Delta Air Lines Reports September 2009 Quarter Financial Results

The company is on track in its integration efforts and expects to obtain a Single Operating Certificate by the end of 2009. Recent achievements include:

Fuel Price and Related Hedges

Delta hedged 53% of its fuel consumption for the September 2009 quarter, which resulted in $226 million in realized fuel hedge losses and premiums for the period. As a result, Delta's average fuel price(5) for the September 2009 quarter was $2.13 per gallon, which includes $0.11 per gallon associated with fuel hedge losses.

The table below represents the fuel hedges Delta had in place as of Oct. 16, 2009:

September 2009 Quarter Highlights

During the September 2009 quarter, Delta continued to position itself as the world's No. 1 airline, with an ongoing commitment to employees, customers and communities. Highlights include:

Special Items

Delta recorded special charges totaling $212 million in the September 2009 quarter, including:

Delta recorded special charges totaling $24 million in the September 2008 quarter, including:

December 2009 Quarter Guidance

Delta's projections for the December 2009 quarter are below. This guidance is presented on a combined basis(6).

Other Matters

Included with this press release are Delta's Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2009 and 2008; a statistical summary for those periods; selected balance sheet data as of Sept. 30, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2008; and a reconciliation of certain non-GAAP financial measures.

About Delta

Delta Air Lines is the world's No. 1 airline. From its hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam and Tokyo-Narita, Delta, its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection carriers offer service to 355 destinations in 64 countries and serve more than 170 million passengers each year. Delta's marketing alliances allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on more than 16,000 daily flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta's more than 70,000 employees worldwide are reshaping the aviation industry as the only U.S. airline to offer a full global network. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and flight status at delta.com.

Endnotes

Submission of Stockholder Proposals

To be considered for inclusion in the Delta proxy statement for the 2010 annual meeting, stockholder proposals must be submitted in writing and received no later than 5:00 p.m., local time, on Dec. 30, 2009 at the following address:

This deadline supersedes the Nov. 9, 2009 deadline contained in Delta's proxy statement for the 2009 annual meeting.

Forward-looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections or strategies for the future, may be "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections and strategies reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the cost of aircraft fuel; the effects of the global recession; the effects of the global financial crisis; the impact of posting collateral in connection with our fuel hedge contracts; the impact that our indebtedness will have on our financial and operating activities and our ability to incur additional debt; the restrictions that financial covenants in our financing agreements will have on our financial and business operations; labor issues; the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of our merger with Northwest; the integration of the Delta and Northwest workforces; interruptions or disruptions in service at one of our hub airports; our increasing dependence on technology in its operations; our ability to retain management and key employees; the ability of our credit card processors to take significant holdbacks in certain circumstances; the effects of terrorist attacks; and competitive conditions in the airline industry.