Medary.com

Three American airlines are teetering on the brink, and it's uncertain that any of them will survive in their current form.

Delta sells planes, cuts back its Cincinaati hub in their battle to avoid bankruptcy:

Delta said that beginning Dec. 1, it will reduce mainline and Delta Connection carrier capacity in Cincinnati by 26 percent, while boosting the percentage of local traffic from 36 to nearly 50 percent.
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In addition, Delta said it will accelerate the removal from service of its Boeing 767-200 aircraft type, the least efficient wide-body aircraft in its fleet. These aircraft are scheduled to be removed from service by Dec. 1, 2005, with the majority to be sold to ABX Air Inc.

United struggles to emerge from bankruptcy:

"People who assume that this is a done deal are making a mistake," said bankruptcy expert Bill Brandt, president and CEO of Chicago-based restructuring firm Development Specialists Inc. "It's a starting point, a structure. ... In many ways, for many of the parties in this case, it's 'Game on."'

The bankruptcy overhaul, initially expected to last 18 months, is now ensured to take more than three years-- complicated by higher fuel prices, the difficulties in obtaining two rounds of labor cuts and the failure to secure federal loan guarantees.

Northwest machinists strike drags on:

Several dozen strikers, members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, hurl insults at the "scabs" in the buses and flash hand gestures their mothers might not approve of.
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Judging from recent activity at the airport, travelers go about their business largely unaffected by the strike. The two sides have no plans to resume negotiations on a contract that would eliminate jobs and cut pay.