Delta Air's Revival Plan Preaches Austerity

But deep sacrifices and painful decisions loom and those restructuring plans are a ways off. Management and labor will have scheduled a negotiating session on Thursday, but an ALPA spokesperson said the union did not expect any major developments and was unlikely to release any details.

With fuel costs, Delta's second-largest expense, skyrocketing as the price of oil approaches $50 a barrel and airlines helpless to add fuel surcharges, the restructuring plan is the carrier's last hope to avoid Chapter 11.

If unsuccessful, Delta could join UAL (UALAQ.OB Quote)-unit United Airlines in Chapter 11. United has been operating under Chapter 11 for a year-and-a-half and seems likely to spend at least two years before even coming up with a plan to reorganize. Elsewhere, US Airways (UAIR Quote) seems likely to re-enter bankruptcy protection just 17 months after emerging from it, because it didn't cut costs deep enough -- a mistake that the Delta's deliberate CEO vows not to repeat.

"The motivation behind Delta's bold response has been to 'do it once and do it right'," Grinstein said.