December 21, 2001

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1


Dear Investors and Analysts,

This update briefly discusses the expected financial performance of Delta Air
Lines, Inc. (Delta) for the December 2001 quarter and a credit rating downgrade
by Moody's Investors Service (Moody's).

Delta's financial performance continues to be materially affected by the
terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11 and the aftermath of
those events. Excluding the unusual items briefly discussed below, we expect to
report a net loss in the range of $500 million in the December 2001 quarter.

Delta will record several unusual gains and charges in the December 2001
quarter. We will record unusual gains totaling approximately $370 million,
after-tax, relating primarily to compensation under the Air Transportation
Safety and System Stabilization Act and the sale of our equity interest in
SkyWest Airlines. We will record unusual charges relating to our early
retirement program to reduce employee staffing, the impairment of certain
aircraft, the permanent closure of certain facilities and the discontinuance of
certain capital projects. While the amount of these charges has not been
finalized, we currently estimate our unusual after-tax charges will range from
$550 to $700 million in the December 2001 quarter.

Delta's all-in fuel price for the December 2001 quarter is expected to be $0.61
per gallon. Capacity for the December 2001 quarter is expected to be down 12%
from the December 2000 quarter. Capacity for the March 2002 quarter is expected
to be down 11-13% from the March 2001 quarter. These capacity reductions are in
addition to the approximately 3% reduced flight schedules in the December 2000
and March 2001 quarters, due to a job action by some Delta pilots.

On December 18, 2001, Moody's announced its downgrade of the credit ratings for
two airlines, including its downgrade of the ratings for Delta's senior
unsecured debt to Ba3 (from Ba2).

Delta expects to end the December 2001 quarter with a cash and/or near-term
liquidity position of over $2.5 billion.

Sincerely,


Gail Grimmett
Managing Director - Investor Relations


Statements in this letter which are not historical facts, including statements
about our estimates, expectations and beliefs for the future, may be
"forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience
or our present expectations. For a list of factors that could cause these
differences, see the Form 8-K that we filed today. We have no current intention
to update our forward-looking statements.