Delta Air Lines to Cut Some Flights Due to Rising Oil Prices

Delta Air Lines is planning to cut some of its flights this year as it grapples with rising jet fuel prices.

Delta was one of several U.S. carriers that recently raised checked baggage fees to help offset the increase in fuel costs, but executives speaking on the company’s Q1 earnings call on Wednesday, now say the plan is to cut some of its 2026 capacity to reduce the financial drag of rising oil prices.

The cuts will target off-peak, edge-of-day, and red-eye flights, which are typically 15% to 20% less valuable on a net revenue basis and often become unprofitable when jet fuel prices are high. The reductions will begin this quarter and will likely extend into the summer, Joe Esposito, Delta’s Executive VP and CCO, said on Wednesday.

“We’ll see where the rest of the year goes, but I think we’ll probably take a downward bias and continue to look at the summer for opportunities,” Esposito said.

Delta has already reduced capacity in Puerto Vallarta following late-February violence that led to a shelter-in-place order for travelers and will continue to do so.

“We’ve seen a little bit of weakness in Mexico leisure, just with the incidents that occurred in Puerto Vallarta, and we’ve taken capacity actions there,” Esposito said.

There are also cuts occurring in Europe, where Delta has noted some “weakness.” While no specific cities were named on the call, Delta has quietly stopped flying to several destinations from New York’s John F. Kennedy International (JFK), including Brussels (BRU), Geneva (GVA), and London-Gatwick (LGW).

Still, overall, Delta continues to see strong demand from U.S. travelers. The airline’s customer base remains more premium and corporate-heavy than many of its competitors, and those travelers continue to fly and remain willing to pay higher fares. Even with the European cuts, the carrier is doubling down on several seasonal routes from smaller markets, such as its daily flight from JFK to Catania, Sicily (CTA), and its three-times-weekly service to Rome from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP).

“We’re going into peak summer for Transatlantic, and that looks very good right now, Transatlantic was a bright spot for the first quarter…Across all the booking curves and across all the booking periods, we’re seeing strong demand,” Esposito added.

The cuts will bring Delta’s year-over-year capacity growth to a flat level for the second quarter, effectively pausing its expansion plans to remain in line with 2025 levels.