Members can edit and delete post content, but not delete posts.
You don't have to wait in hopes a moderator will read the thread and delete a post with deleted content. Members who wish to delete posts can use the "Alert a moderator to this post" widget to request that. The moderators will decide if that request will be honored or not, depending on circumstances.
Part of the issue is that for various reasons we've had a few members who wanted to delete large numbers of posts, sometimes in attempts to change "history". This doesn't work, as one can relatively easily use Internet archives such as the wayback machine and see what was originally posted anyway. It also can be quite disruptive to reading FlyerTalk.
lo2e and goalie are correct.
And yes, moderators can read post revisions from the first posting in their fora.
JDiver, Moderator (Technical Support and Feedback forum).