Outgoing Delta CEO Talks about Successes, Failures and Future

Gerald Grinstein, the chief executive officer of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc., spoke in a recent interview with The Associated Press about a wide range of issues related to his tenure at the carrier:

SUCCESSES/FAILURES: "Obviously, we tried to avoid Chapter 11. We were not able to do that for a variety of reasons. So, I wouldn't say that was one of my great successes. On the other hand, I think we have come through this, attributed more to a team and more to an effort by a large group of people rather than me personally."

BANKRUPTCY EXIT: "Delta is coming out in very good shape. It has a lot of momentum in the marketplace. It is a completely transformed company."

ON DELTA'S FUTURE: "I think it's important never to be smug about what you've done and be constantly focused on what's ahead of you, what the future holds."

ON LEAVING DELTA: "I'm perfectly comfortable making that change now."

ON DELTA'S DEFEAT OF US AIRWAYS' TAKEOVER BID: "There was no reason to let somebody come along and hijack the progress they've (Delta employees) made."

ON INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION: He said airline mergers, if they happen, probably won't happen until the next industry downturn. "I don't think you're going to get there for three or four years. By then, I will have been long forgotten. No one will remember my name. There won't even be a tree or a statue. It's not my influence. It's going to be somebody else's."

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