Delta Air Lines Inc. offered cautious optimism that demand for travel is starting to return but said its losses were mounting, as the coronavirus pandemic looks likely to continue weighing on travel for years, the Wall Street Journal reported. “The virus has had a much broader impact over the course of the year than any of us were suspecting,” said Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian. Delta had hoped it would be able to stop bleeding cash by the end of the year. Now the airline anticipates such a scenario won’t happen until spring, even while slashing costs. Delta ended September burning through $18 million in cash a day but expects to cut that to $10 million a day by the end of the year. Delta has taken a further blow because of its emphasis on business travel, which has all but halted and has been slower to resume than travel for leisure. Delta has built a war chest that it has said should help it survive a long downturn. The airline ended the quarter with close to $22 billion in liquidity and said it has slashed costs. It is also deferring new aircraft orders—a move it said would save $5 billion through 2022—and retiring older jets. Delta had spent years paying down debt before the pandemic hit, putting the airline in a better position than some rivals.
