The biggest factor behind these numbers, Delta's chief executive Ed Bastian told investors, came down to the July CrowdStrike outage that left airline check-in computers around the world with the "blue screen of death" and caused nearly a week of disruption to Delta's flight schedule.

Delta Air Lines on Thursday warned of a hit to its fourth-quarter revenue, saying consumers want to be home around the upcoming U.S. presidential election and are holding off discretionary spending.

Delta Air Lines expects a revenue dip in the fourth quarter due to decreased travel demand around the U.S. presidential election. Delta projects one of its most profitable fourth quarters, thanks to strong holiday bookings and improved pricing.