Delta Air Lines Inc. to cut costs

Delta Air Lines Inc., which is struggling to meet its cash needs, yesterday said it expects to cut costs by about $240 million over five years in its technical operations division.

Tony Charaf, senior vice president of technical operations, outlined the planned savings in a memo to staff, which was filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The division is slated to lose 1,600 to 2,000 jobs out of a total 6,000 to 7,000 job cuts. Both sets of numbers were previously announced, Delta said.

Atlanta-based Delta, the No. 3 US carrier, plans to partner with Avborne of Miami, and Air Canada Technical Services of Vancouver, Canada, to conduct heavy maintenance work on parts of its aircraft fleet, cutting costs by 34 per cent.

Delta plans to reduce operations at its Tampa, Florida hangar, shifting some work to Atlanta. It also plans to concentrate other work in Atlanta.

Last week, Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein said the carrier expects to face liquidity issues over two years as higher oil prices add up to $1 billion to its costs.

He said Delta should be able to avoid a bankruptcy filing. Rivals UAL Corp.'s (UALAQ.OB: Quote, Profile, Research) United Airlines and US Airways Group Inc.