Delta making $4 million a day on expired-tax fare hike

By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

Delta Air Lines says its decision to offset expired FAA taxes by raising fares has increased revenue by between $4 million and $5 million per day, The Wall Street Journal reports. The newspaper adds: "Delta said it has no plans to change its ticket prices."

"The tax is a tax on passengers," Glen Hauenstein, Delta's Executive Vice President for Network Planning, Revenue Management and Marketing, is quoted as saying by the Journal. "What the industry has done is simply to maintain prices at market-clearing levels."

That revelation came out today during a call to discuss Delta's second-quarter earnings results. The Associated Press reports the carrier's "second-quarter net income fell by 58% compared to a year ago. It earned $198 million, or 23 cents per share, compared with $467 million, or 55 cents a year ago. Fuel costs rose 36% to $2.66 billion in the latest quarter. Revenue rose 12% to $9.15 billion as Delta raised fares to try to pay the increased fuel costs."

Delta's results fell short of Wall Street expectations once special items were excluded.