Delta Air Lines reported a Q1 2017 net profit of US$603m, down 36% from net income of $946m in the prior-year period, as fuel prices rose sharply year-over-year. The carrier said it expects to take a $125m hit in reduced pre-tax income in Q2 from the 4,000 flight cancellations resulting from severe thunderstorms April 5 and the subsequent problems in operational recovery over several days related to crew displacement. Delta said its Q1 adjusted fuel expense, which takes into account fuel hedging, increased $327m compared to the same period in 2016, citing 52% higher market prices for fuel. Delta’s Q1 revenue was down 1% year-over-year to $9.1b, while expenses increased 5% to $8.1b. Operating profit was $1.1b, down 32% from operating income $1.5b in the 2016 March quarter. <br/>
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Delta Air Lines is reviewing its wide-body jet orders amid signs that the long-range travel market is saturated, CE Ed Bastian said Wednesday. The move is a setback for Airbus, which landed a US$14b deal with Delta in 2014 after out-duelling Boeing, the carrier’s long-time aircraft supplier. Delta has no twin-aisle orders pending with Boeing. The prospect that Delta could postpone or cancel deliveries heightens concerns that demand for long-haul jets is weakening. The carrier is planning to take the first of its Airbus A350s later this year to replace the Boeing 747 jumbos that once shuttled its passengers to Asia and Europe. The airline is also a customer for Airbus’s A330neo. “We continue to see excess capacity in wide-bodies as we look to the future for the industry as a whole,” Bastian told analysts Wednesday. <br/>