Company Watch - Delta Air Lines.

For more company data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/professional.htm May 22, 2006

Aero Maintenance Group was chosen by Delta Air Lines to manage exclusively the repair of more than 1,400 unique components on the carrier's aircraft. AMG said it will provide Delta "with a single point of contact for communications, invoicing and performance measurements for nearly 15,000 repair orders annually on a volume of approximately 80,000 individual units." May 16, 2006

Delta Air Lines and Galileo International yesterday announced a seven-year, full-content agreement. Delta and CheapTickets, a subsidiary of Galileo parent Cendant Corp., also executed a marketing agreement. May 18, 2006

Rigid policies hurts Delta, fliers. Some of Delta Air Lines' financial problems are the result of poor customer service and fare management, writes University of Georgia economics professor Jeffrey H. Dorfman. Dorfman writes that some policies that restrict the number of free or discounted seats offered actually hurt the airline. May 16, 2006

Delta Air Lines last night launched daily services from New York JFK to Manchester and Dublin/Shannon aboard all-economy 767-400s. The flights are the sixth and seventh of 11 new transatlantic routes the carrier will launch by next month. Service to Athens starts May 29. DL also announced a daily Atlanta-Sioux Falls flight beginning Aug. 7 operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines using CRJ200s. May 16, 2006

Bankrupt Delta Air Lines reported a first-quarter net loss of $2.1 billion, widened from a net loss of $1.1 billion in the year-ago quarter on special charges, as it continued to navigate Chapter 11 reorganization.Excluding $1.7 billion in reorganization costs, accounting adjustments and special items, the company lost $356 million, narrowed from $684 million. "While continued losses are clearly unacceptable, Delta's financial performance for the quarter was in line with expectations, especially in light of fast-rising fuel prices," CEO Gerald Grinstein said. Operating revenues were virtually flat at $3.72 billion while expenses fell 9.8% to $4.20 billion, producing an operating loss of $485 million, a 49.3% improvement over an operating loss of $957 million in the year-ago quarter. Fuel costs rose 5.1% to $929 million. Delta Air Lines 's first-quarter yield was up 9.7% to 13 cents on a 6.4% drop in RPMs. Capacity decreased 8.6% and load factor rose 1.9 points, pushing RASM ahead 9.8% to 10.75 cents. Mainline CASM excluding special items grew 5.3% to 10.71 cents while CASM excluding fuel expense and special items fell 1% to 7.82 cents. May 15, 2006

Delta Air Lines loses $2.1 billion in first quarter, insists reorganization is 'on track'. Delta's Grinstein said reorganization plan is "on track," pointing to the improvement in operating result. The carrier said a tentative agreement reached with its pilots in April on $280 million in annual givebacks was a big boost to the restructuring effort. CFO Edward Bastian said the airline is "encouraged" by reorganization efforts so far but conceded that "we still have a great deal of hard work ahead for Delta's turnaround to be successful." May 15, 2006

Delta Air Lines said that it will add 25 Delta Connection flights from New York JFK to 14 domestic destinations, with the services starting on various dates between July and October. Most of the added flights will come from increased frequencies on existing routes, but it plans to launch new four-times-daily services to Manchester, N.H.. and Portland, Maine, on Sept. 15 to be operated by Regional Freedom Airlines. May 15, 2006

Delta expands in Latin American markets. Delta Air Lines' international expansion and focus on Latin America and the Caribbean is an important part of its plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection. The airline is adding new routes from its Atlanta hub and plans to be the "second-largest U.S. player in the region very, very quickly," said the company's COO. May 15, 2006