What's going on?

Delta Air Lines reported better-than-expected results on Thursday, even as the pandemic forces the US carrier to fight to the bitter end.

What does this mean?

Delta had a lot on its plate at the end of last year: the company paid through the nose for fuel on the back of surging oil prices, all while still going toe to toe with Covid. The fact it posted a loss for the quarter, then, mightn�t have come as a shock to investors. Nor might the airline�s admission that it�s expecting to report a loss this quarter, given the inevitable impact of Omicron on travel demand.

But all credit to Delta: the company still managed to bank its highest revenue last quarter since late 2019, thanks to impressive vacation and business bookings. Its profit for the whole of 2021 came in at $280 million too � a far cry from the $12.4 billion loss it made in 2020. Delta�s even confident that Omicron cases will recede quickly this quarter, and that demand will pick back up from mid-February.

Why should I care?

For markets: Could�ve been much worse.

Pay attention to Delta�s update: more major US airlines are reporting soon, and they�ll likewise have been impacted by Omicron. After all, around 11,000 flights were canceled in the last 13 days of December. But take heart: investors seemed to expect the variant to erode Delta�s bottom line much more than it did, which might be why they sent rivals United Airlines and American Airlines� stocks up 5% and 6% respectively.

Zooming out: Microsoft turns to the bottle.

Delta�s not the only company with fuel on the brain: Microsoft announced plans on Thursday to invest $50 million in sustainable fuel company LanzaJet�s alcohol-to-jet fuel biorefinery. That�s a very long-term speculation: renewable aviation fuel is estimated to account for less than 0.1% of global jet fuel demand.