MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Delta Air Lines made more than a billion dollars in the third quarter as more passengers paid a little bit extra to fly. Even its new oil refinery turned a small profit.
The profit of $1.37 billion worked out to $1.59 per share. Not counting gains from fuel hedges, the company would have earned $1.2 billion, or $1.41 per share. That was 5 cents per share more than expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Revenue rose 6 percent to $10.49 billion, about what analysts were expecting.
Traffic rose 2 percent for the quarter. The amount passengers paid for each seat flown one mile rose 5 percent.
Delta began paying a dividend during the quarter.