Delta Airlines Inc. surpassed United Continental Inc. in 2015 to become America’s second-largest airline behind American Airlines, based on the recently released traffic figures for 2015.
The result comes after several years of steady growth. Delta Airlines overtook United in 2015 based on traffic figures for paying customers. Delta reported that it ended 2015 with an impressive 209.6 billion miles flown, which represents a 3.3 percent rise from 2014.United, on the other hand, posted 208.6 billion miles flown, with paying customers representing a 1.5 percent increase from the previous year.
This marks the first time Delta tops its rival ever since a series of mergers changed the company dynamics. American Airlines was the best in 2015 in terms of revenue passenger miles with 223 billion, which represents a 2.4 percent rise from the previous year. With steady growth and expansion as seen from Delta, the airline could soon oust American Airlines from the top spot.
Adam Hackel, an associate analyst at Sterne Agee CRT, said that some of Delta’s gains could be attributed to the challenges United Airlines had merging with Continental Airlines. He, however, also pointed out that in reality, Delta offered better service and a better product than United.
“My first thought was people probably prefer to fly Delta now,” he said.
United Continental, for its part, has been cautious about boosting its capacity, added to the headache of trying to complete its 2010 merger with Continental Airlines. The airline (United) stated that it is continuing to focus on running a reliable operation and investing in tools and services that allow it to deliver the flier-friendly experience its customers deserve and expect. Representatives for both United and Delta have yet to comment on the figures.
It should be noted that although the traffic (the number of total passengers multiplied by the miles each traveled) is commonly used as a factor in the comparison of airlines; it does not necessarily translate into profit. That said, airlines in recent times have been posting excellent results due to low fuel expense and conservative capacity additions. Apart from traffic, other factors exist on which to rank airlines. Based on revenue (annual), Delta is still second behind American Airlines, but by market capitalization, Delta ranks first. You can also rank airlines by the number of passengers they carried: American Airlines, 201.2 million; Delta, 179.4 million; Southwest, 144.6 million; and United Continental, 140.4 million in 2015.
Delta first became the number one airline in terms of traffic back in 2009 after its merger with Northwest Airlines. It lost this spot to United when United merged with Continental Airlines, which, in turn, finally lost it to American Airlines in 2014.American had, at that time, merged with US Airways.
Southwest has consistently ranked 4th despite its acquisition of AirTrans Airways back in 2011.Southwest also happens to be America’s largest discounter.
These four airlines (American, Delta, United, and Southwest) control more than 80 percent of the domestic capacity as a result of their mergers. Besides Southwest, the other three have extensive international operations, with United Continental leading the line.
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