The airline says about 150 jobs will be affected. The Star Tribune reports the move is meant to save the company money. In a memo to workers, Delta said it must control costs to maintain a competitive advantage.

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.

Earlier this summer, Delta Air Lines announced plans to shut down its shrunken, 35-year-old regional carrier Comair by Sept. 29. Minnesota passengers won't notice the change much.

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.

The Star Tribune reports the Atlanta-based airline appears to be swapping newer Airbus planes with older Boeing or McDonnell Douglas jets at MSP. Delta told the newspaper, "We always work to deploy the most efficient aircraft to each route, which is critical to the success of our hub at MSP." Some travelers and airport officials have complained the older planes are noisier and more cramped.

The Atlanta-based airline says the Twin Cities is a key part of its operations. Delta's senior vice president of Minnesota operations told the Star Tribune the airline is investing more than $3 million in new equipment at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Delta already employs 12,000 people in Minnesota and plans to add 400 positions in June.

A new contract approved by Delta Air Line pilots Friday will prompt a major shift in the airline uses smaller jets. The deal will allow the Atlanta-based Delta -- which maintains a hub at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport -- to phase out 50-seat regional jets more quickly and fly more 76-seat jets.

Delta plans to pay off what's left on a Metropolitan Airports Commission loan it inherited from Northwest Airlines. Once the loan is repaid, Delta will no longer be bound by a commitment to keep at least 10,000 jobs in Minnesota. The airline currently has 12,000 employees here.