Delta chief Mullins resigns

Delta chief Mullins resigns    Leo Mullins, 60, said he will retire early next year as chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines, effective Jan. 1, and will remain as chairman until the company's annual shareholder meeting April 23.
   Delta named Gerald Grinstein, a 16-year board veteran, to replace Mullins as CEO. Grinstein, 71, is a former CEO of Western Airlines, which Delta acquired in 1987. He went on to be president of Burlington Northern railroad until its merger with the Santa Fe Corp. in 1991.
   John F. 'Jack' Smith, 65, a former chairman and CEO of General Motors Corp., was nominated to be chairman.
   Delta, the third-largest U.S. carrier, is struggling to reduce its high cost structure in the face of an industry-wide downturn that has forced several airlines to reorganize under bankruptcy protection. Delta's pilots are among the highest paid in the industry and Mullins has been seeking major wage concessions in stalled negotiations on a new labor deal with the pilots union.
   In the third quarter ended Sept. 30, Delta reported a net loss of $164 million, an improvement from a $326 million loss during the same period in 2002, but more than some competitors that began to turn a small profit. The airline has lost about $2.5 billion during the last two years.
   Mullins played a key role lobbying for federal assistance to the airline industry to help pay for security measures and lost business from the fallout of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in Washington and New York.
   Delta does not own any freighter aircraft, but carries a significant amount of freight and mail for the U.S. Postal Service in holds below the passenger deck of its aircraft.