Delta Air Lines has won approval to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a year and a half.
A US bankruptcy court in New York gave the go-ahead for the Atlanta-based carrier to exit Chapter 11 on Monday following a $3 billion turnaround plan.
The airline cut about $1 billion in labour costs, reduced capacity on US domestic routes and boosted international services since entering Chapter 11 in September 2005.
Delta now forecasts a pre-tax profit of more than $800 million this year against a loss of more than $450 million in 2006.
The airline had debts of nearly $19 billion and accumulated losses of $7.5 billion between 2001 and 2005 through high costs and low fare competition in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Delta, which is lobbying hard to start transatlantic flights from Heathrow following the EU-US open skies agreement, believes international expansion and lower costs will help it offset any US domestic downturn.
by Phil Davies
