The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Friday that Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) will maintain its route between Seattle and Tokyo’s close-in Haneda Airport under the condition that it flies between the two locations at least twice a week year-round.
If Delta does not comply with the Department of Transportation’s condition, it will transfer the route to American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) from out of Los Angeles.
This decision by the Department of Transportation followed American Airlines’ request to take over Delta’s route to Tokyo after Delta only flew the route 17 times from October 2014 to the end of this month, out of 182 possible days.
Delta Air Lines has assured the Department of Transportation that they are committed to restoring daily Seattle-Haneda services and has already published schedules and is actively selling tickets on the route.
Additionally, Delta Air Lines was one of many airlines that benefitted from the drop in crude oil prices last year that will help them save in fuel costs for the rest of the year.
Argus Research analyst John Staszak weighed in on Delta Air Lines on March 30th, initiating a Buy rating on the stock with a $55 price target. He noted that the company is “benefiting from strong industry fundamentals, including low fuel costs, reduced industry capacity, and rising demand for air travel. It is also upgrading its fleet with new, fuel-efficient aircraft and expanding globally through partnerships with international carriers.”
Staszak has a history of recommending airline stocks such as JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), helping him earn an overall success rate of 72% recommending stocks and a +17.8% average return per recommendation.
The analyst has rated JetBlue 4 times since April 2014, earning a 100% success rate recommending the stock and a +59.8% average return per recommendation. Likewise, he has rated Southwest Airlines 4 times since April 2014 with a 75% success rate recommending the stock and a +41.0% average return per recommendation.
John Staszak sees a bright future for Delta and is bullish on the stock. Do you trust his latest recommendation based on his financial advice history?
On average, the top analyst consensus for Delta Air Lines on TipRanks is Moderate Buy.