SkyTeam member Northwest Airlines has begun a review of its capacity plans to determine if additional changes should be made in light of unprecedented fuel prices.

Confirming the latest review Northwest VP of corporate communications Tammy Lee says: "With fuel at these prices every airline, including Northwest, needs to examine whether it has the right level of capacity in the market."

The examination follows on the heels of announcements by American Airlines and United Airlines that they will dramatically slash capacity and reduce their fleets. And it comes two months after Northwest revealed its own plan to reduce scheduled domestic system capacity by about 5% in September.

To support this measure, Northwest will remove an additional 15 to 20 aircraft from service. Two DC-9s are being removed this month and the remainder in the fall to coincide with schedule reductions. The fleet reductions include approximately 10 DC-9s with the balance being a mix of Boeing 757s, Airbus A320s and A319s, says Northwest.

It remains unclear if additional DC-9s or other aircraft types will be culled. "We are undertaking that review, but have nothing to announce at this time," says Lee.