ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines Inc. will shave additional capacity later this year as it warns that more than $6 billion in benefits it expected from lower fuel prices, its merger with Northwest Airlines and previous capacity reductions will be overtaken by declining revenues.

The reduction in available seats could mean further job cuts at the world's largest airline operator.

Delta also said it projects it will take a $125 million to $150 million hit in the second quarter because of the impact on air travel from the swine flu virus. The quarter ends June 30.

Delta executives told employees in a memo yesterday ahead of a presentation at an investor conference in New York that Delta will reduce system capacity by 10 percent this year compared with 2008. That is up from Delta's previous plan to cut system capacity by seven percent to eight percent.

Delta also will reduce international capacity 15 percent, up from a previous plan to cut it by 10 percent.

Delta said capacity reductions will begin in September. Some routes will be suspended, while the number of weekly flights to other destinations will be reduced.

"The additional capacity reductions mean we again must reassess staffing needs," chief executive Richard Anderson and president Ed Bastian said in the memo. "While the challenges of the current environment preclude us from making guarantees, our goal remains to avoid any involuntary furloughs of frontline employees."

There was no mentions of the airline's Bermuda services in the statement.

Among the capacity reductions, Delta will:

— Suspend nonstop service from Atlanta to Seoul and Shanghai and instead route customers for those flights over Detroit or Tokyo, or on nonstop partner flights.

— Suspend nonstop flights from Cincinnati to Frankfurt, Germany, and London-Gatwick.

— Reduce weekly frequencies connecting Atlanta and Detroit to Mexico City and postpone some previously planned seasonal service between non-hub cities and Mexican beach destinations due to the impact of the swine flue virus on customers' travel plans.

Delta said it is still adding more than 20 new markets to its international network in 2009.

Delta said staff levels will be down more than 8,000 jobs by the end of 2009 compared to spring 2008. A spokeswoman said the figure reflects job reductions already accounted for through voluntary programmes, as well as a mixture of open jobs not filled and administrative job reductions associated with Delta's integration with Northwest.