DAL Delta Air Lines Inc

By Doug Cameron and Kimberly Chin 

Delta Air Lines Inc. said Wednesday it would keep capacity stable into the key summer travel season in a move that will help allay investor fears that carriers are adding too much flying and depressing leisure fares.

The nation's third-largest carrier by traffic expects to boost capacity by 4% to 5% in the second quarter while keeping its closely watched average revenue climbing in a band of 1.5% to 3.5%.

While the grounding of the Boeing Co. 737 Max has artificially reduced the rate of expansion by U.S. carriers, more flights are being added and only solid business-class demand has counteracted weakness in leisure markets, particularly on some coast-to-coast routes and to and from the Caribbean, two Delta strongholds.

Still, Delta reported quarterly profits at the top end of analysts expectations, reset after an investor update last week, and second quarter guidance was also in line, lifted in part by the benefit of a new credit-card deal with American Express Co.

Delta reported a 28% rise in profits for the quarter to March 31, while costs excluding fuel dipped slightly.

Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com and Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 10, 2019 07:23 ET (11:23 GMT)

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