Delta and JetBlue Apply for Bailout Funds

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) both said Friday they are applying for federal assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, emphasizing the precarious state the airlines are in.

Airlines have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, losing a huge share of their customers as travel demand all but evaporated overnight. They have drastically cut back on flights and grounded planes to trim their costs, but no amount of cutting can offset their falling revenues.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a memo to staff the airline is burning through more than $60 million a day, and that he expects second-quarter revenue will be down 90% year over year. The airline had 38,000 passengers on its planes last Saturday. On a normal late-March Saturday, it carries 600,000.

Source Fool.com