I was knockin on wood that my flights wouldn't be cancelled or delayed due to the FAA checking safety like they were last month, right after I booked to Memphis. NorthWORST had seem  immune to the problems plauging other airlines in terms of both mass cancellations & layoffs affecting the industry. Until now:


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The vast majority of Northwest Airlines' jobs in Minnesota would be preserved under a merger with Delta Air lines, Northwest chief executive Doug Steenland said.

But Steenland also warned that Northwest expects to reduce jobs and flights in the short-term in response to the "meteoric" rise in fuel costs.

Speaking Monday at a St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce lunch, Steenland emphasized that record oil prices will push fares even higher in the coming weeks and months. "As fares go up, (passenger) demand is going to come down," Steenland said. "As demand comes down, the airline is going to have to shrink."

Steenland stressed that high fuel costs - not the proposed merger - pose the greatest threat to Northwest workers and consumers. Oil was about $65 a barrel when Northwest emerged from bankruptcy a year ago, but it recently hit $126. When the merger was proposed a month ago, oil was around $112.

Steenland noted that Northwest's fuel bill rose about $450 million in the first quarter. "That can only go on for so long," he said.

Northwest plans to take 15 to 20 airplanes out of service this year, with most flight reductions coming after the busy summer travel season. Related to that capacity reduction, management previously said it hopes to reduce jobs through attrition.

Delta chief executive Richard Anderson, who will lead the merged carrier, and Steenland have said that the merger would not cause job cuts among front-line employees, but job cuts would occur in the corporate headquarters. About 1,000 people work in Northwest's Eagan headquarters.

The merger, which still needs federal regulatory approval, could close before the end of the year. But Steenland said Northwest would continue to operate on its own through much of 2009 and possibly into early 2010 as the carriers prepare to blend businesses.