Delta CEO: Bankruptcy helped

Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson said Friday he doesn’t know whether airlines’ experience with bankruptcy translates to automakers. But he said Delta and merger partner Northwest Airlines could not have done their restructuring outside of Chapter 11 bankruptcy —- which the White House bailout package allows the car companies to avoid, at least for now.

“A bankruptcy court is a court of equity and it has very broad powers to assist you in terminating contracts and restructuring your costs,” Anderson said during an appearance on CNBC.

During his CNBC appearance, Anderson also said he thinks funds from the federal government’s stimulus package should be spent on aviation infrastructure “so you don’t have to sit on the tarmac and wait 30 or 45 minutes for a takeoff slot at LaGuardia,” the New York airport.