Auto & Transport Roundup: Market Talk

The latest Market Talks covering the Auto and Transport sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1419 ET – Delta is seeing a rebound in main cabin revenue growth after it declined in 2025. Premium revenue overtook main cabin sales last year, and while premium remains the bigger revenue contributor, main cabin is back to positive growth. Unit revenue in the main cabin actually exceeded the premium section in 2Q, because main cabin capacity was down 2% to 3%, CEO Ed Bastian says on a call with analysts. “Main cabin has gotten significantly healthier this year,” he says. The airline won’t be growing capacity in the main cabin any time soon as happy with the current balance between main cabin and premium cabins, the CEO says. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

1418 ET – The World Cup was a demand driver for Delta Air Lines but didn’t require much extra supply or disproportionately impact domestic results, Chief Commercial Officer Joe Esposito says on a call with analysts. While the tournament was certainly a major event and Delta was a beneficiary of the travel demand it created, he says, “it’s not significant enough to make a huge difference to the quarter.” Delta didn’t have deploy a lot of capacity for the World Cup this year and doesn’t think it will impact how it approaches capacity next summer, according to Esposito. “It’s actually very small in the grand scheme of the size that we are,” he says. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

0841 ET – Delta Air Lines flagged some improvement in main cabin seat sales during 2Q, but premium seats continue to lead the way on revenue growth. Premium revenue grew 17% from a year earlier thanks to higher prices and steady demand, hitting $6.92 billion. That beat an 8% jump in main cabin ticket sales to $6.85 billion, making premium yet again the bigger revenue contributor of the two. Premium corporate sales, an area the company has been investing in, were up 25%, Delta said. In all, the company posted a 14% gain in revenue to top Wall Street expectations. (dean.seal@wsj.com)