4 Things to Like About Delta

ATLANTA (TheStreet) -- Delta (DAL) narrowly missed making money in the historically weak first quarter and during its earnings call flashed some positive signs.

Excluding items, the carrier reported a $39 million loss, despite a $250 million increase in fuel expense. Investors don't like it when rising fuel costs can overwhelm every good thing a company does, which is always a threat to airline shares. Nevertheless, Delta shares are up 27% this year and look like they could go higher for these four reasons.

First, Delta is gaining ground at New York LaGuardia, where it is building a hub that will offer more than 250 daily departures by summer, largely because it will complete a deal with US Airways in which it gains 132 slots in exchange for slots at Washington Reagan National. New York is the world's largest travel market, so gains there are important, and no carrier has every offered so many flights from LaGuardia.

On the carrier's earnings conference call, Glen Hauenstein, executive vice president for network planning, said LaGuardia had the "biggest margin improvement for any Deltahub and the highest absolute margin as a result of increased volume of high yield close in bookings." While overall domestic passenger revenue per available seat mile grew by 12%, LaGuardia PRASM grew by 14%, Delta said. Some Striking Comparisons

Secondly, the carrier's best first quarter since 2000, in terms of net income, included two days in March when domestic revenue per available seat mile were among the top 10 highest days for domestic unit revenue since 2008, before a merger with Northwest.

President Ed Bastian said that typically the highest domestic unit revenue days occur around July 4 and Thanksgiving, not in the normally slow first quarter. Moreover, he said, April has already produced two days that are also in the top 10, largely reflecting higher ticket prices. Even Gains in Europe