Air transport is an industry that relies on precision, speed and flawless operation. Any technical problem can lead to significant financial losses and customer dissatisfaction. This problem was on full display for Delta Air Lines in the third quarter of 2024, when five days of technical difficulties deprived it of a significant portion of its expected profits. Despite this, the company showed strength and resilience as it quickly recovered and expects a very strong finish to the year.

In the third quarter of 2024, Delta Air Lines $DAL found itself in an uncomfortable situation. While most of the quarter went smoothly, technology issues during five key days had a major impact on the company's financial results. Delta's CEO, Ed Bastian, said in an interview with Yahoo Finance that while the quarter had 86 great days, it was the five days caused by a technology glitch stemming from a software update from CrowdStrike that had fatal consequences for the company.

As a result of these issues, flights were cancelled and many customers asked for refunds, resulting in a $380 million revenue shortfall. This translated into a $0.45 reduction in earnings per share compared to expectations. Although analysts had expected the company's net profit to be $981 million, the actual result was slightly lower at $971 million. Similarly, revenue came in at $14.59 billion, slightly below estimates of $14.68 billion.

The carrier also confirmed costs of about $500 million, which CEO Ed Bastian estimated followed the July global IT outage caused by CrowdStrike that resulted in the cancellation of 7,000 Delta flights over five days.

The CrowdStrike software update problem did not only affect air travel, but also affected other key sectors such as healthcare and banking. The update affected systems at many airports, causing major disruption to operations. As Bastian explained, despite this complication, the Delta team acted quickly and efficiently to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. "Our employees acted heroically," Bastian said. Still, he did not deny that the five days were very challenging for both employees and customers.

Despite this unfortunate situation, Delta Air Lines expects a strong finish to the year. The outlook for the fourth quarter suggests it could be one of the most successful periods in the company's history. Earnings per share expectations range from $1.60 to $1.85, with analysts predicting earnings of $1.78 per share.

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Source: Investing.com, Yahoo, CNN.