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Delta Air Lines Inc. reported a third-quarter net loss of $161 million, after special charges, and said it would trim 2010 capacity 3 percent as its maintains a cautious outlook on the economy.

Atlanta-based Delta (NYSE: DAL) would have posted a profit of $51 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30 if not for $212 million in charges related to write-offs related to refinancing of debt from merger mate Northwest Airlines, merger related expenses and charges for employee severance packages.

The loss for the quarter was 19 cents a share compared to a loss of $50 million, or 13 cents a share in the period a year ago.

“While we now see encouraging revenue and booking trends, we remain cautious in these early stages of an uncertain recovery," Delta CEO Richard Anderson said in an earnings release. "My thanks go out to the Delta people who delivered great customer service, ran a solid operation, and moved forward with our merger integration, all against the backdrop of a very challenging economy."

The prolonged drop off in leisure and business travel challenged airlines the third quarter, which includes the typically lucrative summer travel season and is typically a strong one for airlines.

"The global recession drove a significant revenue decline for the quarter, but we see improving trends in load factors, yield and business traffic," said Edward Bastian, Delta president. "We will continue to exercise capacity restraint, coupled with strong cost control to effectively manage this."

Total revenues grew 32 percent including Northwest’s figures. But merging the third quarter figures of the two airlines, total revenue declined by $2 billion or 21 percent.

Passenger revenues dropped by 21 percent on a system-wide capacity cut of 4 percent, Delta said.

In a memo to employees, Delta Chief Financial Officer Hank Halter called the revenue declines “unprecedented” and blamed the global recession. Click here to read the entire memo.

Delta, which is phasing out its dedicated fleet of freighters, said cargo revenues were off $187 million, or 51 percent. But items listed as other net revenue, mainly baggage fees, increased by $34 million, or 4 percent.

During the quarter, Delta announced plans to cut white-collar jobs, made further cuts to capacity and reached out to investors and creditors for additional liquidity. The carrier has been aggressive, despite the economy, announcing a gate and airport slot swap with U.S. Airways Inc. and has reportedly been in talks with Japan Airlines about an equity infusion and defection to the SkyTeam Alliance.