Delta Air Lines posts net loss of $363 million for first quarter 2023

April 13 (UPI) -- Delta Air Lines on Thursday announced a net loss of $363 million for the first quarter of 2023 on operating revenue of $12.8 billion. That's an improvement over first quarter 2022, when the loss was $940 million.

"Delta is building momentum, with the best people in the industry generating nearly $5 billion of operating profit over the last 12 months," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement.

The quarter included expenses related to a new contract with Delta's 15,000 Air Line Pilots Association members that includes a total raise of 34% over four years.

The company reported record revenue for the quarter, up 16% from the same period in 2019.

"These results reflect the strength in the underlying demand environment and continued momentum in premium products and loyalty revenue," Delta President Glen Hauenstein said in a statement.

Hauenstein said with record advance bookings for the summer, the airline expects the next quarter revenue to be 15% to 17% higher. Delta plans to expand capacity by 17% year over year.

Bastian told CNBC that capacity forecast is lower than originally planned.

"We're intentionally pulling back some of the capacity," Bastian said. "We want to make sure we don't outrun our capabilities."

In May 2022, U.S. airlines canceled more than 7,000 flights Memorial Day weekend as they struggled to balance capacity and demand coming off the disastrous COVID-19 impact on air travel.

Delta canceled the most flights that weekend.

According to Delta, its domestic corporate sales for the first three months of 2023 is 85% of 2019 pre-COVID-19 levels.