Five crucial days determined the difference between a sizable third quarter beat and a disappointing miss for Delta Air Lines (DAL).

“We had 86 great days, and we had five days that were impacted, caused by CrowdStrike,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told Yahoo Finance, later adding: “People know that. That was not something that was attributable to our business or our performance, it was something that was done to us.”

Here's how Delta performed in the third quarter versus consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

• Adjusted net income: $971 million vs. $981 million expected

• Adjusted earnings per share: $1.50 vs. $1.52 expected

• Revenue: $14.59 billion vs. $14.68 billion expected

Customer refunds and canceled flights stemming from the mid-summer technological disruption wiped $380 million from Delta’s revenue during the quarter and translated into a $0.45 adverse hit to earnings per share over the three-month period.

Travel, healthcare, and banking were just a few of the many sectors rendered virtually inoperable in the midst of a faulty software update initiated by CrowdStrike (CRWD) until the issue was remedied.

“The great thing about our people is they responded in a heroic fashion,” Bastian said, adding: “The five days were really, really tough on our people as well as our customers. But in, in the weeks immediately following CrowdStrike, our company was back on top as the No. 1 position in terms of industry reliability, as we've been all year long.”

The airline operator offered a fourth quarter earnings per share range of $1.60 to $1.85, while analyst estimates are currently anticipating $1.78.

“I think it's going to be a strong fourth quarter,” Bastian said. “The demand looks, looks quite healthy. Should be, one of, if not the best fourth quarters in our history.”

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