Delta posts 1st profit since start of pandemic thanks to federal aid

Delta's second-quarter profit of $652 million comes with an asterisk.

The intrigue: Strip out $1.5 billion from government assistance and other one-time boosts, and the airline actually lost $678 million.

What to watch: Domestic leisure travel is "fully recovered to 2019 levels," CEO Ed Bastian said Wednesday.

• The airline says it's not having trouble finding workers — it's planning to hire between 4,000 and 5,000 people. It didn't disclose wage strategies.
• "We're still losing money. We need to get the company stabilized first before we start talking about wage increases," said co-CFO Gary Lee Chase.