Higher costs and low base fares send Delta’s profit down 29%. The airline still earned $1.31 billion

AP Airlines Writer

Americans are traveling in record numbers this summer, but Delta Air Lines says it saw second-quarter profit drop 29% due to higher costs and discounting of base-level fares across the industry. The airline is also predicting a lower profit than Wall Street expects for the third quarter. Delta said Thursday that it earned $1.31 billion in the second quarter, down from more than $1.83 billion last year. The weaker profit came despite revenue of $16.66 billion, a company record for the quarter. T But Delta’s costs are rising even faster. The airline spent much more on labor, jet fuel and other big items than it did in the April through June period of last year.