Two interesting articles in the news about Delta's drive to lower costs.

In an attempt to win labor concessions, Delta Air Lines' CEO Gerald Grinstein is planning a series of meetings with pilots and their families, which he said would be "blunt" and "provocative."

Grinstein said Delta's pilot costs are now 59 percent higher than American's, 82 percent higher than United's and 207 percent higher than AirTran Airways'.

A midcareer captain flying a midsize jet for Delta makes more than $200,000 a year.

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/delta/0304/03pilots.html


Delta Air Lines expects to take delivery of 32 Bombardier CRJ200s starting in 2005 as it ups the number of regional routes flown by some of its subsidiary airlines. Kentucky's Comair, however, didn't receive any new Delta planes because Comair wasn't able to get its costs low enough for Delta's needs.

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/03/03/biz_comair03.html

[Edited 2004-03-04 01:54:42]