Northwest to reduce jobs, flights

But airline CEO says cost-saving cuts still may not be enough if oil prices don't fall soon.

Northwest Airlines Corp., which plans to merge with Delta Air Lines by the end of this year, will reduce its seating capacity by up to 9.5 percent beginning this fall and will cut an unspecified number of jobs as it tries to cut costs to cope with skyrocketing fuel prices, the company announced late Tuesday.

Layoffs are possible, but the airline said it will "first look to voluntary separation programs such as early outs" to reduce its headcount.

Airline analysts agreed.

"This is by far not enough," said Harlan Platt, an economics professor focusing on the airline industry at Northeastern University in Boston. "This is a situation where they're bleeding all over, and just using a very small Band-Aid."

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