Judge Grants Delta's Second Reorganization Delay Request

A bankruptcy judge on Friday granted Delta Air Lines Inc.'s request for a four-month delay to exclusively file its reorganization plan.

The Atlanta-based airline had already received a six-month extension, and had been scheduled to propose the plan by July 11. With the judge's order, the third-largest U.S. carrier now has until Nov. 8 to file the plan and until Jan. 8, 2007, to solicit acceptances of the plan.

An exclusivity period allows a company in bankruptcy protection to file its own plan of reorganization, before creditors can weigh in.

Delta has said the new delay was not expected to affect the company's goal of emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the first half of next year.

Delta has said that, among other things, it wants more time to address its pension plan obligations. The airline is seeking to terminate its pilots' pension plan.

The airline, which has lost more than $14 billion (euro11.01 billion) in the last five years, filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

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