Your Instagram feed may look like everyone’s in Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games, but at least one airline says travelers may not be flocking to the City of Light during the world’s biggest sporting event.
Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC that the company will lose $100 million this summer as customers without Olympics tickets opt out of a Parisian vacation.
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“Unless you’re going to the Olympics, people aren’t going to Paris … very few are,” Bastian said. “Business travel, you know, other types of tourism is potentially going elsewhere.”
Of all major U.S. airlines, Delta serves the most flights to Paris, thanks to a joint partnership with Air France. Delta flies around 14 nonstop flights daily from France to the U.S. and per data cited by CNBC, Delta and Air France make up an estimated 70% of all nonstop flights between the countries.
“Outside of this temporary event, summer travel demand to Europe is strong and consistent with our expectations,” said Glen Hauenstein, Delta president, during a call with investors.
Air France is also independently feeling the strain, forecasting a revenue loss of up to 180 million Euro or nearly $195.5 million between June and August of this year “due to the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, with traffic to and from the French capital lagging behind other major European cities.”
The airline said that travel to and from the country is expected to “normalize” following the games ending with demand returning.
“International markets show a significant avoidance of Paris,” Air France said in a release earlier this month. “Travel between the city and other destinations is also below the usual June-August average as residents in France seem to be postponing their holidays until after the Olympic Games or considering alternative travel plans.”
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The 2024 Summer Olympic Games Begin on Friday, July 26, and run through Sunday, August 11.
Delta reported a record Q2 operating revenue of $15.4 billion during its Q2 2024 earnings release on Thursday — a 5.4% increase from the same time last year.
The airline also forecasted a 2-4% year-over-year increase in total revenue during Q3 of 2024.
“Peak summer travel demand remains strong and Delta is delivering elevated experiences for our customers,” Hauenstein said in a company release.
Delta was down just over 8.5% year over year as of Friday morning.