Signs of Life Emerging in Business Travel $DAL

For the past year, a clear divide has lingered in air travel. Leisure travel mentions began rising months ago, while indications of flying for work were slower to return.

Delta says it has handled "record-breaking" customer volumes all year, reaching 96% of 2019 levels as leisure travelers return to the skies. Note this is customer help, not total bookings, but demand is significant enough that the company is hiring to deal with capacity

According to TSA airport-security checkpoint data, the number of passengers recorded Thursday and Friday before the July 4th holiday weekend surpassed the totals in 2019.

And now, LikeFolio data suggests work travel is finally gaining traction.

Traveling for work mentions have increased +39% YoY, the fastest-growing travel trend we're tracking.

This is good news for a company like Delta...and you can see it moving the needle in Purchase Intent growth: +29% YoY.

Delta is outpacing other airlines on this YoY view, perhaps partially due to the fact that Southwest lends itself to leisure travel, so demand returned sooner for that airline in particular.

Delta still has a ways to go to return to full pre-covid levels. Total consumer mentions remain -28% lower vs. 2019.

And business travel still has a hill to climb. But the momentum is building.

We'll be watching for guidance when Delta reports July 14 before the bell.