Delta Air Lines, poised to become the world's largest carrier by acquiring Northwest Airlines, plans to drop more flights to blunt soaring fuel bills.

"There will be some incremental cuts," President Ed Bastian told reporters Tuesday after Delta's annual shareholders meeting in New York. "It'll be targeted. We haven't decided yet" exactly how many flights or where, he said.

The reductions will expand on domestic cutbacks of as much as 11 percent announced earlier this year, which include grounding 90 airplanes and eliminating the jobs of 3,000 employees who took buyouts.

Airlines' efforts to cover fuel costs with fare increases and new baggage-check fees have fallen short, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. analyst Jamie Baker estimates the U.S. industry's losses will top $7.2 billion this year. The price of jet fuel has jumped 77 percent in the past 12 months, surpassing labor as the largest expense at most airlines.

Atlanta-based Delta's shares rose 25 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $6.10 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading They're down 59 percent this year. The value of the Northwest acquisition has fallen 42 percent since the deal was announced April 14, to $2.11 billion.

Meanwhile, five carriers -- American, United, Delta, Northwest, Continental, US Airways and Alaska Air -- asked the federal government to let them suspend flying without penalty on international routes in the next two years because of high fuel costs.

The airlines want to be able to halt flying in periods of low demand without losing authority to resume the routes.

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