Delta is optimistic about 2009 ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - Now that Delta Air Lines ended a dismal 2008, the Atlanta company looks to rebound this year with strategic routes.

Even if you don't count one-time expenses, Delta still lost about 500 million dollars last year. The entire airline industry suffered through high gas prices and the recession.

But airline analyst Mike Boyd thinks the cup's half full for Delta this year. For example, Boyd points to the airline's newest route connecting Memphis to Columbus, Mississippi.

BOYD: "It doesn't sound like a lot but there's a lot of international business traffic there that they can get."

Boyd is right according to John Moore. Moore is head of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce.

MOORE: "You've got the Columbus Air Force base where the pilot training is done. I mean, there's over three thousand people on that base. American Eurocopter has several hundred people working at that manufacturing facility."

Plus, global shipper FedEx is based in Memphis. Moore says those businesses would likely take advantage of Delta's international routes including the flight connecting Memphis to the Netherlands. © Copyright 2012, WABE