The airline expects to break even in June but still expects to post a pretax loss of up to $1.5 billion in the second quarter.
Delta Air Lines on Thursday reported another quarterly loss but said it hopes to break even in June as travel demand recovers from the Covid-19 slump.
Delta and other airlines continue to lose money but have become increasingly optimistic about an uptick in bookings as more travelers are vaccinated, travel restrictions are lifted, and more destinations reopen for business. Delta said domestic leisure bookings are currently at about 85% of 2019 levels, though international and business travel continue to struggle.
The Atlanta-based carrier posted a net loss of $1.18 billion on $4.15 billion in revenue for the first quarter, topping analyst estimates for sales of $3.91 billion. Revenue was down 60% compared with the $10.47 billion Delta generated in the first quarter of 2019. On an adjusted basis, Delta posted a loss of $3.55 a share compared with a forecast of $3.17 per share.
