Delta Air Lines, DAL-N, said on Thursday in the near term that it is expecting a minimal hit from recently disclosed quality issues with RTX's Pratt & Whitney engines but said it was yet to fully assess the impact.
Delta's finance chief, Dan Janki, said in a conference organized by Morgan Stanley, that the airline expects a more detailed assessment from Pratt & Whitney at the end of this month.
RTX said it would have to pull 600 to 700 engines from its Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engines from Airbus A320neo jets for quality inspections over the next three years.
The problem came up due to a powder metal defect that can lead to cracks in some Pratt & Whitney engine components. RTX originally predicted to take 60 days to complete repair work, but it is now expected to take up to 300 days.
Delta had taken delivery of the Airbus A320neos 'later in the cycle' and will end 2023 with just under 50 neos, Janki said.
The carrier shares were down nearly 1 per cent in trading at the end of the day, after the company's shares rose more than 2 per cent before the bell.
The carrier said it expects the third-quarter revenue to increase within the upper half of its forecast range of 11 percent to 14 percent growth.
But it slashed its forecasts for operating margin and profit as Russia and Saudi Arabia extended its oil production cuts, leading to a rise in fuel expenses.
In the three-month period, the carrier expects a profit of $1.85 to $2.05 per share, down from its previous forecast of $2.20 to $2.50 per share.