A discussion about the airline industry, airline employees, and all things related

Yikes.  Delta's First Quarter loss is huge!  They need to find other ways to cut costs because cutting labor any further will not help the situation.  Just a few weeks ago, Delta started to negotiate cost cutting measures and leases at their Ohio Airport.  And just a few days ago Delta said that the potential pilot strike hurt their bottom line.  Currently Delta is renegotiating leases for their aircraft and other cost cutting measures but more needs to be done.

**Related Executive Pay Story after the Jump (Continue Reading at the bottom)**
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Delta Air Lines  on Thursday reported a wider net loss for the first quarter, as the airline restructured its operations under bankruptcy protection.

Atlanta-based Delta, which has been operating under bankruptcy protection since September, reported a first-quarter net loss of $2.1 billion compared with a $1.1 billion loss in the year ago quarter.

Excluding reorganization costs and special items, its first-quarter loss was $356 million, versus a loss of $684 million in the year ago quarter, the company said.

Roger King, an analyst at CreditSights, said the airline needed to raise its revenue and cut costs further.

"There is still a lot to do," King said. "They are still not making enough money to cover their costs."

Delta has said that it needs about $3 billion in revenue increases and cost savings to survive. The carrier has been renegotiating its aircraft leases and cutting labor costs, among other things, to achieve those goals.

The company reached a deal with its pilots' union for average yearly savings of $280 million. The deal, reached in April, has yet to be ratified by the pilots.

Reuters.com

**Related Executive Pay Story after the Jump**

The airline's top brass is near the bottom of the industry in compensation, according to recent regulatory filings.

Including two pay cuts in the past 18 months, Delta's top five executives' paychecks totaled roughly $2.5 million in salary and perks last year, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

That's eighth out of nine carriers surveyed and about half of what AirTran Airways CEO Joe Leonard alone collected last year in salary, bonus and exercised stock options.