Delta Says Yen Gains Helping Outbound Japan Business
Edward Bastian, president of Delta Air Lines Inc.
Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg
Edward Bastian, president of Delta Air Lines Inc., speaks during a news conference in Tokyo.
Edward Bastian, president of Delta Air Lines Inc., speaks during a news conference in Tokyo. Photographer: Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg
Edward Bastian, president of Delta Air Lines Inc.
Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg
Edward Bastian, president of Delta Air Lines Inc.
Edward Bastian, president of Delta Air Lines Inc. Photographer: Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg
Delta Air Lines Inc. President Edward Bastian said gains in Japan’s currency are driving “strong improvement” in the carrier’s outbound business from the country, including flights to Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.
The yen’s gain to 84 yen to the dollar “helps us improve our financial result,” Bastian, who heads the world’s largest airline, told reporters today in Tokyo.
Delta is adding international flights as the global economy recovers and businesses resume travel. The airline said Aug. 4 that its passenger traffic across the Pacific Ocean rose 13 percent this year through July, while Latin American traffic increased 5.3 percent from the year-earlier period.
A strengthening yen cuts local currency costs for jet fuel, which is priced in dollars and increases the overseas purchasing power of Japanese tourists, making flying abroad more attractive.
The yen today climbed to 84.15 per dollar from 84.44 yesterday when it reached 83.67, the strongest since Aug. 24, when it climbed to a 15-year high. Japan’s currency has appreciated about 11 percent against the dollar this year.
To contact the reporters on this story: Naoko Fujimura in Tokyo at nfujimura@bloomberg.net; or Kiyotaka Matsuda in Tokyo at kmatsuda@bloomberg.net
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