The airline says higher fares are the only way to keep up with rising fuel costs. Delta spent $1 billion more on fuel in this year's third quarter than last year's.

Bloomberg reports the airline's fourth-quarter profits have more than doubled after the company boosted fares to offset higher oil costs. "The industry has proven that they can be profitable at $100-a-barrel oil," said one analyst.

Delta Air Lines is relocating Edina-based MLT Vacations from Minnesota to its Atlanta headquarters over the next several months, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The company says roughly 160 employees in the Twin Cities will be offered the option to transfer. Delta is the dominant carrier in the Twin Cities after in acquired Northwest Airlines in 2008.

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.

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.

Mesaba's parent company, Pinnacle Airlines, is already based in Memphis and currently has about 800 Minnesota employees. Delta sold the regional air carrier last year. Mesaba's roots are in Minnesota's World War II-era iron range.

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.

It looks like airfares are going up for the fifth time this year. Delta, US Airways, United and American are among the big carriers to raise fares. Southwest Airlines led the latest effort. USA Today reports U.S. carriers have tried to increase fares eight times so far this year -- four have been successful. Delta is the dominant carrier in the Twin Cities.