Delta’s CEO, Richard Anderson, told reporters today that all airlines need to raise fees by as much as 20% “just to break even due to the rising price of fuel.” His new bedmate, Northwest CEO Doug Steenland, piped in to say cost-cutting measures “have largely been exhausted”—and by “cost-cutting” we assume he means, “We can’t find anything else to add surcharges to, except maybe the bathroom and the recycled oxygen, and we’re not monsters.”

Anderson also was asked if a combined Delta-Northwest would be profitable in its first year, and he responded, “It will all be a product of fuel prices … and stay tuned for earnings tomorrow and you’ll see what a dramatic effect it’s had.”

“Report: Delta CEO says airline fares to rise 15-20 %” [BizJournals]
(Photo: Getty)

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