Monthly Archives: October 2008

The merger between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines is now officially complete. Northwest Airlines is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines. The new airline is a premier global airline with service to many / most of the world’s travel markets. The airline, headquartered in Atlanta, will make its first day as a combined company. Their new combined route-map boasts 66 countries, 375+ worldwide cities, and 75,000 employees. The combination puts them in a great position for today’s volatile economy, allowing them to adapt rapidly to change. ”The airline industry faces a very difficult economic environment around the world and this merger gives Delta increased flexibility to adapt to the economic challenges ahead,” Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson said.

According to Delta and Northwest’s websites, the airline plans to accomplish the following in 12-24 months:

• The addition of Delta’s code to nearly all of the Northwest system by the end of 2008, creating thousands of additional connecting opportunities.
• Immediate complimentary upgrade reciprocity for elite members of both airlines’ loyalty programs, with airport lounge reciprocity continuing as usual.
• The launch of a fully consolidated worldwide flight schedule in advance of summer 2009;
• The introduction of elements of Delta’s brand throughout the Northwest system beginning in spring 2009, including Delta’s popular Richard Tyler designer uniforms, Delta’s livery, “signature cocktails,” enhanced in-flight entertainment and other onboard amenities.
• The consolidation of the Delta and Northwest loyalty programs, ultimately including the ability to combine miles from SkyMiles and WorldPerks accounts at a one-to-one ratio.
• The full integration of Delta and Northwest Web sites, kiosks, and customer-facing technology to ensure a consistent worldwide travel experience.

With concerns to the livery, who knows what will happen. “The airplanes will be painted quickly and the brand will be spread around the world,” said Anderson. However I’m interested to see how they deal with fleet commonality and such, considering that Delta was a former all-Boeing carrier. And what about staff commonality? Let’s not forget here – that Delta employees are fairly non-union (excluding pilots) – meanwhile Northwest is the opposite.

So, the companies, by the books, are merged. Yet, there is a lot more work to do on the operations side. It’s amazing how little in-common the carriers have between each other. However, let’s not forget that Richard Anderson was once Northwest’s CEO for 5 years prior to stepping into Delta and initiating the deal. No doubt, the move is a win for both carriers — I’m just skeptical about merging and fully integrating operations. 

Image: flickr.com