Delta Air Lines Reports $446 Million Loss

[Thomas_Cook_757-200]

Hi,
Delta Air Lines said it lost $466 million in the first quarter, its largest loss since the months immediately after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The Atlanta based airline also said it expects a substantially larger second-quarter loss than a year ago, citing higher fuel prices and lingering travel slump due to the war in Iraq. However, the second-quarter deficit should be smaller than the loss just reported.

Thanks

Thomas_Cook_757-200

Source - Reuters News Agency

[B777-400]

OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Delta is my favourtie American Airline.........damn!

How come nothing ever happens to North Worst Airlines?

[LH 340-600]

466 milion DOllars is very much!
I forget about the other airlines and how much they exactly loose.
Is this much or not so much compared to other airlines.
If it is not so much you could nearly consider this as god news.

[Foxtrop]

Delta loss.

B777-400, Northwest is in a much better position b/c they made a very good decision in the 1990s. They RE-ENGINED their entire fleet of DC-9s. That option was much more inexpensive than buying a whole new set of jets to replace them. also, when they eventually did start buying new jets, they bought the A319/320/321 family of jets and being the first US carrier to buy them, Airbus, as it usually does, gave them one HECK of an offer! besides, they have been streamling their operations at all of their hubs, and having the alliance hubs at Schiphol-Amsterdam and Tokyo-Narita has given them a tremendous boost. But, you have to remember, it's not that nothing will ever happen to NWA, (after all, it's not a low-cost carrier, it's a major carrier) but the management's definitely taken the neccessary steps that are paying off now. Heck, experts said NW is in a good position to ride out the SARS epidemic (so long as it's short-lived) as far as it's Tokyo hub is concerned. So, there you have it.

[B777-400]

Thanks for that informative answer. I just wish the other airlines will survive as well...

[Foxtrop]

Re:

You're welcome. Yes, I hope the others survive as well. I believe that Song should help DL out, mainly b/c it's a new low-cost no-frills carrier and it has a fairly new fleet of jets. also, the features like touch-screen TVs with live satellite television, in-flight video games which passengers can play with eachother and good service are all things passengers are asking for. They've also launched the new carrier in time for the summer season, when families go to visit relatives or enjoy vacation destinations like Orlando and Palm Beach. Now this summer, the traffic levels are gonna be smaller than for previous summers, but Song should still see flights atleast 80% full if not higher.

[B777-400]

so the low-cost sub-carrier (Song) of Delta actually has better features than Delta itself? (touchscreen/satellite tv)

why is it low-cost then?

[PANC]

Delta is in my top 5 favorites also!

(EDIT) One more thing I remember about Delta. I was flying ANC-FAI a few years back and over Mt. McKinley they did a nice big circle. Very nice of them indeed!

[Foxtrop]

Re: better features

Well, I cannot speak for Delta, but I figure if they put all these features in planes that will fly for a low-cost no-friller, it's like putting all the goodies in one neat package. After all, a decent percentage of passengers who would want to fly Song would be families who want to save money on that next trip. And when it comes to families, putting touch-screen TVs in there eliminates all those buttons-which just adds to the convenience. Of course, I'm guessing there would be some buttons for playing the video games. And of course, since the video games are interactive, that makes for great entertainment. The basic idea of Song was to bring back the pleasure in flying, so I'm assuming that's why they chose to go along with this. Also, their food service would be better than other low-cost airlines. It's a great model for competing with Jetblue and Southwest.

[Foxtrop]

Re:

Uhh, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people are lazy or anything! It's just going one step further for the passenger in putting touch-screen TVs.

[aerpix]

It will only be a matter of time until we also hear from NWA about their losses and problems. There is no turnaround for the economy in sight, so it is must a matter of time.

Second, no low-fares division of a mainline, high-cost carrier has ever succeeded. There is no way that Song can help Delta out, it will fail just as all others have.

Regards,
Peter