents at year-end 2025, about 100,000 of them based in the U.S.

Delta's core business is passenger air travel, offered in cabins including Delta One, First Class, Delta Premium Select and Delta Comfort+. Its SkyMiles loyalty program lets members earn and redeem miles on Delta and partner airlines, and Delta sells miles to non-airline businesses and other airlines. The most significant of these contracts is its co-brand credit card relationship with American Express, which paid Delta $8.2 billion in 2025. Other businesses include cargo operations, Delta TechOps (maintenance, repair and overhaul services for engines, components and airframes), Delta Vacations, and the Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania, run by subsidiary Monroe Energy. Delta is also investing in digital tools such as the Delta app, the Delta Concierge AI assistant and free Wi-Fi onboard, and is using AI in its operations.

Delta serves leisure, premium and corporate travelers, along with aviation and airline customers for its maintenance services. With alliance partners it serves over 150 countries and territories and nearly 1,000 destinations. On its own it offered up to 5,500 peak-day flights to more than 300 destinations on six continents at the end of 2025. Domestic hubs are in Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Salt Lake City, supplemented by coastal hubs in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK and Seattle. Internationally it has significant hubs or market presence in cities including Amsterdam, London-Heathrow, Mexico City, Paris, Seoul-Incheon and Tokyo.

Delta operated a fleet of 1,314 aircraft at December 31, 2025, and is renewing it with more fuel-efficient aircraft and more premium seating. It has joint ventures or cooperation agreements with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic, Aeroméxico, LATAM and Korean Air, backed by equity stakes in several partners. It also has commercial arrangements with China Eastern and WestJet, and belongs to the SkyTeam alliance and SkyTeam Cargo. Regional service under the Delta Connection brand is provided mainly through capacity purchase agreements with Endeavor Air (a wholly owned subsidiary), Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines. Fuel is a major cost, at $9.8 billion or 17% of operating expense in 2025. It is bought mainly under index-based contracts and the spot market, supplemented by Monroe's refinery, which can process about 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Delta competes with other network carriers, and says it has the best completion factor and on-time performance among them.