Delta Air Lines Says Staff is 90% Vaccinated
Delta Air Lines (DAL Get Delta Air Lines, Inc. Report on Wednesday said 90% of its workforce of about 80,000 people has been vaccinated against COVID-19.
"Increased vaccination rates to approximately 90% of employees, as of October 12, 2021, as Delta continues to prioritize the health and safety of our people," the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Delta in August said that it will raise health insurance premiums by $200 a month for employees that aren’t fully vaccinated by Nov. 1. However, the company has not mandated that its employees be vaccinated.
The airline's competitors Southwest Airlines (LUV Get Southwest Airlines Co. Report, American Airlines (AAL Get American Airlines Group, Inc. Report, United Airlines (UAL Get United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Report, Alaska Air (ALK Get Alaska Air Group, Inc. Report and JetBlue Airways (JBLU Get JetBlue Airways Corporation Report have all mandated that their employees must be vaccinated after the Biden Administration announced in September that federal contractors must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 8.
Shares of the Atlanta company on Wednesday fell 5.5% to $41.16 at last check after the air carrier said it anticipated a modest current-quarter loss due to higher fuel costs.
Delta swung to a third-quarter profit but cautioned that surging fuel prices would likely lead to a pre-tax loss over the final months of the year.
"While demand continues to improve, the recent rise in fuel prices will pressure our ability to remain profitable for the December quarter," said Chief Executive Ed Bastian in a statement.
Delta Air Lines reported a profit of $1.2 billion, or 30 cents a share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. It was the U.S. carrier's second quarterly profit since the pandemic and the first without federal government aid
Delta’s revenue of $9.15 billion exceeded analysts’ expectations of $8.4 billion.
Travel demand for the airline surged over the summer months before the spread of a more contagious COVID-19 variant threatened its recovery.
