Exhibit 99.1

Delta Air Lines Announces September Quarter Profit

September quarter 2019 GAAP pre-tax income of $1.9 billion, net income of $1.5 billion

and earnings per diluted share of $2.31 on record total revenue of $12.6 billion

September quarter 2019 adjusted pre-tax income of $2.0 billion, adjusted net income of $1.5 billion

and adjusted earnings per diluted share of $2.32, a 29 percent increase year over year

Delta returned $468 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases

Board of Directors declares company’s 26th consecutive quarterly dividend

ATLANTA, Oct. 10, 2019 - Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) today reported financial results for the September quarter 2019 and provided its outlook for the December quarter 2019. Highlights of the September quarter 2019 results, including both GAAP and adjusted metrics, start on page four and are incorporated here.

September Quarter Financial Highlights

“Our powerful brand and competitive strengths drove another quarter of great results for our people, customers and owners. Our people bring our brand to life on every flight and I’m pleased to recognize their outstanding efforts with over $1 billion in profit sharing accrued so far this year,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive officer. “Demand for the Delta product remains healthy, positioning the company for a strong close to 2019 with expectations for more than 20% earnings growth, over $4 billion in free cash flow and a 5th year of pre-tax earnings over $5 billion.”

December Quarter 2019 Outlook

For the December quarter, Delta expects to deliver solid top-line growth and operating margin expansion. Year-over-year pre-tax margin is impacted by the one-time $91 million gain from the sale of the DAL Global Services business in the December 2018 quarter.

See Note A for information about reconciliation of projected non-GAAP financial measures

Total adjusted revenue and TRASM, adjusted above exclude refinery sales and DAL Global Services (due to the sale of DGS in December 2018)

Revenue Environment

Delta’s adjusted operating revenue of $12.6 billion for the September quarter improved 6.5 percent, $771 million higher than prior year quarter. This revenue result marks a quarterly record for the company, driven by improvements across Delta’s business, including a nine percent increase in premium product ticket revenue and strong percentage increases in loyalty and third-party maintenance revenue. Cargo revenue during the quarter declined 17 percent driven by lower volumes and yield. Other revenue increased by $30 million as growth in loyalty and third-party maintenance was offset by $102 million lower third-party refinery sales. Premium products and non-ticket sources now comprise 52 percent of Delta’s total revenue.

Passenger Revenue by Geographic Region:

“With our outstanding operations and unmatched service, more customers are choosing to fly Delta every day. Increased customer satisfaction is driving solid top-line performance -- September quarter revenues grew to a record $12.6 billion and we expect December quarter revenues to grow more than five percent versus prior year,” said Glen Hauenstein, Delta’s president. “Strong demand and our customer-focused commercial initiatives are putting us on track to achieve a $3 billion increase in revenues this year, a pace of growth well in excess of GDP.”

Cost Performance

Total adjusted operating expense for the September quarter increased $345 million versus the prior year quarter, with 35% due to higher profit sharing expense. CASM-Ex was up 2.4 percent for the September quarter compared to the prior year quarter. This performance was driven by employee costs, record passenger volumes and the compounding effect of weather on the operation.

Adjusted fuel expense decreased $249 million, down ten percent relative to September quarter 2018. Delta’s adjusted fuel price per gallon for the September quarter was $1.96, which includes a $49 million benefit from the refinery.

Adjusted non-operating expense for the quarter was $65 million higher versus the prior year quarter, driven primarily by pension headwind.

“We are making important investments in our people and facilities to drive sustainable growth in our business. Unit cost performance in 2019 of approximately two percent is consistent with our long-term target,” said Paul Jacobson, Delta’s chief financial officer.

Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns

Delta generated $2.2 billion of operating cash flow and $1.4 billion of free cash flow during the quarter after the investment of $814 million into the business primarily for aircraft purchases and improvements, and $150 million to support our strategic alliance with LATAM. Year to date, the company has generated $7.5 billion of operating cash flow and $4.0 billion of free cash flow.

For the September quarter, Delta returned $468 million to shareholders, comprised of $208 million of share repurchases and $260 million in dividends.

The Board of Directors has declared Delta's 26th consecutive quarterly dividend. The dividend of $0.4025 per share will be payable to shareholders of record as of the close of business on October 24, 2019, to be paid on November 14, 2019.

“With $7.5 billion in operating cash flow year-to-date, our strong cash generation sets Delta apart in the industry, and allows us to maintain consistent reinvestment in our business, an investment grade balance sheet and substantial cash returns to shareholders,” added Paul Jacobson, Delta’s chief financial officer.

LATAM Airlines Strategic Partnership

On September 26, 2019, Delta announced plans to enter into a strategic partnership with LATAM Airlines.  Subject to customary conditions including regulatory approval, the company will invest $1.9 billion for up to 20 percent of the common shares of LATAM through a public tender offer at $16 per share, to be funded with newly issued debt and available cash.  In addition, Delta will invest $350 million to support the establishment of the strategic partnership, $150 million of which was paid in the September quarter.  Delta will also acquire four A350 aircraft from LATAM, and has agreed to assume LATAM’s commitment to purchase 10 additional A350 aircraft.

Delta expects that the transaction will be accretive to earnings per share over the next two years and that the transaction will not impact the company’s existing financial commitments to shareholders, including free cash flow and shareholder returns.

Strategic Highlights

In the September quarter, Delta achieved a number of milestones across its five key strategic pillars.

Culture and People

Operational Reliability

Network and Partnerships

Customer Experience and Loyalty

Investment Grade Balance Sheet

September Quarter Results

Adjusted results primarily exclude the impact of unrealized gains/losses on investments.

About Delta

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is the U.S. global airline leader in products, services, innovation, reliability and customer experience. Powered by its 80,000 people around the world, Delta continues to invest billions in its people, delivering a world-class travel experience and generating industry-leading shareholder returns. With its constant drive to invest, innovate and expand, Delta today is the world’s No. 1 airline by total revenues.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections or strategies for the future, may be "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections and strategies reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the cost of aircraft fuel; the availability of aircraft fuel; the impact of fuel hedging activity including rebalancing our hedge portfolio, recording mark-to-market adjustments or posting collateral in connection with our fuel hedge contracts; the performance of our significant investments in airlines in other parts of the world; the possible effects of accidents involving our aircraft; breaches or security lapses in our information technology systems; disruptions in our information technology infrastructure; our dependence on technology in our operations; the restrictions that financial covenants in our financing agreements could have on our financial and business operations; labor issues; the effects of weather, natural disasters and seasonality on our business; the effects of an extended disruption in services provided by third parties; failure or inability of insurance to cover a significant liability at Monroe’s Trainer refinery; the impact of environmental regulation on the Trainer refinery, including costs related to renewable fuel standard regulations; our ability to retain senior management and key employees; damage to our reputation and brand if we are exposed to significant adverse publicity through social media; the effects of terrorist attacks or geopolitical conflict; competitive conditions in the airline industry; interruptions or disruptions in service at major airports at which we operate; the effects of extensive government regulation on our business; the sensitivity of the airline industry to prolonged periods of stagnant or weak economic conditions; uncertainty in economic conditions and regulatory environment in the United Kingdom related to the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union; and the effects of the rapid spread of contagious illnesses.

Additional information concerning risks and uncertainties that could cause differences between actual results and forward-looking statements is contained in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018. Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which represent our views only as of October 10, 2019, and which we have no current intention to update.

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Unaudited)

Note: The prior periods presented here have been recast to reflect adoption of certain new accounting standards.

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Passenger Revenue

(Unaudited)

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Other Revenue

(Unaudited)

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Total Revenue

(Unaudited)

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Statistical Summary

(Unaudited)

Note: The prior periods presented here have been recast to reflect adoption of certain new accounting standards. Except for number of aircraft in fleet, consolidated data presented includes operations under Delta’s contract carrier arrangements.

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the Consolidated Balance Sheets to the total of the same such amounts shown above:      

Note: The prior periods presented here have been recast to reflect adoption of certain new accounting standards. 

DELTA AIR LINES, INC.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)

Note A: The following tables show reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures. The reasons Delta uses these measures are described below. Reconciliations may not calculate due to rounding.

Delta sometimes uses information ("non-GAAP financial measures") that is derived from the Consolidated Financial Statements, but that is not presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”). Under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules, non-GAAP financial measures may be considered in addition to results prepared in accordance with GAAP, but should not be considered a substitute for or superior to GAAP results. The tables below show reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures used in this release to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

Forward Looking Projections. The Company is not able to reconcile forward looking non-GAAP financial measures because the adjusting items such as those used in the reconciliations below will not be known until the end of the period and could be significant.

Pre-tax Income and Net Income, adjusted. We adjust pre-tax income and net income for the following items to determine pre-tax income and net income, adjusted for the reasons described below. We include the income tax effect of adjustments when presenting net income, adjusted.

MTM adjustments and settlements. Mark-to-market ("MTM") adjustments are defined as fair value changes recorded in periods other than the settlement period. Such fair value changes are not necessarily indicative of the actual settlement value of the underlying hedge in the contract settlement period. Settlements represent cash received or paid on hedge contracts settled during the period (defined below).

Equity investment MTM adjustments. We record our proportionate share of earnings/loss from our equity investments in Virgin Atlantic and Aeroméxico in non-operating expense. We adjust for our equity method investees' hedge portfolio MTM adjustments to allow investors to understand and analyze our core operational performance in the periods shown.

Unrealized gain/loss on investments. We record the unrealized gains/losses on our equity investments in GOL, China Eastern, Air France-KLM and Korean Air, which are accounted for at fair value in non-operating expense. Adjusting for these gains/losses allows investors to better understand and analyze our core operational performance in the periods shown.

DGS sale adjustment. Because we sold DAL Global Services, LLC ("DGS") in December 2018, we have excluded the impact of DGS from 2018 results for comparability.

Operating Revenue, adjusted and Total Revenue Per Available Seat Mile ("TRASM"), adjusted. We adjust operating revenue and TRASM for refinery sales to third parties to determine operating revenue, adjusted and TRASM, adjusted because refinery sales to third parties are not related to our airline segment. Operating revenue, adjusted and TRASM, adjusted therefore provide a more meaningful comparison of revenue from our airline operations to the rest of the airline industry. We adjust for the DGS sale for the same reason described above under the heading pre-tax income and net income, adjusted.

Operating Margin, adjusted. We adjust operating margin for MTM adjustments and settlements and third-party refinery sales for the same reasons described above under the headings Pre-tax income and net income, adjusted and Operating Revenue and TRASM, adjusted.

Free Cash Flow. We present free cash flow because management believes this metric is helpful to investors to evaluate the company's ability to generate cash that is available for use for debt service or general corporate initiatives. Adjustments include:

Net redemptions of short-term investments. Net redemptions of short-term investments represent the net purchase and sale activity of investments and marketable securities in the period, including gains and losses. We adjust for this activity to provide investors a better understanding of the company's free cash flow generated by our operations.

Strategic investments. Cash flows related to our investment in Hanjin-KAL, the largest shareholder of Korean Air, are included in our GAAP investing activities. We adjust free cash flow for this activity because it provides a more meaningful comparison to the airline industry.

Net cash flows related to certain airport construction projects and other. Cash flows related to certain airport construction projects are included in our GAAP operating activities and capital expenditures. We have adjusted for these items, which were primarily funded by cash restricted for airport construction, to provide investors a better understanding of the company's free cash flow and capital expenditures that are core to our operational performance in the periods shown.

Non-Fuel Unit Cost or Cost per Available Seat Mile, ("CASM-Ex"). We adjust CASM for the following items to determine CASM-Ex for the reasons described below:

Aircraft fuel and related taxes. The volatility in fuel prices impacts the comparability of year-over-year financial performance. The adjustment for aircraft fuel and related taxes allows investors to understand and analyze our non-fuel costs and year-over-year financial performance.

Ancillary businesses and refinery. We adjust for expenses related to aircraft maintenance we provide to third parties, our vacation wholesale operations, our private jet operations as well as refinery cost of sales to third parties. 2018 results also include staffing services performed by DGS. Because these businesses are not related to the generation of a seat mile, we adjust for the costs related to these areas to provide a more meaningful comparison of the costs of our airline operations to the rest of the airline industry.

Profit sharing. We adjust for profit sharing because this adjustment allows investors to better understand and analyze our recurring cost performance and provides a more meaningful comparison of our core operating costs to the airline industry.

Capital Expenditures, net. We present net capital expenditures because management believes investors should be informed that a portion of these capital expenditures are reimbursed by a third party.

Operating Expense, adjusted. We adjust operating expense for MTM adjustments and settlements, third-party refinery sales and DGS sale adjustment for the same reasons described above under the headings pre-tax income and net income, adjusted and operating revenue and TRASM, adjusted to determine operating expense, adjusted.

Fuel expense, adjusted and Average fuel price per gallon, adjusted. The tables below show the components of fuel expense, including the impact of hedging and the refinery on fuel expense and average price per gallon. We then adjust for MTM adjustments and settlements for the same reason described under the heading pre-tax income and net income, adjusted.

Non-operating Expense, adjusted. We adjust for equity investment MTM adjustments and unrealized gain/loss on investments to determine non-operating expense, adjusted for the same reasons described above in the heading pre-tax income and net income, adjusted.

Adjusted Debt to Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization and Rent ("EBITDAR"). We present adjusted debt to EBITDAR because management believes this metric is helpful to investors in assessing the company's overall debt profile. Adjusted debt includes LGA bonds and operating lease liabilities. We calculate EBITDAR by adding depreciation and amortization to GAAP operating income and adjusting for the fixed portion of operating lease expense.