Delta earnings better than expected, despite rising costs
Delta faced strong demand, particularly for transatlantic routes.
Fuel and labor costs are on the rise.
Delta is the second-largest U.S. airline.
Delta Air Lines DAL ' captured more revenue from passengers in the first quarter, but the airlines' costs also climbed.
The second-largest U.S. airline on Thursday said first-quarter net income was $547 million, or 77 cents a share, down from $561 million, or 77 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
However, on an adjusted basis, the company earned 74 cents a share, a cent above analysts' expectations, according to Thomson Reuters.
Revenue in the first three months of 2018, was $9.76 billion, slightly below Wall Street's estimate of $9.85 billion.
Shares gave up earlier gains in premarket trading.
Transatlantic routes were particularly strong, with revenue from those routes up 15 percent from a year earlier, more than any other region.
But the airline also faced higher labor costs and a slew of powerful winter storms in the first quarter. Those storms cost it $44 million, Delta said.
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