Delta made and broke, numerous records this summer.
According to data just released by the airline, between May 24 and September 3, Delta flew nearly 60 million customers. That figure includes what was the airline’s new record customer enplanement day, July 26, when nearly 662,000 flyers took to the skies on a single day.
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Nine of Delta’s top 10 busiest days, as measured by customers carried, happened this summer and the airline flew on average 80 more peak-day departures versus the same period last year.
“It’s nothing short of remarkable what Delta employees have done this summer to take care of Delta’s customers and each other while running a safe and reliable operation,” Gil West, Delta’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “No matter the challenge — whether that’s record customers, several severe irregular operations and everything in between — the Delta employees have again proven that no one better connects the world.”
As the airline rolled into summer, so too did a never-ending string of thunderstorms that impacted many of Delta’s hubs throughout much of July and August, while a strong heat wave hovered over much of western Europe in July, wildfires impacted the U.S. West Coast and a strong hurricane impacted Hawaii.
Despite the challenges, Delta maintained a completion factor higher than summer 2017 and on-time performance nearly the same as last year. The airline said it also saw fewer misconnected customers compared to 2017.
“This summer provided a number of opportunities to test our company processes in real-time and it’s clear the initiatives we’ve put in place are bringing meaningful benefit to our customers,” said Erik Snell, senior vice president – Operations and Customer Center.
Amid the storm-challenges, specialists in Delta’s Customer Engagement Centers re-accommodated customers following flight disruptions. The team worked through 26 days of irregular operations with calls topping 130,000 per day, in some cases.
“The Reservations Team had its best summer yet, especially given the circumstances,” said Tori Forbes Roberts, vice president – Reservations Sales and Customer Care.
For their part, Delta’s pilots are increasingly using the Flight Weather Viewer Plus, an especially useful tool to help cope with summer’s characteristic convective and often turbulent weather.
The enhanced app available on their tablet device allows flight crews to see forecasted and observed turbulence ahead of their flight path to either navigate around it or alert customers and flight attendants ahead of time, improving safety and comfort.
Earlier this summer, Delta announced that it had its busiest ever. In June, it flew more passengers than it has in any other month in the airline’s history. The airline handled some 17.7 million people, flying on mainline and Delta Connection flights around the world.
