• Nov. 1, 2001: Lack of travel, caused by fear of terrorism and new airport security measures after the Sept. 11 attacks, forces Delta to cut 15 percent of its scheduled flights. In Salt Lake, daily flights are reduced from 132 to 125. Delta cuts 13,000 of 82,000 employees through early retirement, voluntary severance, involuntary furloughs and layoffs — including 700 Utah jobs.
• Jan. 31, 2002: Delta posts a net loss of $1.2 billion for 2001, the largest loss in its 78-year history, despite a federal government bailout of $288 million. In 2000, Delta had a net income of $815 million.
• Sept. 17, 2002: Delta announces another 8,000 job cuts, including 200 jobs in Salt Lake, through early retirement and layoffs. In all, 16,000 jobs are cut since 9/11.
• Sept. 8, 2004: Hoping to avoid bankruptcy, Delta drops Dallas/Fort Worth as a hub, cutting flights from 254 to 21. Delta adds 58 flights to the hub in Salt Lake City. Delta also announces the elimination of 7,000 jobs over the next 18 months.
• Nov. 11, 2004: After 15 months of negotiations, Delta and the pilots union agree to pay cuts of 32 1/2 percent, saving the airline more than $1 billion a year, in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy. The agreement helps the airline, with $20 billion in debt, secure $1 billion in financing from American Express and General Electric Co.
• September 2005: Delta stock falls below $1 amid the havoc of Hurricane Katrina, and the airline files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Bankruptcy allows the airline to cut 9,000 jobs, about 17 percent of the work force, including 3,900 Salt Lake workers, and reduce its $28.3 billion in debts.
• Feb. 14, 2006: Delta posts a $3.84 billion loss in 2005, compared of a loss of $5.22 billion in 2004. Delta has now lost $12.3 billion since January 2001.
• June 1, 2006: Delta pilots receive a 14 percent pay cut through 2009, saving the company $280 million a year, after months of negotiations between the pilots union and company — averting a pilot strike.
• Jan. 31, 2007: US Airways drops its hostile $9.8 million bid to purchase Delta when creditors throw support behind Delta's plan to emerge from bankruptcy.
• April 30, 2007: Delta emerges from bankruptcy after posting a $6.21 billion net loss for 2006. About 400 million shares of new stock are issued to creditors and traded on the New York Stock Exchange for $21.75 a share, pegging Delta's market value at $8.7 billion.
• Jan. 23, 2008: Delta reports $1.61 billion in earnings for 2007.
• April 14, 2008: Delta, the nation's third-largest carrier by traffic, and Northwest, the nation's fifth, announce a merger that will result in the world's largest airline.