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' 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.

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.

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.

Responding to Delta Airlines' impending removal of air services to Hibbing, city officials are stressing the flight-traffic need for the Iron Range community of 16,000. They claim the city's iron-ore industry it too dependent on the airline to be left grounded. A city council member says "If that isn’t greed, what is it?" Delta recently announced plans to scale-back or drop service to 24 small market cities nationwide.

Delta passengers will have to pony up to anywhere from 19 to 99 dollars one-way for extra leg room. The airline announced its new ‘Economy Comfort’ seating by rearranging the first three to five rows of seats in the economy cabin. Passengers who buy into the plan also get priority boarding.