August Outage Cost Delta $100 Million in Revenue

ATLANTA, GA — The massive power outage that led to 2,300 cancelled Delta flights in the first week of August cost the carrier roughly $100 million in revenue for the month, the company said.

Delta reported that the outage impacted passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) by two points. PRASM is calculated by dividing passenger revenue by available seat miles. Reuters explains it is a key measure of an airline's performance that measures sales against flight capacity.

PRASM for the month of August declined 9.5 percent from last year.

SEE ALSO:

• Delta Airlines Ground Stop Lifted; Delays and Cancellations Continue
• Delta Flight Cancellations Continue as System Recovers After Outage

The power outage in Atlanta led to a major system-wide failure that stranded passengers at airports across the world. In a statement, Georgia Power said the company experienced an "equipment failure" that caused the outage. The outage and extensive cancellations forced Delta CEO Ed Bastian to apologize to customers. To compensate for the outage, Delta offered customers a travel waiver and a $200 travel voucher for anyone who experienced a delay of greater than three hours or a cancelled flight.

Delta offers more than 15,000 flights daily and serves nearly 180 million customers every year, according to its website. Statistics cited by the BBC say the airline is the third largest in the world in terms of passengers.

Image: Delta personnel assisting travelers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Image courtesy Delta Air Lines.