Delta Air Lines (DAL) has done impressively in the last three months, which is not surprising given the steady growth that the company is seeing in its financials. The airline major has particularly benefited from reduced fuel pricing environment across the globe and successfully implemented its superior cost-cutting efforts to maintain top line growth and deliver enhanced investor returns.
Impressive cash flow generation
Delta Air Lines continues to deliver robust cash flow generation with $1.6 billion of free cash flow and $2.5 billion of operating cash flow. This significant cash flow generation has enabled Delta to enhance returns to its key stakeholders by offering $1 billion in share repurchases and dividends whereas also lowering its non-GAAP total debt by an additional $250 million to nearly $7.1 billion.
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Strategic investments
Recently, Delta strategically invested in GOL which is estimated to strengthen the company’s prospects of becoming the major domestic carrier in Brazil which is further supported by the planned investments in AeroMexico making it a major operator with strongest network of airlines across Latin America.
The outstanding financial position of Delta has primarily allowed it to make strategic new growth investments while maintaining strong cash position to deliver improved and sustainable investor returns.
Delta is continuously and successfully operating with its key partner Air France KLM that has enabled it to develop an extremely profitable Trans-Atlantic business in addition to its planned Virgin Atlantic investment which is estimated to continue to support the airline’s major to again successfully implement such kind of model with several other new partners in well-diversified regions and markets across the
Established in 1920, Qantas is the world's 11th largest airline and the 2nd oldest. It was founded in the Queensland outback as the Queensland and Northern territory Aerial Service (QANTAS) Limited, by pioneer aviators Hudson Fysh, Paul McGinness and Fergus McMaster. Qantas was a former government owned business; it did not view profits or efficiency as its prime goal. In 1993 a 25% stake was sold to British Airways. Qantas was privatised in 1995 and has had to adopt management practices to overcome both internal and external influences and had to change its narrow-minded culture. Although Qantas is primarily a passenger airline, air freight is also an integral part of its core business. Other Qantas operations include catering, tourism and E-commerce devoted to transport and air travel.
Delta Airlines has been a vibrant company in the airline industry, with great success over the years. Delta airlines started as a crops dusting company to serving more than 572 destinations, in 65 countries on six continents (Allan, H., David. H. ,2012). Delta airline moved its headquarters from Monroe, Louisiana to the city of Atlanta, Georgia. The great management strategies have portrayed from time to time to be fruitful even in the verge of a recession. With these consistency in delivery of services, it is clear that the company is out to outdo its competitors and turn out to be the greatest airline in the world.
The Airline Industry is a fascinating market. It has been one of the few industries to reach astounding milestones. For example, over 200 airlines have gone out of business since deregulation occurred in 1978. Currently, more than 50% of the airlines in the industry are operating under Chapter 11 regulations. Since 9/11, four of the six large carriers have filed for and are currently under bankruptcy court protection. Since 9/11 the industry has lost over $30 billion dollars, and this loss continues to increase. Despite the fact that the airline industry is in a state of despair, JetBlue has become the golden example, a glimpse of what the industry could be.
Southwest Airlines strategy of focusing on short haul passenger and providing rates as low as one third of their competitors, they have seen tremendous growth in the last decade. Market share for top city pairs on Southwest's schedule has reached 80% to 85%. Maintaining the largest fleet of 737's in the world and utilizing point-to-point versus the hub-and-spoke method of connection philosophy allowed Southwest to provide their service to more people at a lower cost. By putting the employee first, Southwest has found the key to success in the airline business. A happy worker is a more productive one as well as a better service provider. Southwest will continue to reserve their growth in the future by entering select markets only after careful market research.
Delta Air Lines operates in a competitive industry. Amongst its competitors, its two largest were American Airlines and United. To survive in the industry it was necessary to employ and maintain technologically efficient and cutting edge systems. However, Delta systems of operations were mainly paper based; they still used pneumatic tubes to move information and they made little use of the internet. As a result, the company lacked a competitive edge. The technology it had was based on various departments independently purchasing the technology they needed and hiring their own IT staff. In 1996, Delta was still known for its expensive airfares, poor service, limited leg room on flights and use of out-dated inefficient processing systems.
Airline of choice: Remain the top choice for international flights for premium customers as well a...
Depreciation helps match the expense of using long lived assets with the revenues the assets helped to produce> what means is that Delta ns Singapore pole Air line depreciates one of its airplanes, it is trying to match the cost of air flight to the revenue that air craft helped to produce. Because air crafts can be an item used for more than one income statement period, Delta and Singapore Airlines don't recognize the air crafts entire cost as an expense immediately. Instead, the companies record them as assets on the balance sheet. Then, in each year of the assets useful life, the companies should recognize a portion of the Item's costs as an expense.
Many elements of Delta Airlines are described in detail, within this paper. There is a breakdown of the external and internal factors, using external and internal analysis. Porter’s Five forces are used to create the external analysis, and the key factors for Delta are power of buyers, and rivalry. Delta’s competitive advantages are identified as customer service, sustainability, brand image, strong strategic alliances, and corporate travel. Delta’s main issues are the low expansion in international markets, continuous changing of incentive program, and glitches within technology. Delta should expand more into the Chinese and African markets in order to gain market share within the airline industry.
When analyzing Delta, you do not have to search very far before quite possibly one its strongest attribute rears its head. Based on calendar 2000 data, Delta is the largest U.S. airline in terms of aircraft departures and passengers enplaned, and third largest as measured by operating revenues and revenue passenger miles flown. Delta is the leading U.S. airline in the transatlantic, offering the most daily flight departures, serving the largest number of nonstop markets and carrying more passengers than any other U.S. airline. Delta Air Lines transports more passengers worldwide than any other airline. Through a vast worldwide route system Delta has flown over 117 million passengers, more than any other airline in the world. Delta mainline, domestic and international service, Delta Express, Delta Shuttle, Delta Connection®, Delta Sky Team and Worldwide Partners operate 6,400 flights each day to over 450 cities in 98 countries.
In the airline industry, Southwest Airlines is considered a true innovator. By shaking up the rules of flying and improving upon inefficient industry norms, Southwest has quickly grown by leaps and bounds. From the very start, Southwest Airlines' goals were to make a profit, achieve job security for every employee, and make flying affordable for more people (Southwest,2007). Southwest has not strayed from these goals. It does not buy huge aircrafts, fly international routes or try to go head to head with the major carriers; and thanks to a great planning, Southwest airlines has become the most successful airline company in the U.S., if not the world.
Twenty-two consecutive years of profitable operations which is unmatched in the US airline industry.
This was a sad day for everyone in both the immediate and extended “Delta family,” a day perhaps as sad in its own way as the death of Mr. Woolman almost 40 years before. The sadness mixes with fear by employees and retirees, their families, stockholders, customers, vendors, taxpayers, governments and all others among the tens of thousands impacted by the bankruptcy. Leadership decisions by Delta’s Board and CEO’s over a long period of years laid the foundation for Delta to be in a position where the factors would have a large enough impact to result in bankruptcy. By promoting Ron Allen to CEO, primarily because he had moved up the chairs in the company through Beeb’s efforts, the Board showed their lack of awareness of the need for a strategist to deal with the fundamental changes taking place in the airline industry. Then the Board brought in Leo Mullin and gave him free rein for 6 ½ years to turn a cash rich company into one in such poor shape financially that his successor had to turn to expensive sources of money to keep the company
This report also investigates the significant factors driving change in the airline industry, and while it may seem unattractive, JetBlue has the capabilities and resources to continue its growth and profitability.
As Boeing’s CEO, Frank Shrontz promised to increase earnings and return on equity. Boeing had a history of making money when its competitors did not, but Mr. Shrontz wanted higher returns. The airline industry was characterized by large cash outflows for R&D and manufacturing and long payback periods over long life cycles for each new airframe design. Companies had to have deep pockets to keep the operation going while waiting for a return on their investments. If Mr. Shrontz could increase the return on equity for Boeing, it would increase the likelihood of Boeing’s continued success well into the future.
Several large scale, interrelated conditions have affected the airline industry over the past several years in such a manner that every carrier has had to respond in order to remain viable and competitive.