Delta Air Lines stock ( DAL ) popped 10% in early trading Friday after a record air travel year propelled the airline to its best-ever annual revenue total.

And Delta CEO Ed Bastian sees that momentum carrying into 2025.

"Our brand is entering the new year with a great amount of momentum," Bastian told Yahoo Finance. "We're seeing growth in the corporate space, double-digit growth in corporate bookings. We're seeing the international area ... showing very healthy growth."

The carrier posted full-year 2024 operating revenue of $61.6 billion. Here's how Delta performed in the fourth quarter, versus consensus estimates as compiled by Bloomberg:

"All airlines are not the same," Bastian added. "Our target demo tends to be on a higher end, our pricing has been fine — it's been stable. The premium growth ... that consumer has the disposable wealth to manage that [pricing]."

United Airlines ( UAL ) stock topped all major US airlines in 2024, while Delta still finished the year higher and maintained its position as the largest airline by market capitalization.

In 2024 , 5% more travelers were screened by TSA, which equates to a year-over-year increase of 45 million passengers (43 million more when adjusting for the leap year).

Delta also anticipates full-year 2025 free-cash flow of $4 billion, even as it makes significant investments in capacity and technology.

“We're going to continue to grow the fleet,” Bastian said. “We have roughly 40 new airplanes entering the fleet. We hope to be able to see — maybe by the end of this year, or the early part of next year — the launch of the Airbus 350-1000, which will be the newest flagship product in the sky.”

Aircraft delivery backlogs have been a persistent headwind for the airline industry, often resulting in elevated maintenance costs, route cancellations, and travel delays.

The fleet orchestration by Delta helped the business retain its status as the most on-time airline operator in North America. According to data compiled by Cirium, 83% of its flights reached their destination within 15 minutes of scheduled gate arrival times during 2024, above the continental benchmark of 76%.

' We have a continued investment in technology'

The December quarter earnings results arrive during the same week as the Consumer Electronics Show .

Tied to the event, Bastian took center stage at The Sphere in Las Vegas, where he was joined on stage by Uber ( UBER ) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to announce a corporate partnership geared toward Skymiles members.