Delta Airlines (DAL) has been slapped with charges amounting to $1.45 million for non-compliance with safety standards. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicted Delta for a lack of proper windshield wiring on 32 of Northwest Airlines’ Boeing 757s that were flown from 2005 to 2008.

Northwest operations merged with those of Delta Airlines last year. A total of 90,000 passenger flights were airborne between these periods.

In its maintenance instructions written in April 1990, Northwest omitted the FAA directive regarding the inspection of wires. The directive required the wiring to be inspected and be replaced if needed as it could cause overheating, smoking and even a fire.

After discovering the omission in May 2008, the instructions were changed accordingly, but there was still a delay in new inspections and replacement, which led to 29 of the Boeing 757 planes flying passengers while still out of compliance.

Delta has a 30-day time period to respond to the penalty.

Earlier this month, Delta asked the Department of Transportation for exclusion from a new government rule at the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York. The new rule limits the amount of time for which a passenger can be held on the tarmac. It forces airlines to let passenger off planes that have been delayed for more than three hours, or face hefty fines.

Estimate Revisions

Over the last 30 days, five of the 10 analysts covering the stock have upgraded the estimate for the first quarter of 2010, while one downward revision was witnessed. Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter is an operating loss of 24 cents per share, which would be up 71.6% from the year-ago quarter.

The higher number of upward estimate revisions for the first quarter indicates a likelihood of upward pressure on the performance of the stock in the near term.

With respect to earnings surprises, the stock has not been steady over the last four quarters, with three positive surprises. The average remained positive at 49.0%. This implies that DAL has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 49.0% over that period.

The upside potential for the estimate for the first quarter, essentially a proxy for future earnings surprises, currently stands at 16.7% for DAL.

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