Back to top

Image: Shutterstock

Delta Air (DAL) to Resume Flights to South Korea From October

Read MoreHide Full Article

Owing to strong international air-travel demand, Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL - Free Report) announced plans to restart flights between two global hubs — Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and Seoul-Incheon International Airport (ICN). The routes will be effective from Oct 2, 2022.

Atlanta, GA-based airline suspended its service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Seoul-Incheon from Feb 29, 2020, due to the deadly coronavirus spread. Launched in May 2018, the Delta-Korean Air transpacific joint venture connects more than 80 destinations in Asia from a combined network of 13 U.S. gateways.

The Minneapolis to Seoul route will resume its service thrice a week before upgrading its frequency to daily on Oct 29. The resumption represents a complete restoration of the carrier's South Korean network to pre-pandemic levels.

The route relaunch would also coincide with the re-opening of the daily Seattle-Seoul route from Jul 12. The existing service from Atlanta and Detroit will increase to daily on Aug 2.

Delta’s vice president, Asia Pacific, Matteo Curcio, stated “As travel restrictions ease, international and business travel is expected to drive the next leg of Delta’s recovery. Recent demand has been strong in Asian markets, particularly in Korea, as they have rolled back COVID-era travel restrictions. Full restoration of the airline’s Korean network is a positive indicator of what’s to come for the rest of the Asia region”.

Beginning Oct 2, the carrier will fly its MSP-ICN routes on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The reverse route (beginning Oct 3) will operate on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.  

Delta will operate on the relaunched route via its flagship Airbus A350-900 aircraft, which has all modern amenities to make the air-travel experience highly enjoyable and comfortable.

The route restoration program primarily aims to meet the increase in air-travel demand and boost DAL’s top line.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Delta Air currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Transportation sector are Ryder System, Inc. (R - Free Report) , C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW - Free Report) and GATX Corporation (GATX - Free Report) .

Ryder has a trailing-four quarter surprise of 48.2%, on average, with its earnings surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters. R is benefiting from improving economic and freight conditions in the United States.

Revenues in all segments grew (on higher rental revenues, new business and favorable pricing) in first-quarter 2022. R currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The expected long-term (three-to-five years) earnings per share (EPS) growth rate for C.H. Robinson is pegged at 9%. Improving freight market conditions are aiding CHRW.

In first-quarter 2022, the top line surged 41.8%, owing to favorable truckload pricing for customers and handsome profits in ocean freight. CHRW currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1.

GATX has a trailing-four quarter surprise of 40.1%, on average, with its earnings beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters.  

The gradual improvement in the North American railcar leasing market boosts GATX. GATX currently has a Zacks Rank of 2.
 

Published in