Delta has warned of worsening prospects, with management seeing a first-quarter loss reaching as much as $400 million, up from earlier forecasts of $300-350 million, largely on rising fuel costs and its inability to win pilot union concessions. The Delta pilots union has not set a date for negotiations towards a new contract or revising its existing contract, which is in place until May 2005. Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Linenberg says that Delta's revenue situation is dire because, he calculates, it has the most direct exposure to low-fare competition.
Source: Airline Business