http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2001957955_delta= 17.html =20 ATLANTA - The chief executive of Delta Air Lines gave a bleak outlook = yesterday of the carrier's ability to increase revenue, and said that = means getting deep wage cuts from pilots is even more crucial to its = survival.=20 In a speech at an investor conference in New York, CEO Gerald Grinstein = said low-fare rival AirTran Airways has, for the most part, been able to = call the shots on ticket prices in many of the markets in which the two = compete.=20 "We have no pricing power and yields are continuing to erode," said = Grinstein, a longtime Pacific Northwest power figure and president of = the University of Washington Board of Regents who took over as CEO after = Leo Mullin resigned in November. He added, "We have to learn to live in = the revenue environment that we're in."=20 That makes getting wage cuts from its pilots "a crucial first step" in = Delta's turnaround plan, Grinstein said. He reiterated that the = Atlanta-based company would consider bankruptcy only as a last resort.=20 "=C0 la Mark Twain, the reports of our death are premature," Grinstein = said.=20 But, he said, "Delta, as it's now structured, cannot survive in the = marketplace. It has to completely change the way it does business."=20 Some analysts believe Delta, the nation's third-largest airline after = American and United, has only six to nine more months to get the wage = cuts or face bankruptcy. The airline has lost more than $3 billion and = laid off 16,000 employees in the past three years.=20 "If they don't have a deal by the first quarter of next year, then it's = going to be all over," said Ray Neidl, an analyst with Blaylock & = Partners in New York.=20 Delta is asking for a 30 percent wage cut from pilots, who are offering = to take a 9 percent cut and to forego a 4.5 percent raise they received = in May. Delta's pilots make between $100,000 and $300,000 a year, = according to the company.=20 Formal negotiations between the two sides have been stalled since late = January.=20 Grinstein said he hopes Delta's pilots will decide "that it is time to = re-engage and get the discussions back on track."=20 The chairman of the pilots union's executive committee, John Malone, = suggested in an open letter to all Delta employees last week that = management has engaged in "divide and conquer" tactics as part of its = negotiating strategy. He said the union is willing to negotiate, but it = believes the company must develop a business plan that involves more = than just cutting wages.=20 Grinstein told analysts at yesterday's Merrill Lynch Global = Transportation Conference that Delta is working on a top-to-bottom = review that should be complete in August. He did not offer any new = details of his plan to return the company to profitability.=20 "We are looking at everything we do, every plane type we fly, every hub, = every marketplace," Grinstein said. "Any speculation now about what is = going to come out of that is truly conjecture. We are working through = that very methodically."=20 Shares of Delta fell 24 cents, or 4 percent, to close at $5.71 on the = New York Stock Exchange.=20 =20