Delta posts first quarterly loss in eight years

Delta, the first U.S. airline out of the gate with earnings results, bled red ink, and it sees the skies turning even darker in the current quarter. The carrier swung from a profit to a loss of more than half a billion dollars in the first three months of the year. That's its first quarterly loss in eight years.

With people staying home under lockdowns amid the health crisis, flight cancellations outnumber new bookings, and U.S. airlines once expanding are now on life-support. Delta Air Lines burned $100 million a day flying jets that were nearly empty.

What's worse, it sees revenue in the current quarter plummeting 90%. It warned a recovery could take up to three years. To slow the cash burn, it is cutting its flight schedule by about 85% and slashing executive pay and unpaid leaves.

Delta will receive $5.4 billion in payroll aid from the government, and it is considering applying for an additional $4.6 billion in government loans.

One silver lining: the historic drop in crude prices will cut its fuel costs. But that's little consolation given that Delta has parked more than 650 aircraft.

Rival United, which warned of an even bigger quarterly loss, said Tuesday it'll sell more than $1 billion in stock to help it survive the downturn.