Issue Summary

Third quarter earnings season is underway, with Delta as usual batting leadoff. For the second straight quarter, its earnings were strong, underscored by another double-digit operating margin. That’s thanks to record revenues, fueled by extraordinarily robust demand — for leisure travel, for premium products, for domestic and transatlantic travel, for cargo, for SkyMiles, and even, to some extent, for business travel. Now if only costs weren’t so high. Fuel costs are up, labor costs are up, maintenance costs are up, and, importantly, overall unit costs are up, swelled by suboptimal utilization of aircraft and other assets. Delta still flew 17…