Losses Continue for Delta, United

No surprise here, but airline losses continue in the first quarter of the year as Delta and United are the latest to report disappointing earnings. Delta reported a net loss of $693 million, or 84 cents a share. UAL, United's parent  company, reported a net loss of $383 million, or $2.64 a share.

Both airlines sought today to spin toward the positive. Delta, which acquired Northwest Airlines last year to make it the world's largest carrier, saw losses that weren't as bad as analysts estimated to Bloomberg. "Things aren't good, but they're also not getting worse," Delta President Ed Bastian said today. At UAL, which also beat analyst expectations, one noteable trend has been a 43 percent drop in revenue from cargo.

One side note: Delta announced that starting July 1, it will charge customers a $50 fee to check a second bag on international routes. The company hopes the move will pull in more than $100 million annually.

The two airlines' reports follow last week's results from AMR, parent of American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines reported its first quarterly loss since 1991. Continental Airlines reports first quarter earnings tomorrow.

At mid-day, the markets saw enough to cheer them about the airlines. The Amex Airline Index was up about 8 percent with all of its 13 compenents trading higher for the day.