DL Connections Contribute $1B in Q3

Delta Connection operations contributed $1.099 billion, up eight percent to the $5.2 billion in operating revenues earned by Delta in the third quarter, the highest in Delta’s history. For the five months since the company emerged from bankruptcy, regionals contributed $1.859 to the $8.7 billion in Delta’s operating revenues. Meanwhile, operating expenses for its contract carriers rose 13 percent to $815 million. Net income for the September 2007 quarter was $220 million. Strong revenue improvements and continued cost benefits from restructuring produced the more than five point improvement in Delta’s operating margin to 8.7 percent in the September 2007 quarter compared to the September 2006 quarter.