Your Instagram feed may look like everyone's in Paris for the 2024 Olympics, 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 said CNBC that the company will lose $100 million this summer as non-Olympic ticket customers are pulled from Paris vacations.
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“If you're not going to the Olympics, people aren't going to Paris … very few are going,” Bastian said. “Business travel, you know, other types of tourism are potentially going elsewhere.”
Of all the major US airlines, Delta serves the most flights to Paris, thanks to a joint partnership with Air France. Delta flies around 2 p.m non-stop flights daily from France to the US and according to data cited by CNBCDelta and Air France account for about 70% of all non-stop flights between the countries.
“Outside of this temporary event, demand for summer travel to Europe is strong and in line with our expectations,” said Glen Hauenstein, president of Delta. during a phone call with investors.
Air France is also feeling the strain independently, predicting a revenue loss of up to 180 million euros, or nearly $195.5 million, between June and August this year “due to the upcoming Olympics in Paris, with traffic to and from the French capital that lags behind other large European cities”.
The airline said travel to and from the country is expected to “normalize” after the matches end with demand returning.
“International markets show a significant shift away from Paris,” Air France said in a statement released earlier this month. “Travel between the city and other destinations is also below the usual June-August average as residents in France appear to be postponing their holidays until after the Olympics or considering alternative travel plans.”
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The 2024 Summer Olympics begin on Friday, July 26 and run until Sunday, August 11.
Delta reported a record Second-quarter operating income of $15.4 billion during its second-quarter 2024 earnings release on Thursday — a 5.4% increase from the same time last year.
The airline also forecast a 2-4% year-over-year increase in total revenue during the third quarter of 2024.
“Peak summer travel demand remains strong and Delta is delivering superior experiences for our customers,” Hauenstein said in a company release.
Delta was down up just over 8.5% year over year as of Friday morning.