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Delta Airlines

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Delta Airlines
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report provides an examinaion of the current structure, performance, stragergy and management of Delta Airlines, along with an industry analysis of the airline industry. The report uses current and past financial and statistical data for the company along with other up to date material to determine Delta's current market position and future potential.

The report finds that Delta Airlines has successfully emerged from its bankruptcy in 2005 to report successful returns in both 2007 and 2008. With its 2008 acquisition of Northwest Airlines Delta became the world's largest airline, further improving its position in the airline industry. Despite this current positive position report also finds potential adversities faced by Delta in the future due to falling profit margins. This has been mainly attributed to through increasing overheads in particular huge increases in fuel prices and cost associated with the accusation of Northwest Airlines.

The report concludes that Delta Airlines should hold its current market position into the future, and produce profitable margins. It does however acknowledge the potential threat from new entrants to the market, current cut price competitors and increasing overheads as problems that must be overcome in order to achieve this profitability.

INTRODUCTION

Delta Airlines is a United States based airline carrier that has grown to become the world's largest commercial airline. The airline that was established in 1928 has overcome many adversities to establish itself in the airline industry. Currently it is the only airline to service all six permanently inhabited continents in the world. The company's structure and management approach have constantly evolved in order to maintain competitive in the cutthroat airline industry. Despite filing for bankruptcy in 2005 Delta has managed to return to a profitable position and establish itself in a position to continue to be a major player in the commercial



References: • Lee, J., Chen, L. and Shaw, S. (1995) Methods and Techniques – A method for the exploratory analysis of airline industry, Professional Geographer, 46, 4, pp. 468-477. • Gayle, P. (2008) An Empirical Analysis of the competitive effects of the Delta/Continental/ Northwest Code- Share Alliance, Journal of Law and Economics, 51,4, p. 743. • Baer, J. (2008) Delta – Northwest Merger Approved, Financial Times, October 30, 2008, p. 16. • The Journal of Commerce Online. (2008) Delta- NWA Merger approved, Journal of Commerce, 30/10/2008, viewed 2nd November 2009. • Boyes, W. (2004) The New Managerial Economics, Houghton Miffilin Company, Boston, USA. • Bailey, E. E., Graham, D. R. and Kaplan, D. P. (1985). Deregulating the Airlines, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. • Adams, M. (2007) Delta expects to soar after exiting Chapter 11, USA Today, 27/04/2007, viewed 30th October 2009, Academic Search Premier, Item J0E065548430607. • Al-kaabi, H., Potter, A. and Naim, M (2007) An outsourcing decision model for airlines ' MRO activities, Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering, 13, 3, p. 217 • Zwaniecki, A • Evans, W. and Kessides, I. (1994), Living by the “Golden Rule”: Multimarket Contact in the US Airline Industry, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 109, 2, pp, 341-366. • Baumwoll, J., Howland, B., Kruse, J., Lamb, S. and Shepherd, J. (2008), Delta Airlines: An Analytical View, viewed 3 November 2009, http://www.academicmind.com/unpublishedpapers/business/management/2008-06-000aao-delta-an-anyalytical-view.html.

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