Delta Air Lines posted a 2009 net loss of US$1.2 billion, narrowed considerably from a massive deficit of $8.9 billion in 2008 when results were affected by heavy goodwill impairment charges and costs related to its acquisition of Northwest Airlines. Revenue was $28.1 billion, up 24 per cent from 2008.

Delta says that merger activities are nearly complete and predicted that results in 2010 will benefit from a lack of integration costs and other complications resulting from the merger of the two carriers which have been operating on a single operating certificate since 1 January 2010.

CEO Richard Anderson said the company is in “the home stretch of the merger integration,” adding: “We will shortly in the [late] first quarter have just one Delta. . .with the airplanes freeflowing rather than having to operate two airlines as was the case in 2009, leading to operational restrictions on a number of routes.” Anderson said the carrier plans to be “disciplined” on capacity this year, with full-year capacity expected to be “roughly flat” compared to 2009.