December 29, 2006
Delta Air Lines said on Friday it narrowed its loss in November to USD$49 million, keeping it on track to exit bankruptcy as a stand-alone company in the spring.
The USD$49 million loss compares with a November 2005 loss of USD$181 million.
"These results... further underscore our confidence to emerge from bankruptcy as a strong, stand-alone company in the spring of 2007," said Chief Financial Officer Edward Bastian in a statement.
Delta reduced operating costs by 8.1 percent in November as it cut seats available for sale by 6.5 percent. Passenger unit revenues rose 13.2 percent in November.
Delta last week rebuffed an USD$8.3 billion takeover offer from US Airways and said its own reorganization plan values the company at USD$9.4 billion to USD$12 billion.
US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker said on Thursday that it was sticking to its bid for Delta and had no immediate plans to raise it or abandon its efforts.
As of November 30, Delta said it had USD$2.7 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.
(Reuters)