A Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200 plane passes by the Capitol dome in Washington as it comes in for a landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Nov. 9, 2025.

Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

No sky perks for you!

Delta Air Lines suspended its airport escorts and red coat services for members of Congress and their staff because of the ongoing partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, the air carrier said Tuesday.

The move comes a week after Delta CEO Ed Bastian blasted Congress during an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” for failing to authorize pay for Transportation Security Administration agents during the shutdown of the agency that includes TSA.

“Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta,” Delta said in a statement to CNBC.

“Next to safety, Delta’s No. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment,” the airline said.

Delta’s action was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Delta’s Capital Desk, which is a reservation line for members of Congress and staffers, remains open.

But for now, those customers will be treated like any other passengers based on their respective Sky Miles status.

The move comes as airports around the U.S., including major hubs in cities such as Atlanta, where Delta is based, are seeing extra-long security lines as a result of elevated absences by TSA agents, who are set to miss their second full paycheck this week.

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Bastian last week fumed to CNBC that it is “inexcusable that our security agents, our frontline agents, that are essential to what we do, are not being paid. And it’s ridiculous to see them being used as political chips.

“So, we’re outraged,” Bastian said.

“And if there’s a call to action here — and I think over 90% of the American public supports those people getting paid — ask our folks right here in Washington to do their job, get our people paid. They can do it,” the CEO said.

United Airlines, when asked by CNBC if it had suspended its similar perks for members of Congress, said, “We don’t have any changes to announce today.”

CNBC has requested comment from American Airlines about its services for federal lawmakers.

Airline executives have railed against lawmakers in recent months, urging them to ensure that essential government workers like TSA officers are paid during shutdowns, which have become increasingly common.

Repeated funding impasses, including in early 2019 and as recently as last fall, ended shortly after absences of government workers who were required to work without pay increased.

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A Delta Airlines plane takes off near the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.

Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines called on Congress Thursday to reopen the U.S. government and pay air traffic controllers, with Delta urging senators to “immediately pass a clean continuing resolution.”

U.S. air traffic controllers missed their first full paychecks on Tuesday as the government shutdown drags on through a fourth week with no end in sight while Republican and Democratic senators remain at an impasse.

“Missed paychecks only increases the stress on these essential workers, many of whom are already working mandatory overtime to keep our skies safe and secure,” Delta said in a statement Thursday.

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Delta CEO Ed Bastian had warned earlier this month that the airline could see impacts from a prolonged shutdown.

Vice President JD Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hosted a roundtable at the White House Thursday afternoon with the lobby group Airlines for America, whose members include Delta, United, American and others.

“Airlines remain focused on preserving safety and trying to mitigate the operational impacts of this shutdown,” Airlines for America said in a statement. “We are expecting a record holiday travel season; however, if the shutdown continues much longer, Americans will have to pack their patience and be prepared for more delays, unfortunately.”

United CEO Scott Kirby told reporters outside the White House that Congress should pass a clean continuing resolution, adding that the shutdown is putting stress on the economy.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, joined by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, speaks to reporters outside the White House on Oct. 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C.

Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images News | Getty Images

American Airlines said it was unacceptable that the federal employees were working without pay.

“A prolonged shutdown will lead to more delays and cancellations — and the American people, especially during the busy holiday season, deserve better,” the company said in a statement.

Air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers are essential employees who are required to work through the shutdown even though they are not receiving regular paychecks.

The missed paychecks come as controllers grapple with a longstanding staffing shortage. There are 3,800 fewer fully certified controllers than the FAA’s target, according to Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

“These additional distractions will compound the existing risks in an already strained system,” Daniels said in an opinion piece in The Hill on Tuesday.

“Every day the shutdown continues, the National Airspace System becomes less safe than it was the day before, as the controllers’ focus shifts from their critical safety tasks to their financial uncertainty,” he said.

The shutdown began on Oct. 1 after Senate Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement to keep the government open.

Democratic senators are insisting that Republicans agree to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies before they will vote for funding to reopen the government.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated Wednesday that a four-week shutdown would cost the economy at least $7 billion by the end of 2026. A six-week shutdown would cost the economy $11 billion, and an eight-week shutdown would cost $14 billion, according to CBO estimates.

Flights have been delayed at several U.S. airports over the past month but the severe disruptions that preceded the end of the longest-ever shutdown, between late 2018 and early 2019, have not occurred.

— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.

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An American Airlines Airbus A321 taxis at San Diego International Airport as a United Airlines airplane departs on August 24, 2024 in San Diego, California.

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FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines started pouring customers Champagne Bollinger in its top-tier lounges and cabins this fall. But at headquarters, it’s not time to celebrate — yet.

American has fallen behind large rivals Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in the post-Covid luxury travel boom that has taken Seoul spa vacations and 40th birthday bashes abroad out of the chat and armed millions of consumers with high-end rewards credit cards.

In the first nine months of this year, Delta made $3.8 billion and United made $2.3 billion. American made $12 million. That means that American, which offers more flights than any other airline, according to OAG, accounted for just 2% of the profit the biggest three U.S. carriers generated so far in 2025.

American ranked last in a J.D. Power’s North American airline customer satisfaction ranking this year. The carrier has also been working to undo damage from a failed business-travel sales strategy.

And American, which branded itself the “on-time machine” in the 1980s, in the first half of this year ranked ninth out of 10 airlines for on-time arrivals, according to the Department of Transportation.

The airline is trying to change all of that and uplift its brand after strategy errors, some skittishness about spending, and at times being late to capitalize on industry trends, like travelers’ willingness to pay up to sit in bigger seats, according to current and former executives and industry watchers.

To make that happen, CEO Robert Isom will have to rally American’s more than 130,000 employees around the airline’s plans and win over both customers and investors. American’s stock is down 20% this year through Friday’s close, compared with modest gains posted by Delta and United.

Last week, however, some investors noticed a change within American, whose fourth-quarter profit forecast surpassed Wall Street analysts’ expectations. Shares rose more than 16%, their biggest weekly percentage gain in almost a year.

“You’re going to have a three-month period where you have to be crystal clear on your story,” said Melius Research airline analyst Conor Cunningham, referring to the airline’s leaders.

The bigger changes are going to take time and money.

“American hasn’t been paying attention to the customer for the longest time,” said Henry Harteveldt, founder of the Atmosphere Research Group travel consulting firm. “I believe there is the beginning of a meaningful turnaround … but a large airline like American is not going to be turned around overnight.”

‘Everyone felt it was price and schedule, and that’s it’

American has tasked Heather Garboden — who has worked for more than two decades at American and US Airways, including roles in the cargo and finance departments, and now is chief customer officer — with leading a lot of a nose-to-tail revamp of the nearly century-old airline.

“Fifteen years ago, I don’t think in the industry, there was much of a belief that customer experience … really drove a differentiation between airlines. I think everyone felt it was price and schedule, and that’s it,” she said in an interview. “That has changed, and we understand that.”

American fell behind with both retailing fares and technology compared with large U.S. rivals. At Delta, the most profitable U.S. airline, its executives were early to notice how customers were paying up for pricier first-class seats, precious real estate it and other airlines used to give away to frequent flyers as free upgrades. Now, offering buy-ups is more common among all three, and American is looking for more ways to sell those seats and to make sure its planes have enough of them to offer.

One challenge for American has been that it was last of the big three airlines to complete a mega merger in 2013 when it combined with US Airways, while Delta and United had years-long head starts to get through their integrations and improve their products.

New lounges, coffee and suites

Garboden spent much of her career in the finance departments and said it’s tough to provide that team with the return-on-investment of something like Champagne but that it’s still important.

“Customer experience, it’s not just Champagne. It’s not just a nice seat. It’s not just having the best lounge,” she said. “It’s the whole holistic view of it, and from end to end, [how] we want it to feel.”

Including new aircraft, American expects its capital spending to total $3.8 billion this year, and rise to about $4.5 billion next year, the carrier said Thursday. It said it has nearly $37 billion in total debt, and plans to cut that down by about at least $2 billion before 2028.

One example of how things have changed: American’s management team nearly a decade ago decided to remove seat-back screens from its aircraft, saving money on the equipment (and the fuel-sucking weight they add to the plane) because at the time they said customers would likely use their own mobile phones, tablets or laptop to watch entertainment.

United, some of whose senior leadership team, including its chief executive, Scott Kirby, came from American, has done the opposite and is in the process of adding thousands of screens to narrow-body planes both new and old, including Bluetooth technology for wireless headphones.

American might be changing its tune. “I think of where the technology was a decade ago, and where it can be today, or even a few years from today,” Garboden said. “Hopefully the complexity is less.”

An seatback on an American Airlines Boeing 737.

Leslie Josephs/CNBC

American is working to make its website and app better, with features like a way to toggle between paying for tickets with cash or miles, Garboden said, among other revamps that executives hope will drive sales — and paid upgrades. Another goal: using artificial intelligence and allowing customers to search for vacation themes, such as “best wine tasting in spring” instead of searching for flights between cities, she said.

American is also in the middle of a push to refresh many of its longer-haul premium cabins and announced on Thursday that it will refurbish its Boeing 777-200 aircraft with a new business class, adding to an upgrade, first unveiled three years ago, of its larger Boeing 777-300 jets.

“That is a big deal for us because extending the lives of those and putting those into service really gives us a capital spending holiday in terms of fleet replacement,” Isom said in an earnings call with analysts on Thursday. “So it’s a win-win-win for our customers, for our company and, most certainly, our investors.”

Those plans are made years in advance, and high demand, supply chain problems and long certification wait times have delayed plusher cabins, exasperating airline executives.

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On Thursday, American’s first Airbus A321 XLR, a long-range narrow-body plane it plans to fly across the country and, eventually to Europe, touched down at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. On all three aircraft types, it will do without first class in favor of a larger business class. For flights over the Atlantic it can cost $600 in the back and well over $6,000 up front.

The new suites that feature sliding doors, larger screens and a palette of dark browns, navy blue and tan, started flying this year on some of American’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners, subset P, for “premium.”

American Airlines new business-class suite.

American Airlines

Meanwhile, the union that represents American’s attendants is pushing the carrier add more crew members on board to cater to the larger business-class cabins.

“Staff your airplanes the way a world-class airline should — and deliver a competitive onboard experience in every cabin,” the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the pilots’ union and unions at the carrier said in a message on Friday that was sent to staff but directed at the carrier, targeting the airline’s underperformance compared with rivals.

American’s updates even have it rethinking beverages throughout the plane. The airline signed a coffee provider deal with Italy’s Lavazza recently, and to test out the brews, it brought airplane water to its headquarters in Fort Worth so staff could evaluate what it would taste like brewed on board. Lavazza made the cut.

The airline on Thursday named Nat Pieper as is chief commercial officer, a nearly three-decade airline veteran who’s worked at Alaska Airlines and Delta and who Isom described as “exactly the kind of leader we want at American.” American fired its former CCO, Vasu Raja, last year after his business-travel strategy backfired and sparked outrage from travel agencies.

There are signs of progress.

“Exiting this year, we expect to have fully recovered the revenue share that was lost by our prior sales and distribution strategy,” Isom said Thursday.

American also just inked a new credit card deal with Citi and last week said it would introduce a new mid-tier card, with a $350 annual fee.

One-time pioneer, new challenges

American Airlines was an industry leader for decades. It was the first to launch a frequent flyer program, AAdvantage. Loyalty programs, which in large part make money from selling frequent flyer miles to banks, have now become the lifeblood of many airlines.

The airline this year announced new measures to improve reliability. One change: five additional minutes of boarding time. An American spokeswoman said that helps avoid bottlenecks and last-minute gate-checked bags, which she said are down 25% since May 1.

Some of American’s challenges are fairly recent. A federal judge in 2023 blocked American’s regional tie-up with JetBlue Airways, leaving it without a partner in key, wealthy markets like Boston and New York, where United and Delta had made inroads.

United this year scooped up a partnership with JetBlue that allows customers to earn and burn miles on each others airline, but stops short of coordinating schedules or routes. It took effect on Thursday, as American was reporting its third-quarter results.

American dominates its fortress hubs in Dallas and Charlotte, North Carolina, profitable operations, though it has fallen behind in the Northeast. Other companies have looked to the Sun Belt for growth as the population there grew.

United and Delta executives have credited some of their success to having lots of flights in big coastal hubs with affluent travelers, though United has also built up flying in key markets like Denver, Houston and Chicago.

‘Generational lead’

An American Airlines Airbus A321-231 airplane taxis to depart from San Diego International Airport to Dallas at sunset on November 22, 2024 in San Diego, California.

Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty Images

While American has been reluctant to make big investments, United’s CEO Kirby earlier this month told investors that the airline is plowing more than $1 billion a year into improving customer experience.

United recently started flying planes with free Wi-Fi provided by SpaceX’s Starlink, following Delta and JetBlue in making the service complimentary. American plans to roll out complimentary Wi-Fi next year for most of its fleet.

United said such investments take years.

“We have built up a generational lead on this front,” United’s chief commercial officer, Andrew Nocella, said in an interview, adding that new products are coming in the next few years. (He declined to provide details.) “We think it’s substantial, and I don’t want to give an inch of that ground up, no matter what our competitors do to innovate over the next decade.”

Some customers, however, continue to value the convenience American offers them, and have remained loyal.

Todd Bryan, 41, who has Executive Platinum status on American, said he chooses the carrier in large part because it has the most frequencies out of where he lives, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The 41-year-old sales account manager who works in the consumer packaged goods industry, said he gets upgraded on most of his flights, but he has noticed that American has been more aggressive about offering buy-ups with cash or miles.

Even though he’s usually at the top of the list, he now considers taking the offer instead of gambling on a free upgrade on personal trips if “it feels cheap enough that I assume someone else would buy it too.”

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A view from the Delta Sky Club at Los Angeles International Airport, Sept. 2, 2022.

AaronP | Bauer-Griffin | GC Images | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines customers are getting used to first class.

Revenue from the pricier, roomier seats toward the front of the plane could eclipse sales from standard coach seats for at least a quarter or two next year, Delta executives said Thursday.

In the last quarter, Delta said ticket revenue from its premium cabin rose 9% from last year to nearly $5.8 billion, while main-cabin ticket revenue fell 4% from a year earlier to just over $6 billion.

CEO Ed Bastian said he’s seen no sign of premium-travel demand slowing down, a trend that helped drive the carrier’s upbeat forecast, released Thursday, for the rest of 2025 and next year.

Airlines from Delta to Frontier have been working to court travelers willing to pay more for seats on board.

During an investor day last year, Delta said that just 43% of its 2024 revenue was coming from main cabin tickets, down from a 60% share from in 2010. Meanwhile, Delta said that close to 60% of revenue last year was generated by premium seats and its lucrative loyalty program.

Delta, the most profitable U.S. airline, has benefited from its customers shelling out more for premium seats. Carriers have raced to add more of those seats to their fleets, some of them so elaborate — with lie-flat beds, ottomans and big entertainment screens — that they have delayed deliveries of new planes as regulators evaluate their design.

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Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines is studying new types of airplane tickets — this time in the premium cabins at the front of the plane.

Airlines spent years slicing up their coach cabins, from extra legroom seats to bare-bones basic economy fares that don’t allow changes or include a seat assignment. Delta was a pioneer in the U.S. when it launched basic economy fares more than a decade ago with rivals United Airlines, American Airlines and others following suit.

But now airline executives are turning their focus to their premium cabins, where demand is holding up better this year than in the back of the plane.

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“Premium has certainly been where our margins have continued to expand, and so we’re highly focused on continuing to provide improved service to those customers and more segmentation,” Delta President Glen Hauenstein said on an earnings call with analysts on Thursday. “The segmentation that we’ve done in main cabin is kind of the template that we’re going to bring to all of our premium cabins over time because different people have different needs.”

Delta’s revenue from premium seats like business class rose 6% in the first half of the year to $10.6 billion, while main cabin economy ticket revenue dropped 4% to $11.7 billion. The carrier, the most profitable U.S. airline, has said for years that its share of sales from high-end seats and its lucrative loyalty program has been growing.

American Airlines new business-class suite.

American Airlines

U.S. carriers have largely ditched international first class in favor of larger business-class cabins, where lie-flat seats have more amenities than seats of past decades.

Hauenstein declined to detail possible changes to the premium seats. It’s not clear whether Delta would consider a cheaper first- or business-class ticket that might not include perks like lounge access or seat assignments, or a potentially bigger seat that could come with add-ons that standard tickets don’t have.

But Hauenstein said Delta is testing some possibilities on customers and surveying travelers.

“We haven’t rolled it out yet, not because we don’t have the technological capability, but we want to make sure that customers understand what we’re putting in market and that they find value in it,” he said.

Henry Harteveldt, travel consultant and president of Atmosphere Research Group, said he’s not convinced that Delta would consider a stripped-down premium fare.

“Airplanes are expensive … and it’s a lot easier when you give your passengers a reason to pay you more for your product than to pay you less,” he said.

United Airlines new Polaris cabin configuration

United Airlines

Other airlines are working to outfit their top-tier cabins to offer a few seats that have extra room and even space for a visitor, like United’s planned update to its long-haul Polaris cabin and American’s new seats on some of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Delta’s partner, Virgin Atlantic, offers the “Retreat Suite” at the front of its Airbus A330’s Upper Class cabin that can be converted “so up to four people can enjoy an intimate dinner together in their own private social space.”

When asked whether Delta will update some of its highest-end seats, CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC Wednesday that “the premium products have had life cycles … and what we thought was state of the art six or seven years ago no longer is.

“We’re continuing to upgrade and update it. So that’s part of the cost of business,” he said. “But our product will be very, very nice.”

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A Boeing 767-332(ER) from Delta Air Lines takes off from Barcelona El Prat Airport in Barcelona on Oct. 8, 2024.

Joan Valls | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines reinstated its 2025 profit outlook Thursday and said it expects a stronger summer travel season than Wall Street anticipated.

Bookings have stabilized after a drop in demand earlier this year, CEO Ed Bastian said in an interview, though at lower levels than the airline forecast at the start of the 2025.

Delta shares jumped 11% in early trading after releasing results. Shares in other airlines, which report results later this month, also rose after Delta’s report.

Delta expects adjusted full-year earnings of $5.25 to $6.25 a share, down from a forecast in January of more than $7.35 a share, when Bastian predicted 2025 would be the carrier’s best year ever.

In April, Delta said it couldn’t reaffirm that forecast as on-again, off-again tariffs and hesitant consumers dented bookings. Rival U.S. carriers also pulled their guidance, and Delta and other airlines have announced plans to cut flights after the summer peak.

“People are still traveling,” Bastian said. “What they’ve done is they’ve shifted their booking patterns a little bit. They’re holding off making plans until they’re a little closer in to their travel dates. And so that’s shifted some of our bookings and yield management strategies.”

That includes trimming capacity outside of top travel periods, as well as what Bastian described as “surgical” cuts after the peak summer travel season ends around mid-August.

Here’s how the company performed in the three months ended June 30, compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on consensus estimates from LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $2.10 adjusted vs. $2.05 expected
• Revenue: $15.51 billion adjusted vs. $15.48 billion expected

Delta, the first of the U.S. airlines to report results for the three months ended June 30, expects adjusted earnings per share of between $1.25 and $1.75 in the third quarter, compared with Wall Street analysts’ forecast for $1.31 a share. It also said it expects revenue that’s flat to up 4%, topping forecasts for a 1.4% sales increase.

Delta posted strong growth from sales of higher-priced seats like first class and from its lucrative American Express partnership, which increased 10% in the second quarter from the same period last year to $2 billion. Airlines have become more reliant on travelers who are willing to spend more to fly rather than more price-sensitive consumers.

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Corporate travel has also stabilized as Bastian said businesses have more clarity and confidence than they did earlier this year, but it’s in line with last year, not the 5% to 10% growth Delta expected at the start of the year.

While fares have dropped across the U.S., Delta’s premium-product revenue rose 5%, as sales from the main cabin fell 5% from last year. Its total revenue per seat mile, a measure of how much an airline is bringing in for the amount it flies, fell 4% in the second quarter.

Bastian said Delta is prepared to continue updating its premium products.

“Whether it’s the Delta lounges or the quality of the product on board, the premium products have had life cycles … and what we thought was state of the art six or seven years ago no longer is,” he said. “We’re continuing to upgrade and update it.”

In the second quarter, Delta posted adjusted revenue of nearly $15.51 billion, up 1% from a year ago. Its net income in the three months ended June 30 totaled $2.13 billion, or $3.27 a share, up 63% on the year. That compares with net income of $1.3 billion, or $2.01 a share, in the same period last year. Adjusting for one-time items, its per-share net income was $1.37 billion, or $2.10 a share.

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Shoppers cast shadows as they carry their bags along the waterfront in Portland, Maine, U.S, December 26, 2024. 

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

It’s not just Walmart.

The leaders of companies that serve everyone from penny-pinching grocery shoppers to first-class travelers are seeing cracks in demand, a shift after resilient consumers propped up the U.S. economy for years despite prolonged inflation. On top of high interest rates and persistent inflation, CEOs are now grappling with how to handle new hurdles like on-again, off-again tariffs, mass government layoffs and worsening consumer sentiment.

Across earnings calls and investor presentations in recent weeks, retailers and other consumer-facing businesses warned that first-quarter sales were coming in softer than expected and the rest of the year might be tougher than Wall Street thought. Many of the executives blamed unseasonably cool weather and a “dynamic” macroeconomic environment, but the early days of President Donald Trump’s second term have brought new challenges — perhaps none greater than trying to plan a global business at a time when his administration shifts its trade policies by the hour.

Economists largely expect Trump’s new tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico will raise prices for consumers and dampen spending at a time when inflation remains higher than the Federal Reserve’s target. In February, consumer confidence — which can help to signal how much shoppers are willing to shell out — saw the biggest drop since 2021. A separate consumer sentiment measure for March also came in worse than expected.

Stock Chart IconStock chart icon

NYSE Arca Airline Index versus the S&P 500.

Another sign of weakness has been in air travel. The sector, especially large international airlines, had been a bright spot following the pandemic, with consumers proving again and again that they wouldn’t give up trips even in the face of the biggest jump inflation in more than four decades. This week, however, the CEOs of the four largest U.S. airlines — United, American, Delta and Southwest — said they are seeing a slowdown in demand this quarter. American, Delta and Southwest cut their first-quarter forecasts.

Plus, the job market, whose strength in recent years has been the country’s economic glue, is showing early signs of stress as job growth slows and unemployment ticks up. 

These trends have thrown cold water on what was a red-hot stock market and sparked new fears about a potential recession, sending the S&P 500 tumbling 10% from its record highs in February, though it had recovered significant ground by Friday afternoon.

Now, as investors and executives grow more worried about the impact tariffs will have on consumer spending and fret about an administration they had high hopes for just a few months ago, even the strongest companies are striking cautious tones as the weaker ones get even louder. 

Take Walmart, the retail industry’s de facto leader, which has spent the last year turning an uncertain economy into fuel for growth as it courted higher-income consumers. When Walmart announced fiscal fourth-quarter earnings last month, its stock fell after it warned that profit growth would be slower than expected in the year ahead. It was a rare warning sign from a company that tends to thrive in a weaker economy, and an indication that it’s expecting consumers to pull back from higher-margin discretionary goods in favor of essentials like milk and paper towels in the year ahead. 

“We don’t want to get out over our skis here. There’s a lot of the year to play out,” Walmart’s finance chief, John David Rainey, told analysts when discussing the company’s outlook. “It’s prudent to have an outlook that is somewhat measured.”

Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images

Ed Bastian, chief executive of Delta Air Lines – the most profitable U.S. carrier that has reaped the rewards of big spenders in recent years – struck a similar tone after it slashed its earnings and revenue forecast for the first quarter. In an interview Monday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” Bastian said that consumer confidence has weakened and that both leisure and business customers have pulled back on bookings, which led it to cut its guidance.

“Consumers in a discretionary business do not like uncertainty,” said Bastian. “And while we do believe this will be a period of time that we pass through, it is also something that we need to understand and get to calmer waters.”

To be sure, it wasn’t just fewer people booking trips that led the airline to cut its first-quarter forecast. Questions about air safety compounded the problem after two major airline accidents, including Delta’s own crash landing in Toronto, in which no one died.

Beyond Delta, rival United said it will retire 21 aircraft early, a move that aims to cut costs.

“We have also seen weakness in the demand market,” Kirby said at Tuesday’s JPMorgan airline industry conference. “It started with government. Government is 2% of our business. Government adjacent, all the other consultants and contracts that go along with that are probably another 2% to 3%. That’s running down about 50% right now. So a pretty material impact in the short term.”

The airline has seen some of that dynamic “bleed over” into the domestic leisure market, as well, Kirby added. He said the company is already looking at where it will cut flights, eyeing a big drop in traffic from Canada into the U.S. and in markets that were popular with government workers.

American Airlines cut its first-quarter earnings forecast and said in addition to demand pressures, bookings were hurt after a deadly midair collision of an Army helicopter with one of its regional jets in Washington, D.C., in January.

The company also felt the pullback in government travel and associated trips like those for contractors.

“We know that there’s some follow-on effect in terms of leisure travel associated with that as well,” said CEO Robert Isom.

Airline executives were upbeat about longer-term demand in 2025, however.

Other strong companies, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, E.l.f. Beauty and Abercrombie & Fitch, also issued weak forecasts in recent weeks, though they indicated they were feeling positive about the second half of the year. 

“I do think it’s just a bit of an uncertain world out there right now,” Ed Stack, chairman of Dick’s Sporting Goods, told CNBC when asked about the company’s guidance. “What’s going to happen from a tariff standpoint? You know, if tariffs are put in place and prices rise the way that they might, what’s going to happen with the consumer?”

Over the last year, companies like United, Walmart and Abercrombie have managed to outperform the S&P 500, even as shoppers reduced discretionary spending, so this change in commentary marks a major shift. It’s a warning sign that shoppers could be starting to crack, and that even excellent execution is no match for tariff-induced price increases after four years of historic inflation. 

Meanwhile, the companies that have already spent the last year calling out uncertain consumer dynamics are sounding even more worried.

“Our customers continue to report that their financial situation has worsened over the last year, as they have been negatively impacted by ongoing inflation. Many of our customers report they only have enough money for basic essentials, with some noting that they have had to sacrifice even on the necessities,” the CEO of Dollar General, Todd Vasos, said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday, adding customers are expecting value and convenience “more than ever.” The worsening consumer outlook has compounded the company’s own internal challenges.

“As we enter 2025,” Vasos continued. “We are not anticipating improvement in the macro environment, particularly for our core customer.”

Elsewhere in the retail industry, American Eagle on Tuesday warned that cold weather led to a slower-than-expected start to the first quarter, but said it wasn’t just temperatures. The apparel retailer specifically called out “less robust demand” and said it’s taking steps to reduce expenses and manage inventory as it braces for what’s still to come. 

“[Consumers] have the fear of the unknown. Not just tariffs, not just inflation, we see the government cutting people off. They don’t know how that’s going to affect them. They see programs being cut, they don’t know how that’s going to affect them,” said CEO Jay Schottenstein. “And when people don’t know what they don’t know – they get very conservative … it makes everyone a little nervous.”

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Delta Air Lines planes are seen parked at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on June 19, 2024 in Seattle, Washington.

Kent Nishimura | Getty Images

Delta Air Lines slashed its first-quarter revenue and profit outlooks, citing weaker domestic demand, backing up growing concerns about lackluster sales in some corners of the travel industry.

Delta expects revenue in the quarter ending March 31 to rise no more than 5% from last year, down from a forecast in January of 6% to 8% growth. It slashed its adjusted earnings forecast to 30 cents to 50 cents per share from a previous guidance of 70 cents to $1 a share. Delta’s shares were off more than 13% in after-hours trading after falling more than 5% in the regular session on Monday.

“The outlook has been impacted by the recent reduction in consumer and corporate confidence caused by increased macro uncertainty, driving softness in Domestic demand,” Delta said in a securities filing.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Monday that he does not expect a recession but said consumer confidence has weakened and that both leisure and business customers have pulled back on bookings.

He said concerns about safety “somewhat exacerbated the impact on us” after the deadly midair collision between a regional jet and an Army helicopter in January in Washington, D.C., as well as Delta’s crash on landing in Toronto last month that was not fatal.

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Bastian’s comments come after a broad market sell-off.

Delta’s forecast, delivered after the market closed on Monday, comes a day before a JPMorgan airline industry conference in which CEOs are expected to update investors on current demand trends. Delta said in a filing that demand for premium travel, international travel and loyalty revenue growth is still in line with its expectations.

American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines are among the other carriers that will also update Wall Street on demand trends.

Airline shares prices have dropped sharply in recent days as growing signs of weaker consumer spending hit the sector, which had been resilient compared with other industries in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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