Delta expects to welcome 2.9 million customers over the Labor Day travel period, spanning over 25,000 flights worldwide as travel demand remains strong.

Those projections cover the holiday travel period from Thursday, Sept. 1-Tuesday, September 6, as U.S. travelers mark the unofficial end of summer. Delta flew 2.5 million customers during the same holiday period last year and 3.1 million in 2019.

Delta’s performance and reliability has significantly recovered from the beginning of summer thanks to schedule changes and other measures taken to make the operation more resilient.

• Between August 12-15, Delta and Delta Connection incurred merely 15 cancellations out of approximately 20,000 scheduled flights
• Delta’s internal preliminary reporting shows that Delta people have worked to produce a mainline completion factor of 99% percent for Delta's customers in August. This means cancellation rates are far below those seen in early summer for both domestic and international Delta mainline flights

This year, Delta has been the most reliable airline among major U.S. carriers, ranking first in domestic on-time arrival rates and completion factor.¹ Compared with June, Delta’s domestic mainline cancellation rate in August has been greatly improved, and on-time arrival and departure rates have improved even further. Fewer than 1% of Delta domestic flights have been canceled in August vs. nearly 4% in June.²

Delta's Red Coast Can Help

Run into something unexpected? Just have a question? Find a Delta Red Coat like Erika Robalino, who serves customers at Newark Liberty International Airport as one of the airline’s elite customer service experts – so named for their easy-to-spot bright red jackets. 

These service gurus say there are a few things customers can do to make their trip a bit smoother: 

Check the weather. In addition to using the Fly Delta app for real-time updates on your itinerary, make sure you know the forecast from your departure point and at your destination. Not only will you be ready for any weather events that could impact operations – you’ll know exactly how to pack. 
 

Arrive early. Don’t add stress to your check-in and security experience. Delta recommends arriving at least two hours before domestic flights and three hours before international flights. And, Robalino said, build in time to travel to the airport, too: “Getting to the airport surprises passengers quite often.” Robalino also recommended arriving at least a day before must-attend events like weddings to account for any factors beyond your control that could delay your arrival. 
 

Don’t leave home without packing essentials in your carry-on. Always keep your medication close at hand in your carry-on bag. And you never know when you might need a change of clothes or a little emergency cash. Having all three with you will keep you prepared for unexpected situations. Robalino and Alexander both also suggest packing a sweater or a blanket – the air blows cold in airports and planes. 

In the rare event that a flight must be canceled or there are significant changes to a customer’s itinerary, Delta continues to provide full and timely refunds to eligible passengers requesting them. Furthermore, Delta teams strive to notify customers of itinerary changes as far in advance as possible via the method of contact selected during booking.

Customers are encouraged to check their flight status on Delta.com or the Fly Delta Mobile App. Customers can also get updates sent directly to their mobile device or by email.

1. Based on FlightStats and internal data Jan. 1 through August 30, 2022, for mainline domestic flights, compared to Major U.S. carriers for on-time arrival and flights flown. Major U.S. carriers comprise Delta, American, United, Southwest, JetBlue, and Alaska. On-time arrival (A0) is measured as those flights arriving at or before the scheduled time.

2. Based on internal data of completion factor, on-time arrival rate and on-time departure rate data for Delta mainline domestic flights scheduled August 1 - 30 compared to U.S. Department of Transportation data of flights flown in June 2022.