Delta: Swine flu will result in $250M revenue hit

NEW YORK - Delta Air Lines says the H1N1 virus has sapped travel demand, resulting in a $250 million hit on the carrier's second-quarter revenue.

CEO Richard Anderson told shareholders at the airline's annual meeting in New York Monday that because of the virus originally known as the swine flu, Delta has significantly reduced capacity into Mexico and Latin America.

The carrier also cut capacity in Asia, where customers still remember the SARS outbreak in 2003.

Anderson added that Delta would replace some of the capacity to those areas later this year.

Earlier this month, the Atlanta-based carrier projected in an SEC filing that a drop in travel demand would amount to an impact of $125 million to $150 million in second-qaurter revenue.

A Delta spokeswoman didn't immediately know whether the airline has modified its projection from earlier this month.