A mechanical problem forced the pilot of a 95-passenger Delta Air Lines plane on its way from Minneapolis to Detroit to shut down an engine and land in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Monday afternoon, MLive reports. There were no reports of injury.

Minneapolis-based Regional Elite Airline Services, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, will close Nov. 13. The company says its work has been awarded to another contractor at the airport. About 4,000 employees are affected, many in the Twin Cities will take jobs with Delta Ground Services.

Delta Airlines is analyzing a possible merger with American Airlines' parent company. The Wall Street Journal reports Delta has hired a firm to look into the financial and regulatory issues of joining the two companies. American filed for bankruptcy in November.

Delta Airlines' primary headquarters and hub in Atlanta is flourishing. Not so at other hub cities. Since Delta absorbed Northwest Airlines, the Twin Cities area has lost 3,000 jobs associated with the carrier. In Memphis the number of flights has been nearly halved, pushing up air fares to the second highest in the nation. Behind Cincinnati. Which is also a Delta hub.

One of the passengers who bit into a sandwich and punctured his mouth on a needle on a Minneapolis-bound Delta flight, John Tonjes of Plymouth, now faces sleepless nights as he worries about health risks. Meanwhile, an international investigation is focused on a food preparation area at the airport in Amsterdam. And experts speculate that it was not the work of terrorists.

A new study shows airlines lost fewer than nine bags per thousand passengers last year, compared to more than 18 bags five years ago. The New York Times reports Delta Air Lines, the dominant carrier at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, is among the leaders using new technology to reduce mishandled baggage. The airline has made major upgrades to its tag printers, bag readers and conveyor belts at hubs in Atlanta and Los Angeles. Similar upgrades are also planned in New York.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines -- the dominate carrier at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport -- will lease 88 Boeing 717 planes from Dallas-based Southwest Airlines. The aircraft will be transferred starting next year, with 16 scheduled to arrive next year. Another 36 will come in 2014 and the rest will be delivered in 2015.