Bastian added that Delta was able to reduce its average "daily cash burn" rate by more than 70 percent to $27 million during the second quarter, but the airline foresees more of the same kind of lost revenue in the near term.
"Given the combined effects of the pandemic and associated financial impact on the global economy, we continue to believe that it will be more than two years before we see a sustainable recovery," he said.
The U.S. and global airline industries have seen travel demand plummet since the coronavirus crisis arrived in March. Per-mile revenue contracted by 91 percent year-over-year in May after posting a 94 percent decline the previous month, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Although airlines have canceled flights and grounded thousands of aircraft in response to the health crisis, global passenger demand still fell faster than capacity in May, the industry group said.
U.S. airlines are trying to cope with the downturn through layoffs and furloughs.
![]()
Australia's national carrier said previously it expected to ground international flights for as long as a year. File Photo by Dan Himbrechts/EPA-EFE
In Australia, national carrier Qantas has removed almost all international flights from its website through March -- which will be a full year from the month it grounded its fleet due to the pandemic.
The removals don't mean the flights have been canceled, but they prevent new bookings for overseas Qantas routes except for those to New Zealand, Executive Traveler reported.