Delta Air Lines is going to cut more domestic flights than expected in the second half of the year, including one route from Salt Lake City, with more anticipated.

US Airways also said it is eliminating an Salt Lake City flight to Las Vegas, and Continental Airlines announced last week that it will end its flight to Newark, N.J., in September.

Delta, which operates its Western regional hub at Salt Lake City International Airport, said Wednesday it will trim 13 percent of its U.S. capacity, or 3 percent more seats than the 10 percent reduction it targeted in March.

"The only [additional] flight right now that we can say will be cut is from Salt Lake City to Pittsburgh, and it will be gone before Labor Day," Delta spokesman Anthony Black said. "We're anticipating some [additional] reductions, but we don't have the complete inventory available yet."

The move comes as executives for other airlines are continuing to cut jobs and consider new fees on passengers as they battle high fuel prices that could result in record losses for the nation's carriers. The lone profitable big carrier so far this year, Southwest Airlines Co., still expects to grow modestly through next year - but that's not a sure thing.

At Delta, which is preparing to merge with Northwest Airlines Corp., this year's fuel costs are expected to rise $4 billion from 2007. The carrier provided a speck of encouraging news Wednesday, saying it expects to post a second-quarter profit, excluding one-time items. Delta lost $6.4 billion in the first quarter, although $6.1 billion was an accounting charge to write down the value of its assets.

But in a regulatory filing Wednesday and in remarks later at a conference by President and Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastian, the new capacity cuts were announced, with Bastian saying, "We have flexibility to do more, and we will do more.''

That apparently means a further reduction of routes from Salt Lake City, which since the first of the year has seen the elimination of 10 Delta routes and a reduction of a number of daily flights to several other destinations.

Bastian's announcement came a day after a U.S. industry trade group said carriers' 2008 losses may reach a record $13 billion after a near-doubling of oil prices in the past year.

"The need for cutting may not be over yet," said George Hamlin, managing director of consulting firm ACA Associates in Fairfax, Va.

Barbara Gann, director of marketing for Salt Lake City International Airport, said the Delta cuts were not unexpected. "We're in a transition period. And we're anticipating more adjustments - more right-sizing by the airlines - through at least the end of the year."

U.S. Airways also intends a reduction in its service from Salt Lake City. The airline said Aug. 17 will be the last day it offers its direct Salt Lake City-to-Las Vegas flight.

"JetBlue did just begin to offer that Salt Lake to Las Vegas flight, so maybe it is a competitive issue for them," Gann said.

In May, JetBlue said it will end service from Salt Lake to San Francisco and Burbank, Calif., on July 8.

steve@sltrib.com

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* BLOOMBERG NEWS and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to this story.