From two different press releases from Delta Air Lines today:

Press Release Number One: “Delta Air Lines is working with customers booked on flights traveling to or from select cities in the Northeastern U.S. to make adjustments to travel schedules in preparation for severe summer weather expected in the region later today. <snip> Delta’s focus is always the comfort and safety of our customers and we will continue to work to mitigate ongoing air traffic control-related congestion and delays. However, today’s storms are another example of why it is critical that Congress act to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system,” said Joe Kolshak, Delta’s executive vice president and chief of operations. “It’s fundamentally unfair to our customers that we are operating in a system that was built in the 1940s and can’t accommodate today’s air travel demand without costly and frustrating delays and congestion that are beyond our control. The FAA has presented a plan to Congress that helps ensure airline passengers are provided with an updated, 21st century air traffic control system. We urge Congress to approve the FAA’s plan to increase airspace capacity, especially in the Northeast, and to get away from the status quo and act boldly to modernize our nation’s outdated air traffic control system.”

Okay, so we not only have a warning about bad weather, more or less blaming ATC for today’s potential delays, but an advertisement for the FAA funding bill. Nice.

Press Release Number Two: Delta Air Lines will continue its successful international expansion from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport with five new nonstop flights to Central America and the Caribbean. The new flights are scheduled to begin between Dec. 13, 2007 and February 2008, and mark Delta’s largest expansion into the region from New York.

Translation: The system may be overcrowded, especially at JFK, but by God, our continued expansion there has absolutely nothing to do with it.

It’s entirely the ATC’s fault, remember?

Ticker: (NYSE:DAL)