Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson said Friday he doesn’t know whether airlines’ experience with bankruptcy translates to automakers, but that Delta and merger partner Northwest Airlines could not have done their restructuring outside of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
“A bankruptcy court is a court of equity and it has very broad powers to assist you in terminating contracts and restructuring your costs. You wouldn’t have been able to do it outside of a Chapter 11 restructuring,” Anderson said during an appearance on CNBC.
Anderson’s comments came as President Bush approved a bailout of the U.S. auto industry. Also Friday, Anderson rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the close of Delta’s merger with Northwest Airlines in October.
During his CNBC appearance, Anderson said he does not expect any more consolidation in the U.S. airline industry in 2009, “but I do think you’re going to continue to see industry consolidation around the world and particularly in Europe.” He said Europe would reorganize around British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM.
Anderson also said he thinks funds from the federal government’s stimulus package should be spent on aviation infrastructure “so you don’t have to sit on the tarmac and wait 30 or 45 minutes for a takeoff slot at LaGuardia,” the New York airport.
