This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. Delta Expects to Record $350 Million Loss for 3rd Quarter September 28, 2002 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ATLANTA, Sept. 27 (AP) - Delta Air Lines said today that it expected to lose about $350 million in the third quarter, nearly twice as much as previously foreseen, because of sluggish revenue and demand. The announcement, which came a day after Delta told employees it was cutting another 1,500 flight attendant jobs and a trade group warned that the entire industry could lose a record $8 billion this year, sent airline stocks tumbling. Delta shares sank $2.81, to to $8.69. Other airline shares were also lower. AMR, the parent of American Airlines, was down 61 cents, to $4.25; UAL, the parent of United Airlines, fell 58 cents a share, to $2.36; and Continental Airlines was down 44 cents, to $5.36 a share. The Air Transport Association said this week that major carriers were on course to lose $1.5 billion to $2 billion in the third quarter and $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion in the fourth quarter. Airlines lost $3.8 billion in the first half of the year. In 2001, airlines had a combined net loss of $7.7 billion, although that included the effect of $5 billion in cash paid out by the federal government as part of a bailout approved by Congress after the terrorist attacks. Delta, based in Atlanta, had previously said it did not expect that its financial results for the third quarter would be substantially different from the second quarter when it lost $186 million, or $1.54 a share, including charges. But it said today in a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it now expected that its third-quarter results would be weaker than anticipated "driven primarily by the month of September." It said it expected revenue for the quarter would be about the same as in the period a year ago. It expects to post a loss of about $350 million, including unusual items, and $225 million if the items are excluded. Delta said it intended to record unusual charges of about $200 million before taxes - including a write-down of some aircraft, temporary carrying costs of grounded aircraft and surplus pilots - for the quarter. On Thursday, Delta executives notified flight attendants that it would try to make the latest round of cuts, representing 9.4 percent of its flight attendants, through voluntary offers. Last fall, about 3,200 flight attendants accepted leaves, early retirement and other offers as part of 10,000 job cuts. Delta has more than 16,000 flight attendants, a third of whom are based at its Atlanta hub. "The industry is suffering," a Delta spokeswoman, Peggy Estes, said. "So it's necessary to reduce our operating costs. We need to match the work force size to the needs of the operation." Delta had previously announced that it would reduce capacity by about 8 percent this fall, about twice the usual seasonal reduction. Leo F. Mullin, chief executive of Delta, has said more cuts could be necessary. This week, Mr. Mullin and executives from American, Northwest Airlines and AirTran Airways asked lawmakers in Washington for relief from heavy security-related costs and lost revenue. Mr. Mullin said costs and lost revenue because of security measures would total about $660 million this year. Analysts estimate Delta will report pretax losses of $1.2 billion this year. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/28/business/28AIR.html?ex=1034229302&ei=1&en=0d1b6a9a3bf4cb1f HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@nytimes.com. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company