Delta executives gather for today's unveiling of plan

ATLANTA (Cox News Service) — Delta Air Lines executives flew to Dallas and other cities in preparation for the airline's announcement today of a turnaround plan expected to include heavy job cuts and a retreat from its Texas hub.

Delta chief executive Gerald Grinstein has already said job cuts are coming, and it's expected today he will say how many and where they will occur. Industry analysts have said they expect several thousand.

Grinstein will speak on the plan at a management meeting in Atlanta this morning, and his talk will be webcast live at 8:30 a.m. EDT via Delta's Web site.

Speculation has swirled about the future of Delta's smallest hub at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where the airline has about 4,000 employees and about 270 daily flights. Some analysts also have speculated that the hub at Salt Lake City International Airport could be closed.

Delta has long lost money at DFW, where it is squeezed between the hometown giant, American Airlines, and fast-growing rival AirTran Airways. ASA has taken over the bulk of Delta's flights in recent years at DFW as the parent carrier downsized capacity by shifting to ASA's smaller regional jets.

Other moves Delta may announce to meet its growing cost-cutting targets, experts say, may include a new scheduling system to use planes more efficiently. Delta also may roll out simpler fares to appeal to travelers who use discount carriers — a move previewed last month at its Cincinnati hub.

However, Delta operations chief Joe Kolshak warned in a message to employees that Grinstein will reveal only part of the airline's so-called Delta Solution to reverse its long string of losses since 2000.

"This will answer many questions and correct many rumors you've been hearing, but it's not going to be the whole story," Kolshak told employees late Monday in an e-mail and telephone message.

"What you hear this week will set the stage for all the changes we have to make as a company to be viable, and position ourselves for profitable growth in the future," he said.