Delta Air Lines posts $147 million January operating loss

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, March 2 - Delta Air Lines, Inc. reported a $147 million operating loss for January on $1.22 billion in revenues, according to its monthly operating report filed Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The operating loss shows a $77 million improvement over January 2005's numbers, according to a company news release.

The net loss for the month was $300 million, including $87 million in reorganization items. The figures compare to a $314 million January 2005 net loss.

Delta ended the month with $2.1 billion of unrestricted cash.

The January 2006 reorganization items total $87 million and primarily reflect estimated bankruptcy claims for aircraft and facilities lease matters, as well as professional fees in the company's Chapter 11 case, the release said.

During January, Delta said it made additional progress in restructuring its aircraft leases by renegotiating or rejecting leases to match future fleet needs and capture significant cost reductions.

In addition, in February, Delta instituted a fuel-hedging program and hedged about 26% of its planned consumption for the month at $1.75 average price per gallon.

"While Delta continued to post significant losses in January, the company is making progress in stabilizing our liquidity and implementing our business plan," executive vice president and chief financial officer Edward H. Bastian said in the release.

"Our ability to enter successfully into fuel hedging contracts with sophisticated counter-parties in February is another indication of the progress we are making in our ongoing efforts to strengthen our financial performance."

Delta, an Atlanta-based airline, filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 14. Its Chapter 11 case number is 05-17923.

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